Best method/process for managing harvest for canning
 

Hello,

I just purchased an All-American 21 1/2 Qt. Pressure Cooker/Canner, which I intend to employ in the service of canning my tomato harvest this year. I just started getting a trickle of a few ripe tomatoes this past week -- Black Prince, Paul R., Early Girl, etc. -- and I'm already feeling the need to give away an awful lot to keep from wasting the bounty. Well, I'm a greedy gardener too, and so I'm preparing for canning my goods for the winter/spring. I mainly want to can either whole tomatoes or raw sauce that I can fashion to adapt to whatever tomato hot recipe requirements I might have down the road.

Now, I don't really have an incredible number of plants, so I've come to realize that I'm not going to have this point when I have 100's of pounds of tomato matter to process to jars. Rather, I expect I'll get an steady increase in ripe fruit through the next month. I'd like to capture the excess for canning, but I don't want to have to run many many process cycles in the pressure cooker. How do folks usually handle this? Do you make sauce, then store in fridge, then can once enough is accumulated (like after a couple months)? Do you just let the tomatoes get over-ripe on the counter until enough accumulate? Worse, do you refrigerate to build up stock? Are there other ideas? I just hate the idea of having to either a) run 24 cycles of 1 quart canning batches (meaning tons of wasted time and energy) or b) wait until early fall and have only enough tomatoes left to maybe can 3 quarts or the like. There's got to be a better alternative. Please help!

Thanks,
Naysen

Hi Naysen,

I've prepped the tomatoes and frozen them in before making sauce, while waiting for "enough". Works better with meatier tomatoes. I wouldn't recommend keeping stuff on the counter or in the fridge overlong. Overripe tomatoes don't make for great sauce in my experience....but you might prefer that kind of texture in your sauce.

I've done large scale canning, as well as batches that do 3 to 6 quart/litre jars at a time. Not sure if that will work for your preferences, working in smallish batches. But at the end of the season, I tried to put up at least 100+ quarts/litres in the past. Not sure yet what my goal will be for this year, as I don't anticipate quite the need for as large a quantity....but who knows?

I'm sure there will be other opinions and suggestions to answer your questions. And I'm curious too, to read what others think on this.

Zana

I store in in the freezer in ziplock bags until I have enough to make getting the press messy worthwhile. Wash and remove any "nasty" spots before freezing. When you go to start pressing/processing, give the bags and hour or two on the counter defrosting before starting. Doesn't have a noticeable effect on flavor.

I've got five large ziplocks full now. Two or three more and I'm ready to make sauce.

I wait until I have 25 or so pounds of fruit - this year we are canning without blanching and peeling (we don't mind peels in our canned tomatoes) - plus the added advantage - I can save seeds (since the skin with the labeling in sharpie isn't removed). Makes it much easier - I just cut the tomatoes into quarters or smaller, save seeds - fill a large bowl - then we fill our quart jars, add salt and lemon juice, and into the boiling water bath.

Second thing we are doing - really easy - making roasted tomato sauce and canning that. Put some olive oil, garlic, onions, sweet peppers, the tomatoes, salt and pepper into roasting pans - takes a few hours at 325, stir occasionally. Add basil near the end when it is approaching the desired thickness - fill the pint jars, add lemon juice, process.

Right now we have 12 quarts of tomatoes and 14 pints of sauce - expect to can another 7 quarts tomorrow.

This year, I made Tomato juice, Tomato soup, Tomato paste, and Pasta sauce, by liquifying the entire tomato, skin, flesh, juice, seeds, and all in a Vitamix type blender. Taste was awesome on all.

Overripe tomatoes lose acidity, and you shouldn't refrigerate for more than a few days. Freezing is a much better option for temporary storage. You can freeze them whole, and when defrosted the skins slip off easily, and excess water runs off as well.

To me, preparing the tomato sauce is the hard job - canning is easy, especially with the All American. I'll can as little as four pints in my 30 quart AA canner, less than that I'll turn into dinner. Yesterday I picked my first four pounds of tomatoes, so I made a delicious cream of tomato soup with ground lamb. Wow! My next picking will be larger and will go into a cooked salsa for canning.

TomNJ

Wow, all kinds of great responses. Thank you all!

The idea of freezing had only occurred to me as an alternative to canning rather than a means of facilitating canning. This is the process as I see it (with a few questions embedded):
(1) As tomatoes arrive from the garden and reach optimal ripeness [is optimal for freezing then canning the same as it would be for just slicing or general use?], store them in the freezer in air tight zip-lock bags. [Couple questions here; (1) do you double bag them? What bags are most effective? (2) is freezer-burn a concern -- and doesn't the flesh of the tomato rupture in typical freezing making the tomato consistency change? (3) how long can one store the tomatoes in zip-lock bags in a typical (less than average) freezer before removal for canning?]
(2) Once around 25lb or so of mater-matter has accumulated, remove the zip-lock bags and allow the tomatoes to thaw on kitchen counter for ~2-3 hours. [(1) Must the tomatoes thaw entirely, center through, or is partial thaw sufficient? (2) Should the tomatoes actually be heated up before processing, as is normally their condition after blanching in preparation?]
(3) Once the tomatoes have sufficiently thawed, remove them from their bags and remove their skins (if desired). [(1) At this point, would it be best to quarter the tomatoes or keep them whole?
(4) Stuff the whole, peeled tomatoes into canning jars and process. [(1) Anyone have a few sub-steps for optimum processing of whole or quartered tomatoes in quart sized jars using the All-American pressure canner scheme?
(5) All processor to cool some, then remove jars and store in a cool location (no hotter than 70F) for no more than a year. [Is 70F really the upper bound for temperature. My house is more typically bound at 80F on the high-end, and at times can reach even higher?]

Alright, the above process is how I see this working, but I do have some questions mainly related to options. I don't see the benefit for myself in canning completed sauce as I tend to make my sauces different depending on what I'm cooking, so it seems that whole (or quartered) tomato canning would offer me the best flexibility. I wasn't planning on adding herbs like fresh basil/oregano, though I have plenty of both, for the same reason. That said, perhaps there is an advantage to canning with herbs in the way of infusing flavors.

Thanks again for all the insight and getting me started on this new branch hobby.
-naysen

Oh, I should also like to ask Tom if he's posted his recipe for cream of tomato soup with ground lamb on the site anywhere. Lamb and tomatoes are two vittles for which I've a deep crush.

[QUOTE=z_willus_d;226364]I don't see the benefit for myself in canning completed sauce as I tend to make my sauces different depending on what I'm cooking, so it seems that whole (or quartered) tomato canning would offer me the best flexibility. [/QUOTE]

I never can 'completed' sauce. I make mostly Tomato Conserva aka Conserva di Pomodori both as a consentrate and a consentrate w/chunks... no added 'perfumes'.
I'm not a fan of watery canned tomatoes in any form. It's gotta be bold and to the point for me!

My course of action in preserving early on in the season when the pickings are slim is to make the conserva and, because the batch may only amount to a jar or 2, I top the conserva with olive oil in 'freezer' jars and keep those jars in the freezer until use. No re-handling.

:D

>Martin

Keith - I have a vitamix also but some of the sauce I have made using whole toms seems bitter. :?!?: I was wondering if it was the seeds? Did you ever notice this? Thanks, LInda

You've identified some of the major issues. Basically, the process you adopt will have to reflect your equipment, food desires, and garden size.

I use a tomato press to separate seeds and skin from the juice. So my input is fresh tomatoes and partially thawed tomatoes. If they are still too frozen the press doesn't run well. Since the press turns them into juice (suitable for a variety of uses), I'm not much worried over the loss of texture from freezing. When I want "chunk" or sliced tomatoes, I cut those fresh and pour in juice to cover. Everything then gets canned in a water bath (not pressure cooker) using about a tablespoon of lemon juice per jar.

Most years I also make marinara sauce (I like having some ready to go for those evenings in January when I get home from work and the family is clamoring and the there is no time to fool around) and ketchup.

If my garden was larger so I could get 30-40 lbs of fresh tomatoes at a time ready to can, then maybe I'd go batch by batch, but for me it isn't worth getting out the equipment and setting aside a few hours unless I have that amount. Freezing allows me to stockpile several weeks worth of "extras" (what we don't eat or sauce on a daily basis) until I have time and sufficient quantity to make an event out of it.

Once frozen, they lose texture. The flavor is good, but don't expect them to look nice. Basically they are mushy and give off water. Also the skins peel off easy. Freeze a few and you'll see.

I use the cheapest zip lock bags I can find and only single bag. They're just whole tomatoes for the most part and not prone to stressing the bag. I add 2, 3, or a dozen to the bag at a time when they hit ripeness and I see there's too many on the counter to eat.

[QUOTE=Sun City Linda;226369]Keith - I have a vitamix also but some of the sauce I have made using whole toms seems bitter. :?!?: I was wondering if it was the seeds? Did you ever notice this? Thanks, LInda[/QUOTE]

Linda, I have not, but I usually add a bit of sugar, in the form of Cane Syrup or Molasses, seeing as how I am from Louisiana and this is Cane Country, it only seems right. I also cook it, let it set over night in the fridge and cook it down again the following day, which seems to mellow it out a bit. The old time cooks also swear by cooking it in a black iron pot as opposed to SS as well. I just got my first black iron pot, and have yet to use it, but will when the fall tomatoes come.

Keith

[QUOTE=z_willus_d;226366]Oh, I should also like to ask Tom if he's posted his recipe for cream of tomato soup with ground lamb on the site anywhere. Lamb and tomatoes are two vittles for which I've a deep crush.[/QUOTE]

I prefer to run my tomatoes through a food strainer, like this one: [URL]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001I7FP54/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0000BYDR1&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1WYST2MH5WC48NHQJS6S[/URL], and then cook down before canning.

Here is the recipe for my tomato/lamb soup:

- 5 lbs ripe tomatoes
- 2 medium onions
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 hot pepper (optional)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 1 TBS chopped fresh basil
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 lb ground lamb

-Skin and chop tomatoes (or run through tomato strainer) and bring to boil
-Finely chop onions, garlic, and pepper, and add to tomatoes
-Add salt, sugar, cumin, and basil and boil down to sauce thickness
-Puree 3/4 of mixture in blender and return to pot
-Temper the heavy cream and slowly add while stirring
-Brown the ground lamb in a pan and add to soup

This recipe is [U]not[/U] for canning due to the cream and lamb.

TomNJ

Martin, I'm feeling a synergy with your method. I didn't have a name for it, Tomato Conserva (aka Conserva di Pomodor), but I realize that most of my favorite home sauces amount to a reduction to something very similar to what you're describing. I found a basic recipe for this paste on the web here:
[url]http://www.thedinnerfiles.com/2009/09/04/tomato-conserva/[/url]

Is this similar to your process? How do you augment this recipe to include chunks? Just add them in fresh and uncooked (w/ seeds?) after completing the conserva? Do you think starting with frozen tomatoes will affect the result?

I was leaning towards pressing the Buy button on the Victorio, but after reviewing the above site, it looked like a colander might be simpler. Also, I need $ to buy those deep pans. I'm guessing one could also start with the Victorio press step and then bake down, but that might not result in the same stuff given the skins and seeds wouldn't be involved in the initial stove stop cooking, and who knows what goodness those impart (or bad?)

Tom, thanks for sharing your recipe. Didn't you call that salsa reduction or cream of salsa in a different thread?
--naysen

[QUOTE=z_willus_d;226388]
Tom, thanks for sharing your recipe. Didn't you call that salsa reduction or cream of salsa in a different thread? [/QUOTE]

I call it either. Without the cream and lamb it makes a nice cooked salsa.

I always run my tomatoes through the Victorio mill first. You can control the chunk size and how many seeds get through (if any) by selecting the right screen. Great little machine - best purchase I've made for canning, along with the 30 qt AA canner. Once washed and quartered, I can run 40 lbs of tomatoes through the mill in about 20 minutes.

TomNJ