Puttin' Up Tomatoes

This past weekend was one of epic tomato proportions. Led by the expertise of Chris's parents, we helped put up 500 pounds of tomatoes in two days. We'll have enough jarred tomatoes to last a year. Whew!

First off, we had to acquire tomatoes, because as prolific as our tomatoes were this year, we didn't have that many. After calling around to a few farms, Mellen found a place in Bordentown, NJ that had a good crop of plum tomatoes. Later that day they arrived, SUV filled to the brim with tomatoes, ten crates worth.

For this tomato operation we borrowed a fancy Italian motorized grinder that actually skins and seeds the little fruits and extrudes the bright pink pulpy goodness. It's truly an amazing machine. Chris's parents, and plenty of those before them, used to process tomatoes with a hand crank. Yikes.

For any canning process there are certain preparations that need to happen. The first is gathering supplies, jars, lids, rings, stock pots, ladles, and plenty of towels. The work space should be clean and clear of non-essential items (here, wine to drink during the process is considered essential). We brought the crates into the kitchen, and set up a big table for cutting and grinding.

Emily and Chris unloaded the tomatoes into the kitchen sink filled with water and a little vinegar to
clean the tomatoes. They pulled out each one, gave it a once over and removed "any spots that you wouldn't eat". Overall, the tomatoes were beautifully ripe, with few spots needing removal. (Anything that was removed went to the chickens!). After they were inspected, they were brought to the cutting table where I quartered them and put them in line to be processed. They all go through the top of the grinder, down to an auger that turns and removes the skin and seeds.

We did this for hours; collecting sauce in stock pots and removing the skin and seeds. As we neared time to jar, various pots were put on the stove to bring to a boil and reduce a bit. Any foaminess that bubbles up is scraped off. The lions share of the tomatoes remained plain so that later on it can be used in stews and chilis, or turned into a thicker sauce with other ingredients. Done this way, we have lots of options. (That's not even half of the jars shown below.)

I was always nervous to can things because I was convinced that I wouldn't do it properly, the jars wouldn't seal correctly, and disaster would ensue. However, after doing it with people who know what they're doing, I realized there is nothing to be afraid of! Don't get me wrong, canning is a science, but it's not rocket science.

The sauce is brought to a boil, which ensures that any bad bacteria is killed off. The jars and rings get dunked in boiling water to disinfect and to bring them up to temperature so that the hot sauce doesn't crack the glass. The lids are put in hot, but not boiling, water because it would destroy the rubber vacuum seal. We put a few leaves of basil in the bottom of each jar for a bit of flavor. The sauce is poured in with the help of  a funnel and the rim is wiped clean. It's important that nothing disrupts the lids seal. Using a magnetic lid lifter, a lid and ring are put on top, and twisted tightly. Done! Some people put the hot jars back into boiling water to process further, but we skipped that step because we boiled the rings before. After that, they slowly cool, and you hear the chorus of little "pops" as the lids seal down. If the lid can be pressed down then it goes in the fridge right away.


I think after the eighth hour on Sunday night we were getting bit delirious. Chris fashioned the hot jar glove into a puppet... A weekend of hard work, but definitely worth it! Now I'm ready to can everything. No, really. I just bought a book called, Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry...