Canning & Preserves

Canned Tomatoes

Name: Canned Tomatoes
Yield: as many quart or pint jars as your tomatoes fill
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ripe tomatoes, skinned and cored; 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice; 1 tsp pickling salt; fresh basil leaves

Yield as many quart or pint jars as your tomatoes fill

Home-canned whole or halved tomatoes, raw-packed in their own juice with bottled lemon juice and pickling salt. A method recipe for as many jars as your tomatoes fill.

Method

Prep

Skin and core the tomatoes, leaving them whole or cutting them in half.

Raw pack

Pack the tomatoes into jars, pressing gently so they fill with their own juice. Leave 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) headspace.
Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to each quart (1 tablespoon per pint) to acidify, plus 1 teaspoon pickling salt per quart (1/2 teaspoon per pint) for flavor, if desired.
Adjust lids and process pints and quarts in a boiling-water bath — 85 minutes at 0–1,000 ft (see the altitude note below for higher elevations).
85 min

From the family

Processing time varies with altitude (pints and quarts, boiling-water bath): 85 minutes at 0–1,000 ft, 90 to 3,000 ft, 95 to 6,000 ft, 100 above. These times are for whole or halved tomatoes packed in their own juice; chopped or crushed tomatoes use a different process.
Optional: a leaf or two of fresh basil per jar. Canning basil in the jar doesn't adhere to current USDA/NCHFP guidance — use at your own discretion.