So Many Tomatoes

photo courtesy Angela Shenk

Summer is breezing to a close.  The Autumnal Equinox will arrive on the 22nd of September.  For those of you who garden, it has been kind of a quirky year.  However, for the lucky ones, September has brought on bowls and bowls of tomatoes.  What can you do with all of those tomatoes besides eat as many as you can and give them away?  Putting tomatoes by is a grand solution.  Just think, in the snowy winter when you could really use an extra bump of vitamin C or if you are craving a tomato that tastes like something other than cardboard, a jar of home canned tomatoes will do quite nicely.

Just gazing at those piles of ripe tomatoes can make you feel contented and prepared.  There is something about those glistening Ball jars of newly processed tomatoes that warms the soul, gives you a sense of resourcefulness and reunites us with our past.  Of course, you don’t have to use tomatoes from your own garden.  You can use a windfall you received from a gardening neighbor or some you picked up from the market.

Where do you start?  Canning is not very difficult.  You want to be sure to follow the directions and ensure that your equipment is clean and sterilized.  There are many glorious recipes available online and in gorgeous canning cookbooks.  Organic Soul has a great primer for canning.  You can click here for the link.  Even though everyone loves Aunt Ida’s recipe for canned Chow Chow (the recipe I linked to is a good one), I recommend that you use a modern or recent canning cookbook as the USDA has updated their canning guidelines.  I also recommend using stainless steel canning equipment.  Even though the plastic funnels are made to resist high heat, I prefer the stainless steel funnels.  I can be sure it won’t leach chemicals when coming into contact with extremely hot food or water.  Also I have heard that there may be a small amount BPA (Bisphenol-A) in the lids of Ball and Kerr canning jars.  If you want to be completely BPA free (although the amount of BPA in the lid of a canning jar is much less that in the canned tomatoes you buy at the store), you can purchase Weck canning jars or seal with wax (wax sealing is rather tricky).  To make things even easier as you get started, you can just buy canning kit.  I like the one by Norpro.

As for canning recipe resources, Ball has a beautiful, updated recipe book.  There is also Canning for a New Generation, a beautiful book filled with new, modern recipes.  You can also check out Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Make Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Chutneys and More, and Better Homes and Gardens Can It!

Although it seems old-fashioned, canning has many rewards.  You enjoy the beautiful colors and smells that surround you as you put food by for the winter.  You know exactly what is going into your food.  You get to enjoy your efforts months later as the gales blow and the snow flies.  Surrounding yourself with brightly colored jars of tastiness and nutrition is another way to bring beauty into your life, to care for your soul.  If you have thought about canning before, I say go ahead and give it a go this season.  Have a great time canning!

Be well,

Bill