Canning Diced Tomatoes

This weekend Sprouts had a sale on their organic Roma tomatoes for $0.99/pound. I also had a coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase, so I came home with 20 pounds of Roma tomatoes for about $15.  

Roma tomatoes are very 'meaty' and great for tomato sauces and diced tomatoes, so we broke out the canner and got to work. First up is half of these will be used for diced tomatoes. 

The first step is to sterilize the Ball Quilted Jelly Jars.  I run them through the dishwasher on a short cycle.  Next up is to wash and core the tomatoes, removing any bad spots. 

I prefer to peel the tomatoes but you don't have to do so.  To make removing the skin easy, dip the tomatoes in boiling water for 1-1/2 minutes and then immediately dip them in ice cold water.  The skins will slip right off. 

Jon helped me out dicing the tomatoes.  I was working with pint jars so I placed 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into each jar along with 1 teaspoon of Morton Canning and Pickling Salt.  Next I added the diced tomatoes, leaving about 1/2″ of head room at the top of the jar for expansion. Run a small plastic knife around the jar to remove any air bubbles. 

Wipe down the tops of the jar with white vinegar and place the lid on each jar.  Tighten the ring on securing just enough so the lid stays on and doesn’t fall off. You don’t want to overly tighten the ring at this point. Process the filled jars in a boiling water canner for 35 minutes for pints.

Ten pounds of Romas yielded 10 pints of diced tomatoes. These will be perfect for adding to soup, pasta, salads, or topping off tacos.  In a price comparison the 10 pounds cost around $7.50 for 10 pints meaning $0.75 per 16 ounce jar, a can of generic diced organic tomatoes is $1.17 (14 oz) at Target.  So not a lot of savings, but my jars will have more tomatoes and won't taste like a tin can! And, I like to can! 

Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.
Proverbs 15:17