Pizza sauce, tomato soup, spaghetti sauce… All these delicious recipes start with one thing in common. Tomato puree! In this post we are going to talk about my favorite way to puree my tomatoes to prep for my canning season. So grab a cup of coffee and tag along as we journey through this process together!
What to do with all these tomatoes?!
If I had to guess, I would say your summer is probably just as busy as mine, and you don’t have all the time in the world to can all summer long. Plus, nobody wants to stand in a steaming hot kitchen canning their tomatoes in the scorching heat of summer! Since my tomatoes this year also produced for a couple months, I definitely did not have time to can every week when I would pick buckets and buckets of tomatoes. This year, I took a tip my mom taught me, and it has been a lifesaver this season. Freeze them! Every time I picked tomatoes, whatever I wasn’t going to use in the next couple days, I would wash up, quarter them (skins and all), toss them in a freezer bag or empty ice cream pail and stockpiled them in the freezer. Or, another thing I like to do is roast my tomatoes and then toss them in the freezer bags with all their yummy juices. Then, once my tomatoes stopped producing, I was able to do all my tomato canning in one go. I simply take all the frozen tomatoes out of the freezer, let them thaw, and continued on my process.
How to puree tomatoes
When you are ready to process all your tomatoes, take all the tomatoes out of the freezer and let them thaw completely.
Once the tomatoes are thawed completely, run them through a tomato press. I love my Weston Tomato Press. This will allow all the juicy goodness to get squished out the tomatoes and separating out the skins and seeds. If you are using fresh tomatoes, I would recommend boiling your tomatoes for a little bit to help them to soften. I like to run my tomatoes through the press twice because I find there is still a fair amount of good stuff in the seeds and skins.
After you have all of your tomatoes pureed through your tomato press, you will be left with some tomato juice. Bring that juice to a simmer and allow it to reduce to your desired thickness. As it simmers, the excess water will evaporate off the tomatoes and leave you with a thicker puree. I like to let mine reduce by about half because I prefer thicker soups and sauces from my tomatoes.
From here, you are left with some lovely tomato puree. You can now use this puree to make tomato soup, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, or any of your other favorite recipes! You also can choose to can your tomato puree as just simple puree as well to later use in any way.
Canning Tomato Puree
Tomato puree is a product that can be water-bath canned. Be sure to see the elevation chart below to find your recommended time. My altitude is in the 1,001-3,000 ft category, so I add 5 minutes to my canning time.
Prep
Keep your tomato puree at a low simmer. Fill your water bath canner partway with water and bring it to a boil. I like to add a splash of vinegar to my canner to help prevent hard water buildup on my jars.
In a separate kettle, also bring enough water to a boil to submerge your jars.
While your canner is heating, wash your jars, rings, and lids in hot soapy water. I like to leave my jars in the hot soapy water right up until I am ready to fill them. As I am ready to fill a jar, I will rinse the jar well, place it in the separate boiling water with a ring and lid. This will sanitize and ensure that your jar is hot before pouring your hot puree in.
Filling Jars
Once you are ready to fill your jars, remove the jar from the boiling water. Add 1 TBSP (pint jar) bottled lemon juice to your hot jar. Using a canning funnel, fill your jars with your hot tomato puree leaving 1/2″ headspace. Swirl a bubble popper to remove any air bubbles in your jars. Wipe your rims clean with a damp cloth and carefully center your lid on your jar, ensuring the rubber seal is touching all the way around. Place your ring on your jar only finger tight so the air can release as it is canning.
Canning
Once your jar is filled, immediately place it on your canning rack. Once your canner is full, carefully lower the rack into the water. If you do not have enough jars to fill your canner, I like to put a couple of empty jars in there to help hold everything in place. You will want your jars to be fully submerged in the water. I like to have about 1″ of water above the jars. Once your canner is at a rolling boil, you will start your timer. You will process pint jars for 35 minutes at 1,000 feet altitude. Please note your altitude and adjust your time as needed!
After Processing is Complete
Find a location to set your jars where they will be out of the way and undisturbed. Once you have processed your jars for the required time, lift the canning rack out of the water. Carefully remove each jar using a jar lifter and place on the towel, being mindful to not tilt your jar. Gently cover all the jars with a light towel and let the jars sit untouched. As the jars cool, you will likely hear some “popping” sounds as the jars seal, that is good! After 12-24 hours, check the seals on your jars by gently pressing on the center of your lids, if they flex up and down, it means your jar did not seal. You can put that jar in the fridge and use within a week. Remove the rings from all your sealed jars, this allows you to know whether your seal is still good when you go to use your sauce. If you leave the rings on, your jar could re-seal itself leaving you unaware if your seal failed. Label and date your jars and store them in a cool, dark place. I like to keep my canned goods in our basement storage room. Be sure to use your canned goods within 12-18 months.
Making and Canning Tomato Puree Steps:
- Thaw frozen tomatoes or boil fresh tomatoes for a few minutes until soft.
- Run tomatoes through a tomato press.
- Simmer the juice until it has reduced to your desired consistency.
- Fill your water bath canner with water and start heating to a boil. You can add a splash of vinegar to prevent hard water buildup on your jars.
- Wash in hot soapy water, rinse well, and sanitize jars, lids, and rings in boiling water.
- While your jar is still hot, add 1 TBSP of bottled lemon juice to your jar.
- Using a funnel, ladle the hot tomato puree into the hot jar, leaving 1/2″ headspace.
- Swirl a bubble popper to remove any air bubbles. Wipe rim with damp rag and center a lid and ring, finger tight, onto the jar.
- Place jar on water bath canner rack. Repeat until canner is full.
- Lower the canning rack and jars into the water. Ensure the jars are completely covered with at least 1″ of water.
- Bring canner to a rolling boil. Once a rolling boil is reached, process for 35 minutes at 1,000 ft elevation or less. Be sure to check your elevation to add time if needed.
- Once processing is complete, carefully raise the rack out of the water. Using a jar lifter, remove each jar and gently place on a towel.
- Cover all jars with a lightweight towel and allow to sit untouched for 12-24 hours.
- After 12-24 hours, check the seals on the jars by pressing on the center of the lid. If the lid flexes up and down, it did not seal properly. Store in the fridge and use within a week.
- Remove rings from jars, label, and store them in a cool dark place. Use within 12-18 months.
I can’t wait to hear from you! Reach out if you have any thoughts, questions or comments!