Canning Tomatoes Gran's Way

My grandmother's pressure cooker was a dangerous piece of household equipment; and I was dully warned to stay clear. It seems I've carried that warning deep into my adult life because it's only been a few years since I dared to venture into Pressure Cooking. My fears were unfounded as modern pressure cookers (those manufactured after 1995) are perfectly safe. They have built-in bells and whistles that make it impossible for them to blow up. The following is a play by play account of how my Grandmother, I called her Gran, canned her tomatoes with some modern appliances thrown into the mix. We're starting with an easy and fairly standard Fresh Tomato Canning process and will get to the more unique recipes in other Lenses when we talk about what to do with the Canned Tomatoes like make spaghetti sauce.

1. Gran didn't have a dishwasher so she sterilized her lids and jars in a large pot without the lid by filling it 3/4 full and putting the jars and lids into it. She then brought the water to a boil for a few minutes. Of course, you can use your dishwasher which is far more convenient, just be sure your lids and jars are well rinsed so there's no remaining soap. Also, time their sterilization process so when you get to step 9, your jars and lids are hot out of the dishwasher.
2. Grandma picked her tomatoes right out of her garden. If you're buying your tomatoes at the grocery store or from a farmer's market, the Roma tomatoe is a popular canning tomatoe due to its thick walls which make a thick sauce.
3. You want to peel your tomatoes; and here's where one of Gran's top secrets comes into play. She apparently knew something about chemistry that I've never known because she would place her tomatoes in a large pot of boiling water for no more than a minute. Then she would drop them into a bowl full of ice water; and the peels just sort of melted off with minimal effort.

4. Gran always cut her peeled and manicured tomatoes (no bruised places or stems) into quarters. Then she placed them into the sterilized jars filling them to within 1/2 inch of the top. She also always added a little salt, not to preserve but for taste. The 50's was a salty world. If you wish to add salt, only add about 1/2 Tsp. to each pint jar and one Tsp. to a quart. She always used her famous Santa Clause pot holders, Christmas or no Christmas, to handle the jars because they were hot. That's the idea, keep the jars hot through the process as that keeps the bacteria out.
5. Once the jars were full of tomatoes, she added a couple of Tbs. of lemon juice. Lemon juice is a preservative and works on lots of things. Then add boiling water until you cover your tomatoes. Do not fill the jar all the way to the top. Leave about 1/2 inch at the top of the jar.
6. You don't want any air bubbles in your jar so just slide a flat wooden or plastic utensil up and down along the inside edge of your jars before sealing the lids. Metal could damage the glass.
7. Making sure the rim of the jar is clean, place your lids and their rings on the jars. They do not have to be sealed tightly.
8. Place the rack that comes with your pressure canner in it and fill the canner with a couple of inches of water. The rack keeps the jars elevated so the water will circulate. Heat the water so you are not placing hot jars into cold water as that will cause your jars to break.

9. Now place your sealed, hot jars into your Pressure Canner, put the lid on it, seal it and begin heating.
10. Before you start timing your actual Pressure Canning process, you need to vent the steam out of the Canner for 10 minutes, so you leave the petcock open. Once the steam begins to escape in a steady flow, set your timer for 10 minutes. When your timer goes off, close the petcock by using a tool to protect your fingers from getting burned. If your using a Weighted Gauge Pressure Canner, place the gauge over the vent at this time.
11. Now, your ready to Pressure Can. You should be familiar with your Pressure Canner before you start this process. To help you through the actual pressure process, follow these simple steps according to the kind of Pressure Canner you own, a Dial Gauge Pressure Canner or a Weighted Gauge Pressure Canner.

Dial Gauge Pressure Canners: For Quarts, 10 Minutes Cooking Time with
Pressure Adjusted to Altitude as follows:
0-2,000 ft. = 11 lbs. (Add l lb. of pressure for every
2,000 feet)
For Pints, 15 Minutes Cooking Time with Pressure
Adjusted to Altitude as follows:
0-2,000 ft. = 6 lbs. (Add l lb. of pressure for every
2,000 feet)
Weighted Gauge Pressure Canners: For both Quarts and Pints, 15 minutes
Cooking Time with Pressure Adjusted to Altitude as
follows:
0-1,000 ft. = 5 lbs. (Add another 5 lbs. of pressure
over l,000 feet)

12. As your temperature climbs, your Pressure Canner will reach the desired temperature. Watch the pressure and adjust your heat down if the pressure exceeds what's desired or turn your heat up if the pressure dips below the desired level.
13. When the Cooking Time has elapsed, turn off your heat and allow the Pressure Canner to return to zero pressure naturally. Do not force pressure out through the petcock. Gran always let her pressure cooker remain on the stove overnight to insure none of us got hit with a blast of steam.
14. While cooling, you'll her your jars make a popping sound. That's a good thing. Once cooled, you can open your Pressure Canner and lift out the jars. The last thing you need to do before storing is make sure all the lids are sealed. Gran would simply press on the center of the lid. It should not move up and down and it should not pop now. If it made a popping sound, we we're having spaghetti for dinner using the tomatoes in that jar. I loved it when a cooled jar popped because there was nothing like Gran's spaghetti. It rarely happened because she was an expert. These jars could not be stored as the lid was not sucked down and, therefore, there was still air in the jar making it unsuitable for storing. If your jars test okay, but you see tomatoes floating, that's not a problem. Tomatoes have a lot of water in them and will sometimes float.

Canning is all about "Being Sustainable". Right now somewhere in the Pacific, there's a heap of trash, with lots of plastics, THE SIZE OF TEXAS. This is no exaggeration. I haven't actually seen it but it's really there.

Canning is about saving fruits and vegetables from spoiling and not filling up your trash cans with what could be perfectly wonderful food. More and more people are starting to garden, so they're going to have excess food for canning. Canning and Gardening go hand in hand. Canning is creating a stash of food for a rainy day. With the current state of our economy, there may be lots of rainy days. Turn yours into a fun project you can share with your children, grandchildren or a close friend. You can have Canning Parties like the old-time Tupper Ware Parties.

Bottom line, you're creating healthy, delicious food for your family especially if you choose or, better yet, grow organic vegetables and fruits to can.