How to Jar Tomatoes Without a Pressure Cooker?

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, don’t worry! You can still jar tomatoes using other methods. This article will share how to jar tomatoes without a pressure cooker.

Contents

How To Jar Tomatoes Without A Pressure Cooker

This process will help you in the long term if you want to store tomatoes for later use. Although this process is very laborious it’s all worth it. Let’s look at some of the ingredients and materials needed:

10 pounds of tomatoes
5 teaspoons salt
Large stockpot

Wide mouth pint or quart Mason jars
New wide mouth Mason jar lids and seals or regular lids and seals
Canning funnel

Large deep soup spoon
Towels

Recipe By Using Pot

You do not necessarily need a pressure cooker to can tomatoes. This process is long, and people often do this in batches to make use of jar tomatoes for a long period. Let’s review the process in different stages;

1. Sterilising Canning Jars

The first to do before starting your canning process is to sterilize your canning jar. There are a few ways to do this:

Boil your jars for 10 minutes
Put them in the oven at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes

Use a dishwasher on the sterilize setting
After the jars are sterilized, allow them to cool

2. Prepare The Jars, Lids, And Rings

While the jars are cooling, prepare the lids and rings. The rings do not require any sterilization, but it is a good idea to give them a rinse. For the lids, you have two options:

Option 1: Put the lids in a pot of water and bring them to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and let them sit for 2 minutes.
Option 2: Put the lids in a pot of water and bring them to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and let them sit for 10 minutes.

Whichever option you choose, make sure you allow the lids to cool before moving on to the next step. Now line up your sterilized jars on the counter. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt to the bottom of each of the jars.

3. Washing Tomatoes

The next step is to wash the tomatoes. There are a few ways to do this:

Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Then wash tomatoes twice with hot water and place them in another empty bucket.
Fill a large stockpot with hot water. Soak the tomatoes for 15 minutes, to blanch. This process helps in peeling skin easily. After being soaked for a while you will see the skin starting to separate from the flesh.

After 15 minutes, skin the tomatoes and cut them into quarters to place them in a large pot.
Then as the pot fills up, use a potato masher to mash up the tomatoes. This helps in making canning much easier.

4. Cooking The Tomatoes

After cleaning, peeling, cord, quarter, and smashed, add enough water to the stockpot. Once the pot is full, bring the tomatoes to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and let the tomatoes simmer for 30 minutes.

5. Canning Tomatoes

At this point, the tomatoes are ready to be canned. Fill each sterilized jar with tomatoes, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. If you have any tomato juice leftover from cooking, fill up the jars with that as well. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth and place the lids on top. Screw on the rings until they are tight, but not too tight. Be careful of the lid, if not closed properly then the tomatoes won’t last longer than 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

How To Jar Tomatoes Without A Pressure Cooker

Recipe By Using Oven

Canning tomatoes is a great way to preserve this summer fruit to enjoy year-round. Roasting them can intensify the taste. To start this process you’d need 2 pounds of tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

Gather the ingredients
Preheat oven. Cut washed, stemmed, and dried tomatoes in half vertically

Take a baking tray, and place the tomatoes upside down in a single layer on a baking sheet
Place it in the oven and heat it until tomatoes are wrinkled and starting to show black spots, but not burnt. Roast tomatoes at 450 F for about 30 minutes.
Remove the tomatoes try from the oven and let them cool down. Rub the skin and you will easily be able to peel off the skin.

Now, squish out most of the seed gel and chop the tomatoes to bits.
Now, boil your jars for 10 minutes to make them sterilized.
Also, put the lids in a pot of water and bring them to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and let them sit for 10 minutes.

Storing In Jar

Now, boil the water in a big pot while the lid is placed at the top.
Pack all the tomatoes in multiple jars and add lemon juice or vinegar, sprinkling it in as you pack in tomatoes.
Press down on tomatoes with the back of a spoon to release any air bubbles. Leave some space between tomatoes and the jar lid.

Place the lid on the top of the jar carefully as it’s hot and then use the band to seal the lid.
Now, place these filled jars in the boiling water bath and keep it like that for 85 minimum with the lid placed on top of the pot.
After this carefully remove the jar from the water bath and set it on a clean towel. A popping sound will come showing that a vacuum is created within the jar.

Leave it to cool down and check if it’s sealed tight. If the jar is not sealed right then it will need to be stored in the refrigerator and used within a week. If the seal is right, then store it in a dry, dark, cool place for up to one year.
Also, for variation, you can sprinkle the tomatoes with 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried, crushed herbs like rosemary, thyme, etc before roasting.
To minimize acidic flavor add one tablespoon of sugar to each jar.

This is it for roasted canned tomatoes, both of these methods bring delicious results use what fits you right.

How To Jar Tomatoes Without A Pressure Cooker Taking out

Ways To Use Canned Tomatoes

Canned tomatoes are a great way to store your tomatoes and use them later on in the year. You can use them in recipes like pasta sauce, chili, soup, or just eat them as they are. There is a lot you can do with it, think outside the box. Sloppy joes, braising meat, cooking pasta or grains, simmering meatballs, and pizza sauce were all great ideas!

How Long Will Canned Tomatoes Last?

Canned tomatoes will last for about 12 to 18 months in a cool, dark place. If you want to extend the shelf life, you can store them in the refrigerator or freezer. Just make sure they are covered in an airtight container.

Benefits Of Tomatoes Jar

Let’s look at the benefits of tomatoes:

Tomatoes are a fruit that is high in nutritional value, has anti-inflammatory properties, and reportedly combats cancer.

Tomatoes are a good source of vitamins A and C, potassium, and folic acid. They also contain lycopene, an antioxidant that has been linked with a reduced risk of cancer.
Inflammation is a condition in which the body’s immune system is activated in response to infection or injury. Chronic inflammation is linked with several diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin A, which is important for maintaining healthy skin and vision. Vitamin C is essential for the immune system and wound healing. Potassium is important for blood pressure control, and folic acid is essential for pregnant women and their developing babies.

The anti-inflammatory properties of tomatoes may help to protect against some of the harmful effects of chronic inflammation.
Also, canning tomatoes make your cooking experience easier and more tasteful.

Tips To Jar Tomatoes Without A Pressure Cooker

Here are some things that you need to be very careful of while canning or storing tomatoes;

Make sure the jars are sterilized and that the lids are clean
Allow the sealed jars of tomatoes to cool before storing.
Do not move the lids after sealing, it impacts the pressures build inside.

Check the seal of the jars before using them.
Wash your hands thoroughly while handling tomatoes
Discard any tomatoes that are bruised, moldy, or have other blemishes.