Whole Tomatoes in Juice

Gather

Ingredients

• Whole tomatoes (about 21 lb per 7-quart load or 13 lb per 9-pint load)
• Tomato juice, heated, enough to cover the packed tomatoes
• Bottled lemon juice or citric acid for every jar
• Canning salt (optional)

Preserve

Instructions

1. 01

   Wash the tomatoes. Loosen their skins in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, or until splitting begins, then chill them. Peel, core, and leave whole or cut in halves.

2. 02

   Put the required acid in each jar before filling: use 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid per pint, and twice either amount per quart. If desired, add up to 1 teaspoon canning salt per quart.

3. 03

   For a raw pack, heat tomato juice separately. Place uncooked tomatoes in hot pint or quart jars and cover with the hot juice, preserving 1/2-inch headspace.

4. 04

   For a hot pack, cover the prepared tomatoes with tomato juice in a saucepan and boil gently for 5 minutes. Add the hot tomatoes to jars, cover them with hot juice, and preserve 1/2-inch headspace.

5. 05

   Release trapped air, recheck the headspace, wipe each rim, and secure the lids.

6. 06

   At 0-1,000 ft, process hot- or raw-pack pints and quarts for 85 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Increase the time.
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