Roasted Roma Tomatoes For The Winter Pantry - Water Bath Canning - Quarantine 2020

Canning tomatoes has become a seasonal obsession of mine. In the last 2 years, however, I avoided the canning process in favor of trying new freezing and processing methods. I will pressure-can some next if I can find anymore half-bushels at the market for a reasonable price. For me, one half-bushel will garner 9 pints of a thick roasted tomato sauce. 

This year I found a different methodology that seemed much more streamlined and far less stressful. I follow a YouTube Channel called "The Kneady Homesteader," and Heather showed her process for pressure canning thick tomato sauce. I was very enamored by the overnight slow-cooking in her 8 quart Instant Pot. I have one and was fascinated by the prospect. I find I do not need a big roaster because I do not make that much sauce. Therefore having the 8 quart IP for a half bushel cook down was a revelation to me. 

I began by oven roasting Roma tomatoes at 425* for about 30 minutes, I did 3 trays per session so I only needed to do two rounds. I put my jars in the dishwasher to sterilize and heat. 

For me, 23 Romas stemmed and cut in half filled a baking tray. No salt, no oil, and I use parchment paper on the button of the tray. Once you see the skin lift, remove the tray carefully as there is liquid in the tray and let the tomatoes cool slightly. You should be able to pick the skins off fairly easily. I saved the skins and dehydrated them and made tomato skin powder the next day. I will use it in any meal where the tomatoes headline. 

Once the tomatoes have been peeled, add them to the IP and turn the IP to slow-cook. Make sure to have the vent open. Now proceed with the remainder of the tomatoes. Some people will add the tomato water that remains on the tray to the slow cooking pot but I did not. The purpose of slow-cooking is to thicken the sauce by removing water. 

I let the tomatoes slow cook overnight. I then water-bath canned them early the morning. I did not have enough room for 9 pints in my canner, which was very upsetting, so I was forced to use some ingenuity. I had purchased a four-burner pot several years ago. It was touted by Food In Jars author, Marissa, as a wonderful water-bath canner for one pint or two half-pints when she was writing about small-batch canning. It is actually an asparagus pot. It worked like a dream.

At any rate, I dragged it out of storage and processed the last pint jar at the same time as all the others in this little pot beauty. Thing is as it turns out, one jar from the big canner did not seal. I was then able to reprocess that particular pint jar the next day without having to get out my big canner or using the jar before it was necessary to freeze it or cook with it. The purpose of this session was to have shelf-stable tomato sauce, not to use my freezer again. 

All in all, this was a much better pace for canning. I just can't manage endless hours on my feet in the kitchen. Like dinner, every aspect has to come together at the same time. Hot food, hot jars, hot canner. 

This post is more about the method, frankly so I can look it up next year and repeat the process. I find I refer to my blog for reminders like a journal. I am glad you are here to share the journey.

Recipe: 

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_sauce.html

More on the tomato skin dehydrating and jar re-processing in the near future.

Let me know if you have any questions!

~ Cookin Mum ~