Canned Chunky Tomatoes

By gpawilson

If you'd like, you can peel the skins before canning, but you don't have to. I prefer to not peel or remove seeds from my tomato products. It makes them much easier to process, and we never mind eating the seeds and skins.

If you opt to skin your 'maters, dip them first in boiling water to loosen the skins, then plunge them in cold water. Drain, peel, and core.

Ingredients

• Fresh garden tomatoes.
• Some kind of acid (lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid)
• You can add any other ingredient or spice you want. Example, onions, peppers, hot peppers, garlic, oregano, basil, etc.

Details

Adapted from rodalesorganiclife.com

Preparation

Step 1

Start with only perfect tomatoes. Cut into quarters. Cut out cores. Place in pot, and cook over medium heat until level of juice meets level of tomatoes.

• Pack into hot, sterilized jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Add acid to jars to ensure high levels: For quart jars, add 4 teaspoons of lemon juice OR 2 tablespoons of vinegar OR ½ teaspoon citric acid per jar. Use half as much per pint jar.

• Wipe rims clean then close jars with hot, sterilized lids. Place into a boiling-water bath for 40 minutes for pint jars, 45 minutes for quart jars, according to the USDA (the water should stay boiling the whole time). If you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet, you'll have to add more time five to 15 minutes to the process, according to USDA.