Removing core & skin from tomatoes
Ready to quarter for canning
All done - Murray is writing the date on themAn earlier blog covered my lesson in traditional German Kuchen cooking, courtesy of my friend Frieda here in North Dakota. Well this week I got to experience another local tradition, that of canning your summer fruit & vegetables. Although they call it canning, they actually use glass jars. Avalyn patiently taught me each step and we ended up canning 28 pint jars of tomatoes. A few days earlier she had bought a box of tomatoes direct from the farmer – they were firm & red – just perfect for canning. She had put all her glass jars through the dishwasher and they had been drying for a few days, and were ready to be filled. To each jar I added ½ teaspoon of canning salt. Then she put a large saucepan on the stove, and as soon as the water came to the boil, we added enough tomatoes to cover the bottom of the pot. After about 3 – 4 mins, the skins start to split, and using a colander spoon, we removed them from the boiling water and placed them in a sink of cool water. Immediately the tomato skins peel off.
With the aid of a little sharp knife, we cored them, removed all skin. They were then ready to be quartered and put into the waiting jars. Once all the jars were full, a rubber rimmed tin lid (the rubber softened first in warm water) was placed on each jar, then a metal ring was placed over each lid & screwed on the jar. Each jar was then placed in a pressure cooker – usually 8 jars at a time. A few pints of cold water were put into the bottom of the pressure cooker, it was turned on & allowed to reach 5lb pressure for 10 minutes, then turned off until cool. This process was repeated until all jars were ‘cooked’. Once out of the cooker, the lids were checked again to make sure they were tightly screwed as some come loose in the process, then they are left to be cooled & dated. Now Avalyn has 28 jars of tomatoes to use for casseroles, pesto, salsa, soup and any recipe that calls for a can of chopped tomatoes. Three out of our 4 groups of friends in this area do canning and commonly include green beans, corn, peas, carrots, peaches, apples, pears, cherries, cucumbers (pickles) as well as the tomatoes.
With the aid of a little sharp knife, we cored them, removed all skin. They were then ready to be quartered and put into the waiting jars. Once all the jars were full, a rubber rimmed tin lid (the rubber softened first in warm water) was placed on each jar, then a metal ring was placed over each lid & screwed on the jar. Each jar was then placed in a pressure cooker – usually 8 jars at a time. A few pints of cold water were put into the bottom of the pressure cooker, it was turned on & allowed to reach 5lb pressure for 10 minutes, then turned off until cool. This process was repeated until all jars were ‘cooked’. Once out of the cooker, the lids were checked again to make sure they were tightly screwed as some come loose in the process, then they are left to be cooled & dated. Now Avalyn has 28 jars of tomatoes to use for casseroles, pesto, salsa, soup and any recipe that calls for a can of chopped tomatoes. Three out of our 4 groups of friends in this area do canning and commonly include green beans, corn, peas, carrots, peaches, apples, pears, cherries, cucumbers (pickles) as well as the tomatoes.
Great job with that canning.I was happy to see your photo, it is being a while.
ReplyDeleteI imagine myself doing that job with mangos.