I preserve a lot of tomatoes. You might call it my mission in life. In a few short weeks my kitchen will be covered from counter to counter with all different kinds of tomatoes, from cherries to big fat oxheart pastes, from saladettes to juicy beefsteak heirlooms. I like to can all different types of tomatoes, separating their different flavors and textures into jewel colored jars. But when you can varieties other than dense paste tomatoes, they create a lot of extra juice, which can lead to thin tomato sauce. To solve this problem I start separate the tomato water from the pulp and can the delicious tomato broth.
Canned Tomato Broth Recipe
Yields about 6 pints
Ingredients:
• 15 pounds tomatoes
• salt (optional)
Directions:
Skin the tomatoes by dipping them in boiling water and slipping off their skins. Heat pint canning jars in simmering water, along with lids, in preparation for canning. Quarter the pealed tomatoes, then slowly simmer them until they released their juices, about 20 minutes. Using a jelly bag strainer, separate the broth from the pulp without pressing. Use the pulp for canning, salsa or freezing.
Bring tomato broth back to a simmer. Remove jars from hot water. Add one tablespoon of bottled lemon juice to each hot pint jar before filling them with broth. You can add 1/2 tsp salt to each pint jar, although I prefer to leave the broth plain to avoid over salting my future dishes. Wipe the jar rims well, then topped with hot rings and lids. Add jars back to the boiling water. Process tomato broth pints at a full rolling boil for 35 minutes. Cool on a rack, then store in a cool dark place, removing rings and leaving lids. Reprocess any jars who’s lids do not seal.
Tammy Kimbler grows, forages, cans, dries, pickles, ferments, brews, ages, cooks and eats from her Minneapolis, Minn., backyard. At One Tomato, Two Tomato, she aims to show how easy, accessible, healthful and delicious gaining control of your personal food system can be. Connect with Tammy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, and read all of her MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.
All MOTHER EARTH NEWS community bloggers have agreed to follow our Blogging Guidelines, and they are responsible for the accuracy of their posts. To learn more about the author of this post, click on their byline link at the top of the page.
