Canning tomatoes for sweet and savory sauces to fill winter pantries

Big, batch tomato canning for stewed tomatoes or tomato sauce base recipes

Start with a variety of tomatoes from your garden or the local farmer's market

Photos and recipes by Holly Roberts Walker

Late summer is the best time of year for plum-like tomatoes that are ready for canning; and in many cases, the tomato plants will keep producing until the first frost. In western Kentucky, the 2021 tomato growing season has produced flavorful red, yellow, green, orange, pink, and purple fruits. Now is the time to prepare winter pantries with delicious stewed tomatoes, tomato sauces, and salsa.  

A good friend and gardening expert, Holly Roberts Walker, shares two tomato canning recipes to delight the taste buds. If you're interested in a sweet and savory tomato sauce or batch of stewed tomatoes, two recipes will follow for the readers of WKY Community Living. 

Selection of tomatoes

Slice off the top

Core with a 1/4 teaspoon

Score before freezing

To prepare tomatoes for roasting, one must core, score, freeze/thaw, and take the skin off. Scoring the tomato makes it easier to remove the skin. 

Ingredients: 
25 lbs. of assorted tomatoes, peeled and cored 
6 bell peppers, roughly chopped (combination green and red) 
4-6 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped 
Worcestershire Sauce, to taste (up to ½ cup) 
Liquid Aminos, to taste (up to ¼ cup) can substitute soy sauce
8-10 cloves garlic, minced 
4-6 bay leaves 
1-2 teaspoon olive oil 
⅔ cup brown sugar (packed) 
4-6 6 oz. cans tomato paste 
Seasoning Blend (see below) 
1 -2 T. salt
*Lemon Juice* 

Roasted tomatoes are ready for recipes

If you're preparing a tomato sauce, sauté vegetables

Stewed Tomatoes 
Combine: tomatoes, bay leaves, Liquid Aminos, Worcestershire sauce, 1 -2 T. salt 
In a 22-quart roaster pan set to 250 degrees. Roast/stew for 3-5 hours. To each Quart jar add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice. For a Pint jar add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice. Can immediately while the liquid is hot using the water bath method for 40 minutes leaving ½” headspace. 
​​
OR 

Tomato Sauce Base 
Combine: Onions, Peppers, & Garlic
In a Dutch oven, place olive oil and set over medium heat. Sauté mixture until onions are cooked through. Add the mixture to the roasted tomatoes and cook for five additional hours at 200 degrees. 

Sautéed vegetables are added to roasted tomatoes

Mix the vegetables and tomatoes in one pot

Use an emulsion blender to puree

Add: tomato paste (start with 4 cans) Check the consistency and add the brown sugar. Using an emulsion blender, puree the batch thoroughly. 

Dried herbs from Holly's garden

Add the herbs and lemon juice to the jars before adding the tomato sauce

Italian Seasoning Blend (in a bowl) 
Combine:
​4 Tablespoons dried oregano 
4 Tablespoons dried basil 
2 Tablespoons garlic powder 
4 Teaspoon dried thyme 
4 Teaspoon dried red pepper 
To each Quart jar add 4 ½ teaspoons of blend and 2 T. Lemon Juice Pint jar add 2 ¼ teaspoons of blend and a T. Lemon Juice

Use a heated water bath to seal the jars

Canning will yield 12 quarts

Fill jars with hot tomatoes leaving a ½” headspace. 
Wipe rims and seal. 
Water bath for 40 minutes. 
To Use: Shake jar to blend before opening.