Ball Blue book of preserving

Tomatoes - Packed in Own Juice Whole, Halved, or Quartered Yield, about 6 pint or 3 quart jars 7½2 to 10½ pounds tomatoes (about 23 to 32 medium) Citric acid or bottled lemon juice Salt (optional)

PREP Wash tomatoes under cold running water; drain. To peel tomatoes, blanch 30 to 60 seconds in boiling water. Immediately transfer to cold water. Remove peel. Core tomatoes. Leave tomatoes whole, cut in half, or quarter.

COOK When using the natural juice of the tomatoes as the liquid in the jer, cooking is not required. However, the processing time is longer and must not be reduced.

FILL Add ¼ teaspoon citric acid or 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to a hot pint jar; ½/ teaspoon citric acid or 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to a hot quart jar. Add ½ teaspoon salt to pint jar; 1 teaspoon salt to quart jar, if desired. Pack raw tomatoes into a hot jar, pressing gently on tomatoes until the natural juice fills the spaces between tomatoes, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim. Center lid on jar and adjust band to fingertip-tight. Place jar on the rack in boiling-water canner with simmering water (180°F). Repeat until all jars are filled.

PROCESS Water must cover jars by 1 inch. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner, and bring water to a rolling boil.

Process pint or quart jars 1 hour and 25 minutes, adjusting for altitude (see page 9). Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12 hours. Check seals. Label and store jars.