Tomatoes: How to EASILY Can Tomatoes, Make Tomato Sauce, Spaghetti Sauce, Salsa, Paste, Freeze, Dry and Preserve Tomatoes at Home
Are
you flooded with tomatoes from your garden, and wishing you could somehow
store the tomatoes, can them, freeze them for that great taste in the
winter? Now you can! This page provides the links to our illustrated
tomato recipes and canning* directions - so easy ANYONE can do it, along
with a multitude of other recipes, guides and canning instructions from the
USDA and many universities.! Those of you who still speak the "Queen's
English" will probably be more familiar with terms "bottling" or "tinning"
rather than canning! But it means the same!
If you want to bring your green tomatoes indoors before a freeze in the Fall, and ripen them, see:
And if you'd like to start you own tomatoes from seed (you can save a small
fortune and grow the heirloom varieties you like)
see this page for easy
directions for growing your own tomato plants from seed. And this page has a Master list of tomato varieties. Some of these require a Pressure Canner to prevent potential spoilage and
food poisoning, due to the low acid content of the food. For others, you
can use a water bath canner OR a Pressure Canner. I've noted what's
required for each, below, following each entry, with
W for water bath,
P for Pressure canner, and
W, P for either may be used!
And don't miss: Answers to common tomato canning problems and see this page about what to do with your unripe green tomatoes!
Prepping tomatoes
Canning tomatoes (in water bath canners )
- How to can tomatoes using a water bath canner - W
- Diced, chopped or crushed tomatoes - W
- Bruschetta - W
- Tomato sauce - W
- Tomato paste - W
- Barbecue sauce (BBQ sauce) - W
- Chili sauce from your own tomatoes and peppers - W
- Diced, chopped or crushed tomatoes - W
- Tomato Preserves- W
- Tomato salsa - W
- Spaghetti sauce - without meat - W, P
- Spiced Green tomatoes- W
- Pickled Green Tomatoes - W - another pickled green tomato recipe, this one sweet
- Ketchup.. or if you prefer... How to make catsup - W, P
- NEW! SUPER-EASY homemade ketchup recipe - W
- Salsa from your unripe, GREEN tomatoes! - W
- Tomatillo salsa - W
- How to make roasted tomatoes, boiling water bath canner version - W
Canning Tomatoes in Pressure canners
- Canned tomatoes using a Pressure Canner - P
- NEW!Baked Beans With Tomato or Molasses Sauce - P
- Canning your own chili con carne (with meat) - P
- How to make roasted tomatoes, pressure canner version - P
- Spaghetti sauce - with meat - P
- Stewed tomatoes - P
- Tomato soup or tomato-basil soup - P
- Tomato sauce - P
- Tomato juice - P
- Tomato juice, like V8 - P
Freezing Tomatoes
- How to freeze tomatoes from you garden or the farm; for that fresh taste this winter!
- Space-saving prepping and freezing extra tomatoes from your garden to can later
Drying tomatoes
- NEW!
How to make Sun-Dried
Tomatoes
- Food drying basics and principles
- How to dry your own herbs
- Food Dehydrators - models, specs and pricing information
Growing your own tomatoes
- Master list of tomato varieties - descriptions and links to get the seeds
- If you want to make tomato sauce, see our Master List of Roma and Paste Tomato Varieties for the Home Garden
- Master List of Heirloom Tomato Varieties
- How to Grow Tomatoes in Your Yard or Patio - Everything you need to know
- Starting tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, broccoli, lettuce and other vegetables from seed at 1/10 the price at Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart or the nursery
- Tomato plant diseases - symptoms and what to do
- See this list of disease-resistant tomato varieties
Frequently Asked Questions About Canning, Freezing and Preserving Tomatoes
General Canning Know-How
- How much do I need to pick? Yields and conversion tables
- General Canning tips
- Why do I need a canner?
- FAQs - Canning questions and answers: Answers to common questions and problems
- Canners and canning supplies: descriptions, photos, prices and ordering information
- Pressure canning: how it is different from water bath canning and how to use one!
- How do I fix a jam or jelly that turned out too runny?
- All about pectin - what it is, how it works, types, etc.
- Foam in Home Jam Making - What It Is and What To Do About It!
- Questions and answers to many questions about home canning, freezing and making other preserves!
- Can I Sell My Home-Canned Jams and Other Preserves?
Picking tips
And write me, if you want directions for something
I've missed.
Canning, Freezing and Drying Equipment and Supplies
- Books on canning, freezing, drying, preserving and jam making
- Canners, both water bath and pressure canners. Canners for glass top stovers?
- Strainers, pit removers, seed-skin-stem removers, jelly strainers, etc.
- Vacuum Foodsealers for freezing, dried foods, and refrigerated foods - the FoodSaver line
- Canning Lids and Rings,
- Canning jars,
- Canning mixes, pectin, etc.
Trivia
Other Detailed Canning, Freezing and Drying Guides and Recipes
- Comprehensive Canning Guides and Recipes - look here for recipes that you don't see above!
- FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems
- Free
government and university publications about canning to download and print
Canning Books, Supplies and Accessories
These are my favorite essential canning tools, books and supplies. I've been using many of these for over 50 years of canning! The ones below on this page are just the sampling of. my preferred tools. but you can find much more detailed and extensive selections on the pages that are linked below.
- Strainers, pit removers, seed-skin-stem removers, jelly strainers, etc. All types, makes and prices (from $19 to $350)
- Selecting a KitchenAid mixer and attachments for home canning
- Vacuum Foodsealers for freezing, dried foods, and refrigerated foods - the FoodSaver line
- Cherry pitters reviews, prices and ordering
- Steam Juicers
- Food dehydrators - easy and fast to dry your own fruits, veggies, sun-dried tomatoes, etc.
The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes Paperback
This is THE book on canning! My grandmother used this book when I was a child.; It tells you in simple instructions how to can almost anything; complete with recipes for jam, jellies, pickles, sauces, canning vegetables, meats, etc.
If it can be canned, this book likely tells you how! Click on the link below for more information and / or to buy (no obligation to buy)The New Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving
Canning and Preserving for Dummies by Karen Ward
This is another popular canning book. Click here for more information, reviews, prices for Canning and Preserving For Dummies
Of course, you do not need to buy ANY canning book as I have about 500 canning, freezing, dehydrating and more recipes all online for free, just see Easy Home Canning Directions.
Home Canning Kits
See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon
I have several canners, and my favorite is the stainless steel one at right. It is easy to clean and seems like it will last forever. Mine is 10 years old and looks like new.
The black ones are the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce.
This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, Jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer, It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. It's only missing the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book.
You will never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)!
The complete list of canners is on these pages:
- Water bath canners - Good for acidic foods, like applesauce, pickles, salsa, jams, jellies, most fruits
- Pressure canners - needed for low and non-acidic foods, like canned vegetables (corn, green beans, etc), and meats
- Canners for glass top stoves if you have a glass or ceramic stove
- Canners for induction stovetops
Pressure Canners
If you plan on canning non-acidic foods and low acid foods that are not pickled - this means: meats, seafood, soups, green beans corn, most vegetables, etc., then you ABSOLUTELY must use a Pressure Canner.
Of course, you can use a pressure canner as a water bath canner as well - just don't seal it up, so it does not pressurize. This means a Pressure Canner is a 2-in-1 device. With it, you can can almost ANYTHING.
There are also other supplies, accessories, tools and more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!
Basic Canning Accessories
From left to right:
- Jar lifting tongs to pick up hot jars
- Lid lifter - to remove lids from the pot of boiling water (sterilizing )
- Lids- disposable - you may only use them once
- Ring - holds the lids on the jar until after the jars cool - then you remove them, save them and reuse them
- Canning Jar funnel - to fill the jars
Strainers
These are very useful for making sauces like applesauce, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, jellies, etc. Below are my favorites. The complete list is on these pages:
- Strainers, pit removers, seed-skin-stem removers, jelly strainers, etc. All types, makes and prices (from $19 to $350)
- Selecting a KitchenAid mixer and attachments for home canning
Inexpensive Old School Strainers: hand cranked Foley Food Mills
- The hand-cranked Foley food mill (see this page or clock the ad box) has been used for well over 100 years in homes all over America (and variants around the world). It is effective and inexpensive, and ideal for small batches. However, if you need to make many quarts, you will sure end up with tunnel carpel syndrome or some other repetitive strain injury.
Norpro 1951 Manual Food Strainer and other brand stariners, with optional motors; (almost identical to Victorio V250, Villaware and Roma models, all discontinued)
This is The next step up from the Foley food mill. First, it's far more ergonomic, and its handle is easier to use. Next, it works in continuous mode rather than batch mode. So you can do much larger volumes easily. Finally, It has an optional motor, so you can. remove the manual labor. It also offers many different size strainers to use for different types of berries, vegetables and fruit.
See the seller's website for more information, features, pricing and user reviews!
- A Johnny, Weston or Oxo strainer (about $60 - $100, see further down the page) or
- This trainer is. simply a more upscale and improved version of the one above.
- See this page for more information, reviews, descriptions of other strainers and supplies or to order!
KitchenAid - Best Large Volume Strainers
If you're going to do large volumes of fruit or vegetables , or do it year after year, then. you really should think about getting a higher end kitchen. utility device. Kitchen aids are the cream of the crop. Once you buy one of these, you keep at the rest of your life and it gets handed down to the next generation. . My sister is using one she inherited from my mother 25 years ago, who got it in the 1940s as a wedding gift. So, although the initial cost is high, they literally last for many lifetime. So the cost on an annual basis is pretty trivial, especially when you consider the cost of therapy and treatment for. the repetitive strain injuries you will get from manual cranking day after day. Add to that of course the cost of therapy for the emotional injuries you'll get from going insane, standing there hand cranking something for hours.
KitchenAid's with a sieve/grinder (with the attachments, costs about $400, but it lasts a lifetime and is fast and easy to use - I can make 100 quart jars of applesauce per day with one of these).
FREE Illustrated Canning, Freezing, Jam Instructions and Recipes
Don't spend money on books. that you don't need to. Almost everything you can find in some book sold online or in a store is on my website here for free. Start with theEasy Home Canning Directions below. That is a master list of canning directions which are all based upon the Ball Bblue book, the National Center for Home Food Preservation and other reputable lab tested recipes. Almost every recipe I present in addition to being lab tested com. is in a step by step format with photos for each step and complete. explanations. that tell you how to do it, where to get the supplies and pretty much everything you need to know. In addition, there almost always in a PDF format so you can print them out and use them while you cook.
[ Easy Home Canning Directions]
[FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems]
[Recommended books about home canning, jam making, drying and preserving!]
Looking for canning equipment and supplies?
Water bath canner with a jar rack
Pressure canners for gas, electric and induction stoves: Presto 23Qt or T-fal 22Qt
Canning scoop (this one is PERFECT)
Ball Blue book (most recent version)
Jars: 8oz canning jars for jams
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Festivals - local fruit and vegetable festivals
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