How I process my tomatoes.

[Durgan]

Usually about 30 tomato plants are grown. I prefer the dark type, both for juice and slicing. In a good year I get around 500 pounds over the season. I always grow four or five Lemon Boy, since they are most prolific in my garden. My absolute favorite tomato is Paul Robeson. It is both dark and prolific.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HYPCT 3 September 2014 Tomato Juice
Thirty pounds of tomatoes were processed into eleven liters of tomato juice.The jars were pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for preservation. The only addition to the pot was one liter of water to facilitate cooking. Annotated pictures depict the process.

 

[Chuck]

Usually about 30 tomato plants are grown. I prefer the dark type, both for juice and slicing. In a good year I get around 500 pounds over the season. I always grow four or five Lemon Boy, since they are most prolific in my garden. My absolute favorite tomato is Paul Robeson. It is both dark and prolific.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HYPCT 3 September 2014 Tomato Juice
Thirty pounds of tomatoes were processed into eleven liters of tomato juice.The jars were pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes for preservation. The only addition to the pot was one liter of water to facilitate cooking. Annotated pictures depict the process.

I average about the same poundage per plant. I am into finding the Holy Grail of tomatoes for my climate so I grow about 1/2 of proven varieties and the rest experiments. I normally have about 130 - 150 plants. I don't pressure can tomatoes instead I add 1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt and 1 teaspoon of concentrated lemon juice per pint in a water bath. I rarely do quarts. I use a food mill. The reason I don't pressure can them is I don't care for the texture of the pressure canned when canning whole. On the juice I do pressure can.

 

[zigs]

Just salted mine down this year.

 

[Durgan]

Just salted mine down this year.

Please give some details about the procedure.

 

[zigs]

Please give some details about the procedure.

Chopped into quarters, cleaned the seeds out to save, and then just covered in salt in a plastic container.

Soak overnight in fresh water, along with my salted dried fish, change the water in the morning, ready to cook by lunchtime

 

[Pat]

I do not grow enough tomatoes at one time to proces them for later. I just want them for salads during the summer. The canning and saving for later is more work than I want to do. I think it would take the fun out of growing the plants for me if I had to do all of the things necessary for canning. If I had a large freezer I would put other types of veggies in the freezer like green beans.

 

[zigs]

I would too if I had a freezer, I used to freeze tomatoes when I did have one, but'i'd remove as many pips as possible as they go bitter in the freezer.

Do the scooping out of the middles over a sieve with a pint mug under it and you end up with a pint of tomato juice too

Pack the remaining flesh into freezer bags, with enough in each for a portion and squeeze the air out before sealing.