Preserved Crushed Tomatoes Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes, and cook 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer tomatoes to the ice-water bath to stop the cooking; let cool completely in ice-water bath. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels, and let drain.
• Slit tomatoes lengthwise, leaving halves attached along 1 edge. Open each tomato like a book, and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until edges have shriveled slightly, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, stir together garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon thyme, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle one side of each tomato with about 1 teaspoon of the seasoning mixture; fold over other side.
• Layer tomatoes in a sterilized, dry 1-quart jar. Pour in enough oil to cover tomatoes. Place a round of waxed paper on surface to keep them submerged. Refrigerate at least 24 hours; let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• Wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins split. Then dip in cold water and slip off skins and remove cores. (I use a strawberry core removal tool). Trim off any bruised or discolored portions and quarter. Heat one-sixth of the quarters quickly in a large pot, crushing them with a wooden mallet or spoon as they are added to the pot. This will exude juice. Continue heating the tomatoes, stirring to prevent burning. Once the tomatoes are boiling, gradually add remaining quartered tomatoes, stirring constantly. These remaining tomatoes do not need to be crushed. They will soften with heating and stirring. Continue until all tomatoes are added. Then boil gently 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice per quart. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the jars, if desired. Fill jars immediately with hot tomatoes, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Clean rims, adjust lids and process: Pints: 0 - 1,000 ft 35 min; 1,001-3,000 40 min; 3,000-6,000 45 min Add ten minutes to each processing time if using quart jars.

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Ladle hot tomatoes into warm jars, leaving a little more than 1/2 inch head space to accommodate lemon juice. If using citric acid, fill to 1/2 inch head space. Into every quart jar, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid. For pints, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. If using salt, add 1 teaspoon to each quart or 1/2 teaspoon to each pint.
• 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.
• 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.