Water Bath Canning Method
Step-by-step the easy way to can your garden tomatoes.
To can your tomatoes, you will need a large canning pot. I have a good quality enamel pot that works well on my induction stove. Click here to see what I use.
Core tomatoes
Slice an X in the bottom of each tomato, this makes it easy to peel the skin off.
Prep your station, have your bowl of tomatoes ready, a bowl for peeling, an ice bath and a pot of boiling water ready.
Blanche tomato for 50-60 seconds in the boiling water or until the skin begins to peel.
Dunk in a bath of ice water.
Peel the skin off.
Keep the water you boiled the tomatoes in. You'll need that to can your tomatoes.
If the tomatoes are too large to fit in the opening of the jar, slice them in half.
Assemble your prepared, sterilized jars. To each pint jar add a tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. If you're using quart jars, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt.
Pack your tomatoes tightly in the jars. Add the water you reserved from boiling tomatoes, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe your jar rim with a damp cloth, add lids and rings fingertip tight.
Add your filled jar to your water bath canner. Remember, cold food, cold jars, cold canner, warm food, warm jars, warm canner. Drop the rack into the water and process in a boiling water bath for 40 minutes.
Once time is up, remove from canner, place on counter and let them sit undisturbed for 24 hours.