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Learning how to can tomatoes provides the foundation to any cook’s well-stocked pantry.  Doing so is not only easy, it also takes advantage of the fact so many of us already grow tomatoes in our own gardens.  In today’s episode I walk you through the basics of canning tomatoes.  I also include updates on my own canning  and gardening efforts as well as some format changes you can expect from the podcast and newsletter going forward.

Listen to today’s episode and you will learn —

• How to make barbeque sauce from ketchup.
• A trick for making great kosher dill pickles.

• Why I chose to process corn as the last item prepared in a 12-hour day’s worth of canning efforts that included kosher dill pickles, pears, and grape jam.  In the picture below I have just finished heating up the pulp porttion of concord grapes and am now filtering out the seeds from the juice.
• Why you can’t trust some of the videos and blog postings you see on the internet regarding home canning.

• My botulism experiment with improperly processed corn.  In the picture below the middle jar of corn was improperly processed in only a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  Note the color difference between the larger jars which were properly processed in a pressure canner.  These pictures were taken day of canning.

A step-by-step of how to can tomatoes.

You can click here for a really nice 4-page PDF from the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Service covering these steps:

1. Equipment
2. Tomato selection
3. How to easily peel tomatoes.
4. Recommended methods for processing.
5. Need for adding acid and why I prefer lemon jouce as the acid I add to my tomatoes.

You can go here for Marisa McClennan’s recipe for Home Canned Marinara Sauce.

In today’s show I also respond to comments posted on iTunes regarding the Canning Season podcast as well as answering quetsions raised in a phone message left by a listener including the following —

• What is the shelf life for canned goods?
• Do you have to eat the whole contents of a jar of food once you open it?

In closing the show I announced that Amazon is now one of my affiliates. In addition to this graphic link right here, you can also go to my resources page where you can see the tools and equipment personally recommended by me for making the most of your home canning and food preservation efforts.

This means you can easily support the Canning Season podcast by clikcing on the Amazon link here at this site anytime you need to buy canning supplies – or anything – from Amazon.  I earn a small commission any time you use these links to buy things at Amazon or any of my affiliate partners when you do so for which I am most grateful.

Ever want to call and leave a message for me?  Your question or feedback could appear in a future show!  To leave a message you can simply call 763-260-4250 anytime. You can also email me at ideas@canningseason.com or you can fill in the Contact John form here.

Finally, if you’ve not had a chance to do so yet, would you mind taking a moment to click here now to go to iTunes where you can give me a rating & comment.

Thanks for listening and all your support!