Of course I canned tomatoes this weekend, now is the time. So did other bloggers, such as Lelo in Nopo (met her at BlogHer, and have really been enjoying her blog), Hedonia (another from BlogHer) and Andrea’s Recipes (yet another BlogHer contact). All have great instructions and loads of pictures if you want to follow along. If you are interested, there are loads of other blogger recommendations about tomato canning, just use the Food Blog Search.
On Sunday, I made an Heirloom Tomato Ketchup from Cooking Light that turned out pretty well, although it took much longer to reduce down, probably because I tripled the recipe. I used 9 pounds of tomatoes and came away with 5 half-pints of ketchup.
Monday morning, I canned the San Marzano Roma Tomatoes from our CSA, into pint and quart jars. After peeling and quartering, I brought the tomatoes to a boil, then poured them into jars and proceessed for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. The tricky part happened when my daughter’s play date forgot to get off the bus, so I had to call the school, at the same time I was filling jars. Got the jars filled, lids and bands on, then sprinted back to the bus stop to pick up our friend. Phew!
My garage storage shelf is now full of 11 quarts and 11 pints of quartered tomatoes. Oh, I love that feeling of accomplishment. Now, I need to see if I can get my hands on some more tomatoes, so I can try Alanna’s Slow-Roasted Tomatoes.
Are you canning any of summer’s bounty this year? I would love to hear about it (and get inspired!)
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September 17th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Yum, San Marzanos! We clearly did not plant enough of those this year. We are already planning for two or three more raised beds next spring, and we’re seriously considering devoting an entire bed to San Marzano tomatoes. They are luscious! Thanks for mentioning my home canning post.
September 17th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Thanks for taking the time to write out the instructions! After spending the better part of a day canning the tomatoes, I ran out of energy! And your post is so thorough. I loved reading all the tweets this weekend, it did seem as though everyone was canning tomatoes. I sense a tipping point in food preserving.
Cheers,
September 17th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
You too! I’m loving reading your blog. I have a tomato tart recipe for you, and I need to try making yours. Super yum!
Lelos last blog post..Preserving the deliciousness of summer tomatoes
September 17th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
it is so funny, everytime one of your posts popped up in my reader, you were doing exactly what I was doing. Gushing over ripe, red tomatoes. Contemplating food preservation. It is great!
Would love the tart, I must find more tomatoes
September 18th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Not canning, but I’m firmly in the slow-roasted tomato camp. I freeze them in small ziploc bags, and use them in sauces throughout the winter.
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)s last blog post..Saffron (Recipe: pie-ella, improved)
September 18th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
do you peel them after slow roasting, or just freeze the whole thing? I saw one recipe that said to peel them, but I think that after roasting for many hours, the peel would be so integrated into the tomato, but I could be wrong!
September 20th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
This is what we canned this year:
Purple sauerkraut
Pickled beans
Pickled carrots
Pickled cucumbers
Pickled onions
Tomato sauce
Blueberry preserves
Plain blueberries
Peaches
Tomatoes
It all takes time. We would have done more if we weren’t so busy.
steve merediths last blog post..Happy Equinox
September 20th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Your list is impressive! Do you have a good recipe for pickled beets? I just received a bunch (well, two) and would love to pickle them for later.
Tomorrow I plan to make some fig jam, with these gorgeous figs my neighbor gave me. Also might be time to see what other neighbors might have.
I agree, the canning takes lots of time. It all becomes worthwhile when I can go in my garage, grab a jar of something and move along on my recipe, all without having to go to the store.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I have two recipes, but I never tried them: http://stmer-share.s3.amazonaws.com/pickled beets.tif
These come from a book called Pickled, by Lucy Norris, which is a really nice book (by a really nice woman.) http://www.amazon.com/Pickled-Vegetables-Fruits-More-Preserving-Traditions/dp/1584792779/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221955946&sr=8-1
Please let me know when you have downloaded it so I can remove it from public view.
-Steve
steve merediths last blog post..Happy Equinox
September 20th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
BTW, I made that same ketchup recipe today after a trip to the farmers market for tomatoes and an onion. I made the specified quantities, and it took almost two hours to reduce. We couldn’t bring ourselves to discard the solids, so we added them to beans and ate them for dinner. The house smelled so good while the ketchup was cooking. I’m very happy with the results, but that was a lot of work for a cup of ketchup!
steve merediths last blog post..Happy Equinox
September 24th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Sorry Steve, I missed this comment – it was stuck in moderation (not sure why, since your others get through quite fine!). Thanks for the book recommendation – I have been using a 1963 Farm Journal Freezing & Canning Cookbook, which has been a great source of inspiration, but I think I need a more updated pickling book, just to see what might be new. Thanks for the recommendation….
Cheers,