Canning Tomatoes

I am still on a canning kick.  This time of year you have to use it while you have it.  These lovely tomatoes came from a nearby "you pick" farm.  Of course I like to use vegetables that I have grown, but locally produced vegetables are a good second choice. 

The first stop was to wash the worst of the dirt/leaves off of the tomatoes.  I also put a large pot of water on the stove and brought it to a boil.  The tomatoes were then dropped into the boiling water until the skins started to split.



 The tomatoes were then dropped in ice water to cool.  The skins will just slide right off.  This is much easier than peeling each tomato.

The tomatoes were quartered and put into large pots.  I cooked them until they were very soft and were breaking up.  You would be surprised at all of the juice they produced. 

I heated the jars in boiling water to sterilize them.  I filled them with the tomatoes and added salt and sugar to each jar.  I use my home canned tomatoes in place of purchased canned tomatoes in soups and chili.  They are delicious over rice too.