Can you can??

I have the greatest in-laws in the world. Period. And for so many reasons...way too many to list here, but one of those reasons is that my mother-in-law has taken the time to show my husband and I (several times) how to can. In the fall, he gets a craving for homemade tomato soup. I love vegetable soup with the tomato-ey base (plus, I hear fresh tomato juice makes for a great Bloody Mary). So every August for the past three years running we get together, buy a few boxes of tomatoes from a local grower, and spend a day or two canning quart after quart of the juicy red stuff! This post serves two purposes, One: it was a fun event to photograph and Two: Maybe if I document the process, I'll remember how to do it next year!

First, start by selecting your tomatoes. In our case, it was 6 boxes...

Wash as many jars as humanly possible. You'll have to sterilize them and the lids...but that's later...

That's my M-I-L coring and cutting the tomatoes before we cook them down a bit...

That's my F-I-L...manning the blender to puree the juice before...

Putting it all through a food mill (here, Emma pretends to help).

Here's my dear husband pouring the juice into the sterilized jars (and adding a teaspoon of salt to each quart). He was also in charge of boiling the lids and rings. Remember, botulism toxin in the brow: good, botulism toxin in the stomach...not so much!

A large canner holds 7 quart jars. Place the jars in the basket and bring to 5 pounds for 5 minutes. For me, this has always been the scary part. I'm always halfway across the room for fear that the lid will blow off the top and splatter hot tomato juice all over me and my kitchen. However, my family assures me that this won't happen if all safety precautions are followed (Note: the wording on the pressure gauge)...

After the pressure has backed off remove the jars, tighten the lids and listen for the little "click" that means each seal has properly taken place! Such a satisfying sound!



Now, repeat the process until all the boxes are empty!

Six boxes took about six hours and made about 60 quarts of juice. Of course, if you just want diced tomatoes...you can save yourself a step or two! If this sounds like fun to you, please feel free to stop by any time next Saturday 'cause we're doing six more boxes!