🍅🫙 Canned Whole Tomatoes for Winter ❄️🍅

Fill your water-bath canner about half full with water and heat to a simmer ($180^\circ\text{F}$). Wash your jars, lids, and bands in warm, soapy water. Place the clean jars upright into the warm water bath to keep them hot until ready to fill. Keep lids in a bowl of warm (not boiling) water to soften the sealing gasket.

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Cut a shallow “X” on the bottom of each tomato. Working in batches of 6–8 tomatoes, plunge them into the boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds until the skins begin to split. Immediately transfer them with a slotted spoon into an ice-water bath.

Once cool enough to handle, remove the tomatoes from the ice water. Slip off the skins using your fingers or a paring knife—they should slide off effortlessly. Trim out the hard stem core at the top. Leave the tomatoes whole.

Remove hot jars from the canner one by one. Add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice (or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid) and 1 teaspoon of canning salt directly into the bottom of each hot quart jar before filling with tomatoes.

Pack peeled whole tomatoes firmly into the prepared hot jars, pressing lightly so juice squeezes out to fill spaces, leaving 1/2-inch of headspace at the top. Ladle clean boiling water or fresh hot tomato juice over the tomatoes if additional liquid is needed, maintaining the 1/2-inch headspace.

Run a non-metallic bubble remover tool down the inside edges of each jar to release trapped air pockets. Adjust headspace if necessary. Wipe jar rims with a clean, damp cloth to remove any pulp or sticky residue. Center a warm lid on top and screw the band down until fingertip tight.

Lower filled jars carefully into the canner rack. Ensure jars are submerged under at least 1–2 inches of water. Cover with the lid and bring water to a vigorous rolling boil. Once boiling begins, set a timer for 85 minutes (adjust for altitude: add 5 min for 1,001–3,000 ft; 10 min for 3,001–6,000 ft). Maintain a continuous, strong boil throughout processing.

When timer expires, turn off heat, remove canner lid, and let jars sit in the water for 5 minutes. Use a jar lifter to transfer jars upright onto a towel-lined countertop, leaving 1 inch between jars. Allow to cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours. Listen for the satisfying “ping” sound indicating a successful vacuum seal! Press down on jar centers; sealed lids will remain flat and firm without flexing.