A simple recipe for making canned crushed heirloom tomatoes at home. This recipe details a 10 pound quantity of tomatoes, but you can adjust the recipe for however many tomatoes you have.
- 10 pounds heirloom tomatoes* (throw in a few extra if you have lots of compromised fruit you’ll need to cut away), if using a different quantity, see note below
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (or 2 tablespoons per quart jar) (for pH balance, you’ll want to use the prepared kind)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
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To sterilize jars, immerse 4 quart jars in a large, water-filled pot. Set over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. As soon as water boils, turn off heat and set aside.
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Meanwhile, heat another large pot with boiling water – you’ll use this to blanche to heirlooms. Fill the sink or make a large bowl of icy water, and prepare a large cutting board. Set out a medium bowl to collect the tomato seeds and water.
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Dip a group of 5 – 6 tomatoes into boiling water for 1 minute, and then use a slotted spoon to move blanched tomatoes into the ice water. Core and peel skin from tomatoes. Cut away and discard any dark spots or sections of mushy flesh. Cut each tomato in half and scoop any juices into the medium bowl. Rough chop tomatoes, and set in a large, non-reactive pot or, temporarily, in a large bowl (if you don’t have a second large pot). Continue until all the tomatoes have been peeled and chopped.
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Set the large pot of chopped tomatoes over high heat. Bring mixture to a boil quickly, then turn heat to medium so the mixture bubbles vigorously. Use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes a bit and stir often. Add sea salt. Cook mixture for 10 minutes.
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Bring large pot of jars back to a boil. Add lids and rims, and remove after one minute. Tip water out of the jars, and set out to fill.
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Measure 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice into each of the sterilized quart jars. Ladle hot tomatoes into jars, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Gently tap bottom of jar to displace bubbles. Wipe rims clean with a cloth dipped in hot water. Top with lids and seal with rims.
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Set jars into same pot used to sterilize. You’ll probably need to remove some water – leave enough so jars are covered by 2-inches. Bring water to a vigorous boil, cover with the lid, and process in rapidly boiling water for 45 minutes.
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Set processed jars on a heat proof surface. Tap bottom gently to remove bubbles. Lids should invert and seal overnight. If one of your jars doesn’t seal, set it in the fridge and use within a week.
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Note: If you're planning to make tomato water for cocktails, pour reserved tomato water into jars, seal, and set in the fridge. Within a day, you’ll want to strain the tomato water.
*If using a different amount of tomatoes, you can just add 2 tablespoons prepared lemon juice to the bottom of each quart jar or 1 tablespoon to the bottom of each pint jar, then fill with hot crushed tomatoes and process as detailed above.
Weigh your tomatoes first, so you can estimate the number of jars you’ll need. 10 pounds of tomatoes yields about 4 quarts canned crushed tomatoes.