22 quarts of maters

[hoodat]

Plus a dozen or so of green beans and some pints of yellow beans. That should take me through the Winter since I live alone. Tomatos are probably the most useful thing you can put up. they go into almost everything. The tomatos in my garden are still producing but they're looking tired and the fruits are beginning to get smaller. A couple look like they're about ready to take out.
Not bad for a suburban back your if I do say so myself.

 

[beavis]

Nice job!

I totally agree, they are the best to put up, and my plants are looking....exhausted.

Really thinking about yanking some of them and putting in some fresh tomato transplants for this fall, which here in ramona, stays well into the nineties sometimes until late October.

Nothing like a full pantry...............

 

[bills]

Perhaps this should be asked in another area of the forum such as the harvest, but since we are on the topic..

I have always found my home canned whole tomato's to be poor for sauces, (such as speghetti sauce) as there is too much clear liquid in the jar. Any ideas on how to get the thick liquid, such as the store bought canned tomatos? Do you stew them first, letting the liquid boil off before canning?
The last few years I have frozen my tomatos whole, on a cookie sheet, then dump them into freezer bags. I simply add as many as needed to sauces, etc., as they are easy to seperate. Problem is I have a fairly small freezer, and they take up a lot of space..I would prefer canning them..

 

[lesa]

Nice work, Hoodat!! Mine are still green on the vines, but I have high hopes! Bill, I cook down my tomatoes for a long while. Obviously, the longer you cook the thicker it gets... I usually leave mine quite watery-but no clear liquid. Then, when I want to make sauce, I cook again for 15-20 minutes and it works out great... Are you cooking yours down at all? I just reread your post and see that you were speaking of whole tomatoes- I haven't tried that. Sorry....

 

[hoodat]

I seldom pack whole tomatos but when I do I add the minimum amount of liquid necessary to cover them. Any excess liquid after you have them all in jars can be canned seperatly and labeled tomato stock or you can add onions, celery and other veggies and use it for the start of vegetable soup.
Cmmercially canned tomatos often use lechithin, a soy bean derivative, to thicken the juice. You can get the same result naturally by taking a tip from the Cajuns and adding a single okra to each jar if you pressure can them. If you water bath you have to steam the okra first to cook it.

 

[digitS']

You got okra up there on Vancouver Island, Bills?

I don't have one insightful thing to say about canning tomatoes. (or, okra . . . even if I like it in soup.) But, Good Work, Hoodat!

Here's a question, tho'.

For those with a short winter season, have you thought about taking a cutting from your favorite tomato plant and rooting it for next year's garden?

Steve
editing to try to make subjects and verbs agree

 

[hoodat]

Steve I've tried that and it extends the season by a month or two if you take the cutting and root it as soon as your plants set fruit. If you try to carry it through the Winter though the plant grows very slowly and seldom sets fruit. Even when it does it doesn't ripen. It might work in South Florida.

 

[schmije]

Perhaps this should be asked in another area of the forum such as the harvest, but since we are on the topic..

I have always found my home canned whole tomato's to be poor for sauces, (such as speghetti sauce) as there is too much clear liquid in the jar. Any ideas on how to get the thick liquid, such as the store bought canned tomatos? Do you stew them first, letting the liquid boil off before canning?
The last few years I have frozen my tomatos whole, on a cookie sheet, then dump them into freezer bags. I simply add as many as needed to sauces, etc., as they are easy to seperate. Problem is I have a fairly small freezer, and they take up a lot of space..I would prefer canning them..

We make the spaghetti sauce or salsa BEFORE we can it. Our recipe has us cook the sauce for a half hour or so. That takes out some of the water, but I like it a little thicker, so I throw in a can of tomato paste. Then all you have to do is open the can and use the sauce or salsa. Just make sure you label the jars, so you know what's inside.

 

[Ariel301]

That's a lot of tomatoes! If it's too much for you, you can always send some my way.
I wanted to put up lots of tomatoes and tomato products this year, since we eat them almost daily, but no such luck, with my tomato plants not cooperating. You should be eating good for months, though!

 

[ducks4you]

I have always found my home canned whole tomato's to be poor for sauces, (such as spaghetti sauce) as there is too much clear liquid in the jar. Any ideas on how to get the thick liquid, such as the store bought canned tomatos? Do you stew them first, letting the liquid boil off before canning?
The last few years I have frozen my tomatos whole, on a cookie sheet, then dump them into freezer bags. I simply add as many as needed to sauces, etc., as they are easy to seperate. Problem is I have a fairly small freezer, and they take up a lot of space..I would prefer canning them..

I mix MY canned whole tomatoes with tomato paste and sometimes with another can of commercial sauce. You still get a lot of juice by canning.
The juice helps keep roasts from drying out, so I like to add a pint to them, too.
schmije , !
IF I had the time, I'd make the salsa first, but I find it's easier, more fun, and lots more aromatic to take canned tomatoes and make specialty items when it's cold outside.