If you want to know how to can Italian-style tomatoes with Italian Herbs you found the right blog. This was originally published in 2019.
FALL the time of golden leaves, shorter cooler days, sweaters, and canning Italian tomatoes season. I surprised you with the last one, didn’t I? I know almost no one cans anything anymore. No time, don’t know how, and don’t know what supplies I need. I get it; all are valid reasons not to can. However, I want to know what is in my canned food, and the best way to do that is to grow the food and then can it myself!
When my vegetable garden has peaked and is starting to wind down, my tomato plants have loads of ripe, juicy tomatoes. That is the perfect time to capture all their juicy, sweet deliciousness into sauced, stewed, roasted, dehydrated, and whole canned tomatoes.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, Fred and I love tomatoes. They are the heart and soul of our canned produce. Over the winter, I will transform them into pizza and pasta sauce, soups, stews, chili... The list is long and oh sooo YUM!!!
If you want to start canning Italian style tomatoes or other vegetables, there are some basic supplies you will need. The good news is you invest in them now and can reuse them over and over for years to come.
What supplies do I need for Canning Tomatoes?
Canning essentials:
General Method for Canning
Step by Step Method:
- Make sure canning jars are clean and not chipped. I run the jars and rings through the sanitize cycle on my dishwasher.
- Use new lids, don’t reuse lids.
- Fill the jars with the vegetables that you are canning.
- Put lid and ring on jar and hand tighten.
- Process high acid vegetables in a water bath canner.
- Process low acid vegetables, (peas, corn, beans) in a pressure canner. Use a reliable resource like the Ball Blue Book to help you determine the temperature and pressure and times for safe canning of the vegetables.
- This book or a similar book that gives times and pressures for safe canning is a must for hm canning. Make sure you understand which vegetables need to be pressure canned and follow the guidelines for proper times and pressures.
For water bath canning
- put the jars in the canner kettle and fill the canner until there is 1 inch of water above the jars.
- Bring the water to a boil and boil for 20 minutes.
- Remove the jars, let the jars cool.
- Check to make sure the jars sealed by pressing down in th center of the lid. There should be no give to the lid. If the lids center pops up and down it isn’t sealed.
- Label the tops of the jar with the month and year.
- The canned tomatoes are good to use for up to two years.
Italian Style Canned Tomatoes:
- First; blanch, peel, and dice the tomatoes.
Dice up the fresh herbs (oregano, basil, parsley. - Mix all the ingredients and fill the canning jars to about 1 inch from the top.
- Cover with the lids and tighten with the rings.
- Process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.
- Tomatoes are a high acid food. When canned alone or with herbs, they don’t need to be pressure canned. However, adding the peppers, onions, garlic and herbs changes the acidity and necessitates pressure canning.
Canned Whole Tomatoes
Canned whole tomatoes. Instead of chopping the tomatoes up and adding the onions peppers and herbs, pack the whole tomatoes in a quart jar. Add a teaspoon of salt and process with the whole tomatoes in a water bath. For extra yum add some fresh herbs to the jar with the whole tomatoes.
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How to Blanch and Peel Tomatoes
Equipment
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- large kettle
- slotted spoon
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Ripe Tomatoes
Instructions
- Fill large kettle 1/2 full of water and bring to a boil.
- Carefully add the washed fresh tomatoes to the boiling water using a slotted spoon to avoid splashing.
- In about 20 seconds you will see the skin on the tomatoes start to split. Once the skin on the tomato splits, remove the tomato from the boiling water with a slotted spoon.
- Put the tomato in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- If a tomatoe's skin didn't split within 2 minutes after placing it in the boiling water, remove it anyway and put it in the cold water.
- The skins will slip off easily.
How to Can Italian Style Tomatoes
Equipment
- This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you
- Pressure Cooker
- Ball Blue Book of Preserving
Instructions
- Blanch and peel the tomatoes.
- Dice the herbs.
- Mix all the ingredients together.
- Fill a clean canning jar to 1 inch from the top of the jar.
- Add 1 tsp salt to each quart jar or 1/2 tsp salt to each pint jar.
- Put the lids and rings on the jars and tighten the rings well.
- Water Bath Can for 20 minutes. (see video for how to water bath can.)
Notes
Nutrition
FAQ
How many tomatoes do I need to make a quart of canned tomatoes?
You will need three pounds of tomatoes to fill a one quart canning jar. A canner holds seven quarts so you will need 21 pounds of tomatoes to fill the seven jars.
What is the easiest way to can tomatoes
The easiest way to can tomatoes is the method I use here:
- Blanch and peel the tomatoes.
- Put the peeled tomatoes in a quart canning jar and close the jar with a lid and ring.
- Seal the jar by water bathing the jar.
Do I need to cook the tomatoes before I can them?
No it isn’t necessary to cook the tomatoes.
What is the best way to can whole tomatoes?
The simple canning method described here is the best way to can tomaotes.
How long do I need to boil the tomatoes to can them?
Fresh whole tomatoes are added to the jar and once the jar is filled it is boiled for 10 minutes with the lid on it. The boiling seals the jar.
Do I need to peel tomatoes for making sauce?
You want to peel the tomatoes before canning them whole. However if you are making tomato sauce you do not need to peel them
What is basic tomato sauce made of
Tomato basic sauce is make from nothing more than fresh tomatoes. It’s optional but you can add sea salt if you want to enhance the flavor.
How long do I put tomatoes in a hot water bath?
To blanch tomatoes: bring the water to a boil. Add the tomatoes and let water come back to boil. Time the tomatoes for 90 seconds, remove the tomatoes and put in cold water to stop the cooking.
To seal the jars, water bath them in boiling water for 20 minutes.
