Just a quick Works for Me this week– sorry if it is a repeat, but chances are, some people have not heard this tip. This morning I canned 23 quarts of tomatoes in less than two hours. Yes, I had plenty of help, but what saves the most time is the way I handle the tomatoes.
When canning tomatoes for spaghetti sauce, it is not necessary to blanch each tomato, laboriously remove every skin and then carefully pack pieces into jars. Once I’ve cut tops off my tomatoes, I simply quarter them and run them through the blender to make a puree. I then heat the puree to a simmer, and pour into jars. Easy!! When you open the jar to make sauce, thicken it with a can of tomato paste or a spaghetti seasoning packet.
Quick tomato canning– works for me!
I'm Mary, wife to John, and mom to 10 kids ages 3-20. Six of them were adopted, from Ethiopia and Korea. I spend my days applying Bandaids, reminding kids to use their inside voices, persuading kids fractions are useful, cooking spicy ethnic food, and snapping gig after gig of pictures. Very late at night, I write about it all.
My tomatoes are just about to come on and this is a great tip. My kids don’t like the chunks anyway. How long to process for this method?
I love this tip! I do NOT have time to remove all the skin off of the beautiful, fresh grown tomatoes. Thanks for sharing!!
Duckabush Blog
Wow 23 quarts in 2 hours! We didn’t plant enough tomatoes this year, but I will have to keep that in mind for next year!
Thanks Mary – you just saved me having to search back through old entries to find your tip. I remember reading it last year, but couldn’t remember the details. I love this idea – last year (my first canning year) I made the spaghetti sauce before canning what a job that was!
I’m doing it your way this year.
Wish I read this last week. I canned 24 pints (in 6 hours)…. ugggh.
I have been freezing mine this year. Just boil, slip the skins and stick in a bag. It is always nice coming up with simpler ways of doing things!
Congrats on your two new additions! I can imagine that this is a big adjustment for all of you, but things will come together soon, I am sure!
I process in a boiling-water bath for 30 minutes. (And of course I heat the tomato puree to simmering-hot before I pour it in the jars)
Mary
Finally, I have something to do with all these tomatoes from my garden. A girl can only eat so many tomato sandwiches before you start to turn a little red in the face.
my mommy does that all the time…but thanx…
I’ve never canned tomatoes, sounds good.
Now, can I just freeze my corn without cooking first?
Awesome – thanks for sharing!
I usually blanch corn (set in boiling water) for 2-3 minutes before cutting it off the cob and freezing…..
I’m forwarding this along to my mother, last week she and I spent HOURS blanching, peeling, and canning tomatoes. The only pleasant thought I had during the torture was “at least this isn’t sticky like strawberry jam.”
Great tip.
It’s a pity there’s no space here to keep so many cans, otherwise…
My mom used to just blend the tomatoes, then pour them into freezer bags. I loved to use those homegrown tomatoes for spaghetti or chili.