Preserved Crushed Tomatoes

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut an X in the base of each tomato. Gently drop tomatoes into water. When they bob to the surface, remove and place in an ice bath.

2. Step 2

   Put a rack in a large stockpot or line pot with a folded kitchen towel, then fill it with water and bring to a boil. Add quart or pint jars and boil for 10 minutes. Jars may be left in warm water until ready to fill. Alternatively, sterilize jars by running them through a dishwasher cycle, keeping them warm in the machine.

3. Step 3

   Place canning rings in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and add flat lids to soften their rubber gaskets. Rings and lids may be left in water until jars are filled.

4. Step 4

   Peel and core tomatoes and scoop out gel and seeds. With your hands, tear and crush tomatoes into a large nonreactive pot. After adding a few tomatoes, bring them to a brisk boil, crushing further with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon. (This will keep tomatoes and juice from separating in the jar.) Continue to add crushed tomatoes, maintaining a bubbling, brisk boil. When they are all added, boil for 5 minutes.

5. Step 5

   Ladle hot tomatoes into warm jars, leaving a little more than ½ inch head space to accommodate lemon juice. If using citric acid, fill to ½ inch head space. Into every quart jar, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or ½ teaspoon citric acid. For pints, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon citric acid. If using salt, add 1 teaspoon to each quart or ½ teaspoon to each pint.

6. Step 6

   Wipe jar rims clean with a damp towel. Place lids on jars, screw on rings and lower jars upright into the pot of boiling water. Return to a full boil and process for 45 minutes for quarts or 35 minutes for pints. If there are both in the pot, process for the longer time. Transfer jars to a folded towel and cool for 12 hours. Jars will ping as they seal.

7. Step 7

   Once cool, test seals by removing rings and lifting jars by their flat lids. If a seal has formed, lids will stay tight. Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within a week or reprocessed. Rings and jars may be reused, but a new flat lid must be used each time.