The easiest and most delicious way to can tomatoes.

I have noticed that there are a lot of canning recipes online that take a long time and require multiple steps to complete the process. I have always used a simple, safe way to can my tomatoes each year. I start with 16oz Mason jars, it takes about 8 plumb tomatoes to fill each jar. I wash the tomatoes and wash the mason jars. Take the jar lids and boil them for about 5 minutes to sterilize them. Then cut the top off the tomatoes and halve or quarter them. I have a Ninja food processor, fill it about 3/4 and then I hit the pulse button 2 or 3 times and the tomatoes are ready to be poured into the jar. I am trying to dice the tomatoes not make a sauce, this will make very finely diced tomatoes, almost a sauce as you can see by looking at the picture above. You then fill the jars up to the neck, leave some space for air between the top of the tomatoes and the lid. Wipe off any tomato that is on the outside of the jar and close the lid, you don’t want the lid too tight because it needs to seal properly. Find a pot that is tall enough for your jars to fit in when it is covered and put about 3 inches of water in it. Put your jars in the pot, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer the jars for about 50 minutes then remove them from the water. Let the jars cool for about an hour and check to make sure the safety seals have pulled in and you cannot press them in. Once you are sure the seals have pulled in and the jars are cooled you are ready to store your tomatoes for the winter.