Making and Canning Fresh Tomatoes with a Pressure Canner!
Making and canning your own tomatoes with a pressure canner is something families remember years later. Home-canned tomatoes have been a tradition for many generations. In the middle of the winter, you can use the tomatoes to make a fresh spaghetti sauce, lasagna, chili, or other tomato-based meals for that fresh garden taste. If you have a water bath canner, you may want to see the water bath canning tomatoes page for those directions instead!
Here's how to do it, in easy steps and completely illustrated. This method is so easy, ANYONE can do this! It's a great thing to do with your kids!
Ingredients and Equipment
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Process - How to Make Home Canned Tomatoes from Fresh Tomatoes Using a Pressure Canner
Step 1 - Selecting the
tomatoes
It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality tomatoes!
At right is a picture of tomatoes from my garden - they are so much better than anything from the grocery store. And if you don't have enough, a pick-you-own farm is the pace to go! At right are 4 common varieties that will work:
| Top left: Beefsteak | Top right: Lemon Boy, yellow |
| Bottom left: Roma, paste-type | Bottom right: Better Boy |
The
picture at right shows the best variety of tomato to use: Roma; also called
paste tomatoes. They have fewer sides, thicker, meatier walls, and
less water.
And that means thicker sauce in less cooking time!
Also, you don't want mushy, bruised or rotten tomatoes!
Step 2 - Get the jars and lids sterilizing
The dishwasher is fine for the jars.
I get that going while I'm preparing everything else, so it's done by the
time I'm ready to fill the jars. If you don't have a
dishwasher, submerge the jars in a large pot (the canner itself) of
water and bring it to a boil.
Be sure to let it go through the rinse cycle to get rid of any soap!
Get the canner heating up
Fill
the canner about 1/2
full of water and start it heating (with the lid loosely on).
Get a the medium pot of water or tomato juice heating
This is also a good time to get your 1 quart of tomato juice and/or water boiling (you will use it to fill any air spaces in the jars in step 6).
Start the water for the lids
Put the lids into
the small pot of boiling water for at least
several minutes. Note: everything gets
sterilized in the water
bath (step 7)
anyway, so this just helps to ensure
there is no spoilage later!)
Step
3 - Removing the tomato skins
Here's a trick you may not know: put the tomatoes, a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for no more than 1 minute (30 - 45 seconds is usually enough)
then....
Plunge them into a waiting bowl of ice water.
This makes the skins slide
right off of the tomatoes! If you leave the skins in, they become
tough and chewy in the sauce, not very pleasant.
Step
4 - Removing the skins bruises and tough parts
The skins should practically slide off the tomatoes. then you can cut the tomatoes in quarters and remove the tough part around the stem and any bruised or soft parts.
Step 5 - Fill the jars with the whole or cut tomatoes
Fill them to within 1/4 inch of the top
with the tomatoes.
Be sure the contact surfaces (top of the jar and underside of the ring) are clean to get a good seal!
Step 6 - Add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and liquid
After
you fill each jar with tomatoes, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. This
helps to reduce the odds of spoilage and to retain color and flavor. Then fill
to 1/2 inch of the top with either boiling water or boiling tomato juice.
Step 7 - Free any trapped air bubbles
Using
a flat plastic or wood utensil (like a plastic spoon, up side down) free trapped
air bubbles by gently sliding it up and down around the inside edge.
Step 8 - Put the lids and rings on
Just
screw them on snugly, not too tight. If the is any tomato on the surface
of the lip of the jar, wipe it off first with a clean dry cloth or paper towel.
Step 9 - Put the jars in the pressure canner
Put them
in the pressure canner and put the lid on. Do not put the weight on
yet.
Step 11 - Vent the Canner
Let
the canner vent steam for 10 minutes. Keep
the water
boiling. Note in the photo at right that the weight is not on, although
the lid is crewed down tight Steam will vent out of the weight hole.
Step 12 - Seal and process
After
venting, put
the
weight on (or close the valve) and let it heat up and build pressure to the
pressure for your type of pressure canner in the tables below. With a dial-type
(the type I have, I use 11 lbs as it is quicker. Process the jars in a press bath for
10 or 15 minutes as appropriate from the table below. Remember to adjust the
time if you are at a different altitude other than sea level! Notice in the
photo at left, the weight is on and the safety valve (bottom right has popped up
and the pressure is just starting to build. the photo at right shows the
pressure up to 11 lbs. When it reaches 11 lbs, turn the heat down and
adjust it up or down, as needed, to maintain 11 lbs.
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Recommended process time for water-packed Whole or Halved Tomatoes in a dial-gauge pressure canner |
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Canner Gauge Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes above Sea Level of |
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Jar Size |
Process Time |
0 - 2,000 ft |
2,001 - 4,000 ft |
4,001 - 6,000 ft |
6,001 - 8,000 ft |
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Pints or Quarts |
15 min |
6 lb |
7 lb |
8 lb |
9 lb |
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10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
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| Recommended process time for water-packed Whole or Halved Tomatoes in a weighted-gauge pressure canner. | |||
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Canner Gauge Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes |
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Jar Size |
Process Time |
0 - 1,000 ft |
Above 1,000 ft |
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Pints
or |
15 min |
5 lb |
10 lb |
The
photo at left shows the pressure canner operating and processing the
tomatoes (although the gauge shows it is not up to full pressure, 11 lbs
yet).
Step 10 - Done
Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or
bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can
then remove the rings if you like. Don't worry if you see the
tomatoes floating above a layer of liquid; that's normal. tomatoes
have a lot of water in them and it separates a bit. If I had
packed the tomatoes in the jars a bit tighter or squeezed for of the
free liquid out of them before packing them in the jars, the water layer
would be reduced.
Now, just store them in a cool, dark place and use them as needed over the next year!
Frequently Asked Questions about Canning Tomatoes
Why do my tomatoes separate from the liquid?
Scenario 1 - liquid at the top and solids at the bottom
Home canned tomatoes, tomato juice, and tomato sauces with liquid at the top and solids at the bottom is quite normal. It only reflects that the juice was made prior to heating. For example, the tomatoes were chopped, run through the steamer, sieve, or food mill while still raw and prior to heating.
As soon as they are chopped or crushed, enzymes start to break down the pectin that helps to hold tomato cells together. The enzyme that causes separation is activated by exposure to air and inactivated by heat. In commercial production, tomatoes are flash heated nearly to boiling in a matter of seconds, using equipment not available to consumers. Because the pectin holding tomato cells together is not exposed to air when cold, it remains intact, and a thick bodied, homogeneous juice is produced.
The solution is to leave tomatoes whole or in large chunks (do not chop). Heat before chopping or juicing to minimize the separation.
The best way to do that at home is to heat quartered tomatoes quickly to boiling temperatures WHILE crushing. You can also heat the blanched, peeled whole tomatoes in the microwave, then crush them!
Make sure the mixture boils constantly and vigorously while you add the remaining tomatoes. Simmer 5 minutes after all tomatoes are added, before juicing. If you are not concerned about juice separating, simply slice or quarter tomatoes into a large saucepan. Crush, heat and simmer for 5 minutes before juicing.
Scenario 2 - liquid at the bottom and solids at the top
What about the reverse: liquid at the bottom and solids at the top? That indicates too much preheating (more than 5 minutes). Pectin breaks down when it is overheated; then separation results. If separation occurs, just shake the jar before opening.
Other Equipment:
From left to right:
- Jar lifting tongs
to pick up hot jars - Lid lifter
- to remove lids from the pot
of boiling water (sterilizing ) - Lid
- disposable - you may only
use them once - Ring
- holds the lids on the jar until after
the jars cool - then you don't need them - Canning jar funnel
- to fill the jars
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Home Canning KitsThis is 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, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. It's
much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll never need anything else except jars & lids! To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!For more information
and current pricing: |
Summary - Cost of Making Homemade Spaghetti Sauce - makes 7 pint jars, 16 oz each* |
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| Item | Quantity | Cost in 2005 | Source | Subtotal |
| Tomatoes | 20 - 25 lbs (to make about 16 cups of prepared tomato) | free from the garden, or $0.50 cents at a PYO | Garden | $0.00 |
| Canning jars (pint size, wide mouth), includes lids and rings | 7 jars | $8.00/dozen | Wal-Mart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
$4.50 |
| seasoning | See step 7 | $2.00? | Wal-Mart, Publix, Kroger |
$2.00 |
| Spaghetti mix | 1 packet | $3.00 per package | Wal-Mart, BigLots, Publix, Kroger |
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| Total | $6.50 total or about $0.95 per jar INCLUDING the jars - which you can reuse! |
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* - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles, and reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars! Many products are sold in jars that will take the lids and rings for canning. For example, Classico Spaghetti sauce is in quart sized jars that work with Ball and Kerr lids and rings. Note that the Classico's manufacturer does not recommend reuse of their jars: see what they have to say on this page: |
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Answers to Common Questions
What did I do wrong if my jars spoil?
Tomatoes are a low acid fruit - adding lemon juice helps, processing at least 35 minutes in the water bath canner, or better still, using a pressure canner almost eliminates spoilage. If you don't have a pressure canner, you must boost the acid level of the sauce, by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of sauce.
The question everyone asks: Can you add meat?
With a water bath canner, absolutely, definitely NOT. The temperatures do not get high enough to kill the type of bacteria that can attack meat and make you sick, or even kill you. However, with a pressure canner, it IS possible. I have complete directions here! I don't do it, simply because... have you ever tasted canned meat? Yes, it is called SPAM. My recommendation is to can without the meat and add fresh browned ground meat or meatballs when you use the sauce!
I have read in other homemade spaghetti sauce recipes that you need to cook the mixture for at least 4-5 hours. Is this necessary?
I suppose if you really want to make sure that absolutely no vitamins
survive, you could cook it that long! :) The only reason people used to tomato
sauce that long was the Roma paste-type tomatoes, with thicker walls, meatier
with fewer seeds and less water didn't exist, so they had to cook it for hours
to get rid of water and thicken it. And of course, modern sauce mixes that
contain a little bit of corn starch as a thickener, also help shorten the time.
And for those who want to go strictly organic and au naturale, my method of
squeezing out the excess water and seeds eliminates much of the excess juice
(which you can save as tomato juice for drinking) and lets you start with a
thicker tomato pulp which means much shorter cooking time!
