A huge thanks for Sine86 on Flicker for letting me borrow this picture she took.
I know I’ve been hitting this canning thing hard, But. (And that’s a big BUTT.) Tis the season. You gotta make hay while the sun shines. Right?
You all know I’m a lazy squirrel. I store up food for my family, but after a while, I get tired. Esspecially in the fall, after school starts and the garden is still loaded even though you’ve been canning for weeks. Whew! Something’s gotta give. Well, Rhoda’s, here’s a break brought to you by, Grams, my mother.
Preheat your oven to 225 degrees. Wash and core your tomatoes. If you prefer naked tomatoes, make them naked. Here’s how. Then stuff your clean jars with whole tomatoes. Leaving some head space at the top of your jar to ensure a good seal.
If your tomatoes aren’t covered by their own juice, top off with a little water. (Remember to leave that head space we talked about above.) Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart and 1/2 teaspoon for a pint. Set the seal on top long with the ring (not screwed down–just setting loosly). Place the jar in preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Take the hot jars out, tighten the rings and let cool on the counter. The end.
Grams likes to have her tomatoes bubble a little (say 10 minutes). Not boil, just bubble, before removing from the oven. She also said you can do two racks at a time, but will have to increase your baking time. Again, just watch for the bubbles. After ten bubbly minutes…take them out and tighten.
This recipe will work for fruit too. Instead of using salt, you can just cover in water or make a simple syrup (sugar and water) to cover. If you can fruit this way you need to bake it a little longer, say 90 minutes. Remember bubbles are your friends.
Since you now have all sorts of time on your hands, give yourself a pedicure. Any lazy canner deserves a pedicure.
Happy Canning!
Sis
PS ~ Grams wanted me to tell you…’This recipe is not USDA approved. I guess ‘they’ come up with ‘canning guidelines’. Who knew? This is just how we do it. Dad gum! You ought to stay away from blogs with warning labels.
Tags: canning fruit, canning tomatoes, canning vegtables, easy canning, oven canning, the lazy canner
What the USDA came up with canning guidelines, is there nothing that the government doesn’t stick there thumb in?
[...] to remember why we chose to live on this old farmstead and have a garden. That garden gave us bountiful produce for our bodies and a ton of free therapy for me. But my favorite gift from the garden is the [...]
I am in the process of trying this method, will let you know how it turns out. I also added a little fresh Garlic & Fresh Basil so when I open a jar I will be ready to make great gravy…
I have a question…I have never canned anything.. What is head room and how close is that to the top of the jar..?…do I stir in the salt or leave it on top….Thanks so much for your time..
Hey man, thanks for stopping. I fill mine to the bottom of the neck and let the salt sit right there. You can stir it in if you want to. Happy canning! Sis
When I can tomatoes in a pressure cooker some of the liquid from the jars evaporates, is this okay? Will it compromise the tomatoes?
Thanks
Hey Tina–Some evaporation is expected when canning. It’s my understading when you can anything you need to cover ‘it’ in liquid and leave a head space (or just leave a head space on jams and such). As long as it seals and stays sealed–you should be fine. Thanks for visiting. Sis
Hey ya’ll! Thank you for posting this recipe (or receipt) as my g-g- used to say!!! I used this method when my kids were little, been freezing it since, sigg-o says they don’t taste the same, I agree. We have lost lots to power outages, hence back to canning!! Will save that for the pepper jelly!! We have had neck & back surgery in the last 10 months, so even tho our hippie brains know it is the way to go…USDA also ddates sour cream and yogurt! who knew?! hugs jan