Every fall something primal comes over
me and I feel the need to can or ‘put up’ produce for the coming winter. This likely goes back to visions of my
paternal grandmother, a country girl from Ontario, who despite having strayed a
long way from the country, nevertheless took it upon herself to can up a storm
every September. She made all kinds of
pickles, but the one fresh vegetable that remains in my memory were her pints
of Tomato Sauce. To be honest, I never
quite figured out how she used the Tomato Sauce. We were as Anglo as you could get: even
Spaghetti sauce was a novelty in our household and in hers, un-heard-of. Perhaps Nana made tomato soup. But she certainly never attempted a gumbo or
anything remotely foreign. Fast forward
to my kitchen last weekend. I was back
in Nana country for a few hours and in my head danced visions of winter curries
and pasta sauces and cioppinos. And all
it took was a little time and some glorious tomatoes from the farm stand down
the road.
Do these look Bruised and Battered?Country Garden is loaded with
sun-ripened tomatoes gloriously arrayed row after row. But around the corner from the flawless
display of tomato perfection, is an almost forlorn area where the seconds
reside in big quart baskets. They’re not
universally red. They have blemishes
that have banished them from their $3.99 a lb flawless sisters. But under their bruises is the same sunny
tomato flavor. And if I need any further
encouragement at all, their price, $5 for about 5 lbs of tomatoes, puts me
right over the edge. Last weekend I
scooped up 3 of these baskets and went off home to can.
Photo Courtesy The New York Times Just the week before, the New York
everything together in preparation for canning. I use Mason Jars for making and keeping Salad Dressing all year round. And
once last year’s tomato recipe has been used, the Mason jar gets washed out and put
away in the pantry for the next year.
Then it’s a quick trip to buy the bands and jar lids, which are not
re-usable, for this year’s crop. I was
surprised to see that after years of being a golden color, the lids are now a
surprising silver, perhaps to match the stainless steel rage in kitchen
equipment.
Out came the giant lobster pot I use
for canning. While you can fire up a pot
full of water and sterilize last year’s jars, I followed the Times recipe
putting them all into the dishwasher and leaving them there until it was time
to fill them. Then it was on to the tomatoes
themselves. I set up a system with a
large pot of boiling water on the stove and beside that a giant ice water
bath. Scoring the
tomatoes on the
bottom, the skin slips off, the bruises often disappear and when they don’t a
paring knife makes quick work of both bruised flesh and the tough core. Prepping the tomatoes for the next step
involves halving the peeled tomato and then releasing the seeds and the jelly
around them. This the fun kind of messy
work—crushing the tomatoes with your hands, ripping off any tough or un-ripened
bits until you have a very soupy tomato puree.
Takes
about 3 hours plus 12 hours for cooling of jars.
Makes 4-5
quarts or 8 to 10 pints.
15
pounds ripe firm red tomatoes (10 to 12, depending on size)
Lemon
juice, bottled lemon juice or citric acid
Salt
(kosher, pickling or fine sea salt only), optional
1
Large Stock Pot for canning
1
rack to elevate jars off bottom of Stock Pot or
2nd
Large Pot for cooking the tomatoes
1
Large metallic bowl for ice bath
1
Large metallic bowl for peeled tomatoes.
5
– 1 Qt. Mason Jars or 10 – 1 Pint Mason Jars
1
Package of lids and liners.
Bring
a large pot of water to a boil. Cut an X in the base of each tomato. Gently
drop tomatoes into water. When they bob to the surface, remove and place in an
ice bath.
2.
Put
a rack in a large stockpot or line pot with a folded kitchen towel, then fill
it with water and bring to a boil. Add quart or pint jars and boil for 10 minutes.
Jars may be left in warm water until ready to fill. Alternatively, sterilize
jars by running them through a dishwasher cycle, keeping them warm in the
machine.
Place
canning rings in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn off
heat and add flat lids to soften their rubber gaskets. Rings and lids may be
left in water until jars are filled.
Peel
and core tomatoes and scoop out gel and seeds. With your hands, tear and crush
tomatoes into a large nonreactive pot.
5.
After adding a few tomatoes, bring them
to a brisk boil, crushing further with a potato masher or the back of a large
spoon. (This will keep tomatoes and juice from separating in the jar.) Continue
to add crushed tomatoes, maintaining a bubbling, brisk boil. When they are all
added, boil for 5 minutes.
6.
Ladle
hot tomatoes into warm jars, leaving a little more than 1/2 inch head space to
accommodate lemon juice. If using citric acid, fill to 1/2 inch head space.
Into every quart jar, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric
acid. For pints, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. If
using salt, add 1 teaspoon to each quart or 1/2 teaspoon to each pint.
7.
Wipe
jar rims clean with a damp towel. Place lids on jars, screw on rings and lower
jars upright into the pot of boiling water. Return to a full boil and process
for 45 minutes for quarts or 35 minutes for pints. If there are both in the
pot, process for the longer time. Transfer jars to a folded towel and cool for
12 hours. Jars will ping as they seal.
8.
Once
cool, test seals by removing rings and lifting jars by their flat lids. If a
seal has formed, lids will stay tight. Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and
used within a week or reprocessed. Jars may be reused, but a new lid and flat
liner must be used each time.
