Condensed Tomato Soup for Canning

By tulawdog

Ingredients

• 8 lbs ripe tomatoes, don’t peel, just quarter
• 1 bunch celery, chopped
• 2 Cups Onion, chopped
• 1 large green pepper seeded and chopped
• 6 Parsley springs
• 6 whole cloves
• 6 Bay leaves
• 4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup clear-jel or less if you like it thinner
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons salt or less if you want it low sodium

Preparation

Step 1

Place first 4 ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered until tender, stirring as needed. Press through a food mill or sieve into a large saucepan. Melt butter in a small saucepan and add along with salt to the tomato puree. Add the clear gel to a small amount of the cooled puree then add this to the pot of puree stirring well until it boils and thickens. Pour into jars to within 1 inch of top. Clean jar tops; secure lids and bands. Process in pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure, 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts. I canned mine in half pints for 25 minutes.
To serve this soup just heat with equal amount of liquid such as milk, water or broth. It can also be used in recipes calling for condensed soup without uncondensing.