Log In / Sign Up
HOME
>
RECIPES
>

Tomatoes Packed in Their Own Juices Recipe

Tomatoes Packed in Their Own Juices
Difficulty: Medium | Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins, plus 12 hrs for cooling | Active Time: | Makes: 5 (1-pint) jars

Perfectly ripe tomatoes are so flavorful they can be eaten out of hand with just a pinch of salt. But they’re seasonal, so canning allows you to have good-quality tomatoes available year-round. Use these canned tomatoes in our Basic Tomato Sauce, Eggplant-Pepper Tomato Sauce, or anytime you feel the urge for something tomatoey.

Special equipment:
We’re assuming you already have basic tools lying around (like cutting boards, bowls, and measuring cups), so here’s the special equipment you’ll need for canning:

  • 5 lids with sealing compound for wide-mouth 1-pint jars
  • 5 bands for wide-mouth 1-pint jars
INGREDIENTS
  • 5 pounds tomatoes, ripe but still firm
  • 5 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
  • 5 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 10 blemish-free medium basil leaves, washed and dried
INSTRUCTIONS
For sanitizing the jars and lids:

  1. Wash the jars, lids, and bands in hot, soapy water. Rinse well. Dry the lids and bands and set aside.
  2. Place the jars in a boiling water canner or a 15- to 20-quart pot fitted with a canning rack and a lid. Fill the pot with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 10 minutes, then turn off heat.
  3. Keep the jars in the hot water until ready for use, removing one at a time as needed.

For the tomatoes:

  1. Rinse the tomatoes and cut a shallow X shape just through the skin into the bottom of each.
  2. Fill a large pot (6 to 8 quarts) with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Prepare an ice water bath by filling a bowl halfway with ice and water. Blanch the tomatoes until the skins loosen and start to pull back, about 30 to 60 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes to the ice water bath, and reserve the blanching water.
  3. Peel the tomatoes, cut out the cores, and return the peeled tomatoes to the blanching water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; boil for 5 minutes.
  4. Once the tomatoes are cooked, remove the jars one at a time from the hot water using a jar lifter, letting any excess water drip off. Bring the water in the canner or pot back to a simmer (about 180°F) for processing the packed jars.
  5. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon kosher salt to each sanitized jar. Distribute tomatoes and basil leaves among the jars, crushing the tomatoes if necessary to fit and leaving a 1/2-inch headspace.
  6. To remove any air bubbles, slide a clean rubber spatula down the side of each jar and press inward on the tomatoes while rotating the jar; repeat 3 to 4 times for each jar.

For processing the packed jars:

  1. Wipe the rim and threads of each jar with a clean, damp towel. Place the lids on the jars, checking that the sealing compound is centered. Fit the jars with bands and tighten just until resistance is met.
  2. Check that the water in the pot or boiling water canner is at a simmer (about 180°F) and set the jars in the canning rack. (The jars must be covered by 1 to 2 inches of water. Add additional boiling water as necessary.)
  3. Cover the pot with a tightfitting lid and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Process the jars for 45 minutes at a gentle but steady rolling boil. (Begin calculating the processing time once the water is at a rolling boil. Check occasionally that the water remains at a steady boil.)
  4. Once processed, remove the jars with the jar lifter and set them upright, 1 to 2 inches apart, on a dry towel. Do not retighten the bands; let cool at least 12 hours.
  5. After the jars have cooled, check for a seal by pressing the center of each lid. If the center is concave and does not flex, remove the band and try to lift off the lid with your fingertips (don’t pull too hard). If you cannot lift the lid, there is a good vacuum seal. If the lid pops off, your jar did not properly seal. Eat the tomatoes within 2 weeks.
  6. To store properly processed jars, wipe each lid and jar with a clean, damp cloth (the bands don’t need to stay on for storage), label the jars, and store them in a cool, dry, dark place. Unopened jars can be kept up to a year when stored properly. Once opened, keep in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks.
    Write a review | 17 Reviews

  • Any one interested in home preserving should check the NCHFP website for recipes, precautions and general good information.

  • LJS my mom and I started boiling water canning with a little bit more than a wide mouth funnel and a couple of stock pots. It is very simple, it just takes time.

    I've gone from making chili sauce with her to making jams, canned tomatoes, dill pickles, bread and butter pickles and a few other things. This year, I finally bought a boiling water canner to save time.

    I've picked up a few books for recipes, but find most of my information and recipes on the internet. Try it! Start small, and then see what happens.

  • A2hungry, you avoid botulism by ensuring the environment is sufficiently acidic, by maintaining cleanliness, and by processing the jars long enough to kill anything. Never use any oil whatsoever when canning with a boiling water bath. Only use recipes that are warranted as safe for canning and don't mess around with the proportions. If you can using modern standards there's not really any risk.

    Also, in high altitude areas you must process the jars for longer (I find it disturbing that the above recipe fails to mention this). Consult a canning book or website for further information.

    Bottled lemon juice is considered necessary because the acidity in fresh lemons varies. If you don't like the taste you can also use 1/2 tsp of citric acid per quart jar, or a 1/4 tsp for a pint.

  • I'm definitely interested in doing this with my tomatoes this summer, and definitely next summer. But I'm a bit worrisome. How do you prevent botulism? Is there any way to know if something is tainted later on? This is my primary concern.

  • I do this every summer but I only use my plum tomatoes and I also add a shot of olive oil and a half clove of garlic or somwe pepper flakes to the jar. Then in the middle of winter I open the jar and get the smell of summer take out the tomatoes crush them into a pan for sauce and have the smell and taste of summer all over again.

  • ScarletB, it's hard to tell from the photo, but these are whole, tomatoes that are basically intact except for their outer peel and tough bottom core. They have been cooked but maintain their shape when removed from the jar.

  • I'm confused as to the texture when this is done. Is it basically a tomato sauce? Just without having to cook down the tomatoes to thicken? Or is it very chunky and could be used in ways other than as a sauce?
    Thanks.

  • There are a number of Italian grandmothers on my new block where we just moved in Queens, New York, and they've all got major tomato canning operations going on (jenniebnyc--was that you?). I was looking down from my third floor window, and I could see two families with crates of tomatoes in the backyard (the next door neighbors had a dozen crates lined up) and 20-40 quart pots on stands with propane burners, big wooden stirring paddles, and plastic racks set up for the jars. Just this morning I walked by another elderly Italian couple unloading more wooden crates of tomatoes from the car.

    The basic process seemed to be--blanch the tomatoes, run through an electric tomato strainer (though I did notice one woman straining the skins out the old-fashioned way through a big wicker basket), and then I wasn't sure if they were cooking them down further from there or canning directly.

    Once we're more settled in and get to know the neighbors, next year, I'll take pictures.

  • Should use fresh lemon juice and a teaspoon of sugar. AND make way more than 5 jars. We are making approx 65 jars next weekend!

  • apb3000: Bottled lemon juice may sound counterintuitive, but it helps ensure a uniform acidity level, which is vital to proper canning.

  • velvetjones: your method -- often called slow-roasted tomatoes or tomato confit -- yields a delicious treat though the texture is quite different from that of canned tomatoes. here's a simple recipe for tomato confit if you want more specifics: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11878

  • I learned this from Alton Brown I think? Halve romas, sprinkle with salt pepper olive oil and garlic. put in a low oven until theyve lost some moisture (a few hours) then throw in the cuisinart. Pour that into 2 quart freezer bags and freeze flat. When you're ready to use it, it thaws almost instantly under running water, throw in a pan with some garilc, oill, fresh basil and a bit of the pasta water, toss in angel hair and top with parm. so much easier than canning.

  • I can fruits and make jams a lot and I didnt need to buy anything except the cans! There is always a way! BUT for the large jers I MAY need to but a can lifter... my tongs may slip up! I will def be canning my tomatoes and zuchinni this summer!

  • I love how simple this recipe is, and I am just starting to can this summer - but can you explain why bottled lemon juice must be used? Could I make fresh lemon juice and strain it? Or would it have to be heated and cooled? Thanks!

  • I think canning will be part of my future. But, it seems to me that getting into canning is a bit like being pregnant: there is no such thing as being into it a little bit...

    A lot of equipment is required for this recipe (and space to put it). When I do make that investment, it will be so that I can put up toms and beets and pears and cherries and pepper and chutney and all sorts of things that I am growing in my garden in addition to those tomatoes.

    Frankly, I can hardly wait, but it will be part of larger project in my life.

  • toddanthonydirect> check out this feature where we have illos to lead you step-by-step through the process: http://www.chow.com/stories/10693

  • I'd like to see a video of this. I think I'd be more inclined to try it.

Share with your friendsX