Putting Up Tomatoes

As the summer comes to an end it's time to pick and put up your garden tomatoes. This is one of my favorite home preserving projects because you can enjoy your garden tomatoes all winter long. Last year I used them twice in a tomato soup recipe I found in Ina Garten's latest book, Back to Basics. Highly recommend giving it a try, but your tomato sauce is also a GREAT base for pasta sauce and I'm looking forward to making that all winter with the dried herbs from the garden as well.

Putting up tomatoes takes a bit of time, so I recommend you make a day of it and give yourself time to enjoy it. And there are so many different recipes and approaches to putting up tomatoes so go with your favorite or one that was passed down to you, but if you need a recipe here is what I have followed for the past couple of years and been happy with the results. (This uses a fair amount of tomatoes, so adjust quantities as necessary.)

25 lbs. plum tomatoes, cored and quartered

2 tsps. salt

1/2 cup bottled lemon juice

In an 8 - 10qt. stainless steel pan over medium heat, bring the tomatoes to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. remove the plan from the heat.

Press the tomatoes through a food mill or fine sieve. Discard the seeds and skins (unless you like to keep some in - this is a preference thing). Return the pulp to the pan. Stir in the salt.

Over medium heat, cook the pulp, stirring frequently, until it reduces by about half, or to the desired consistency. this may take 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the liquid content of the tomatoes. Stir frequently to prevent sticking or scorching. Remove the plan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Ladle the sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. using a plastic knife, remove any trapped air bubbles. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth. (At this point we dropped a fresh basil leaf in the jar - just for a little flavor). Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings. Process pint jars in a 212F (100C) water bath for 35 minutes, quart jars for 40 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Blue Ribbon Preserves, by Linda J. Amendt