Sunday, September 13, 2015

A Bushel of Tomatoes

Son went to the Farmer's Market again.  This time he scored tomatoes.  The vendor was selling them in half bushel boxes for $10 per box.  We haven't found tomatoes that cheap the last two seasons.  And they are absolutely beautiful.  Son brought home two boxes.

I dunked the tomatoes into boiling water for a minute and slipped off the skins.  After they were cut into smaller pieces I packed them into jars.  The bushel of tomatoes gave me 19 quarts, plus the four large tomatoes I set aside for eating fresh.  They were processed in the hot water bath canner for 25 minutes.

Son says he will go back and get a couple more boxes next week.  I'd like to have some canned in pint jars and the rest made into tomato juice.  Son also remarked how good some of those tomatoes would taste this winter when made into chili.   I'm thinking he will be the one to cook up the chili.  He says mine is way too wimpy.  :)

8 comments:

  1. I remember when I was a kid, even the doctor's and businessmen's wives did some canning. Now, almost no-one in town or country around here bothers.

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  2. Gorges...Even when I lived in town when I was a kid, everyone on the block had a back yard garden and everyone canned what they grew. Hardly anyone in town has a garden any more, except for one fellow a couple of blocks from where I live. He has a beautiful garden and he cans and makes wonderful jam. I think it is nearly a lost art.

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  3. The best thing to be caned yet this summer??

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  4. Rob...The tomatoes sure were the best thing, price wise. After I can another bushel next week, all I have left to do is apples. Then I think I will call it good. I'm tired. :)

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  5. It's a shame there doesn't seem to be any way to use jars that you got jelly, or honey, or whatever in for canning. I keep all the jars I get ( I don't actually get that many) and store them in boxes in the barn. I use them to put hardware, and other things that have to be separated, into. But I wish they could be used to store food. No rings in the lids though, I guess that's the problem.

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  6. Harry...I remember "back in the day" using mayonnaise jars for canning pickles, or smaller glass jars for jam when we still sealed jam jars with paraffin, but now so many jars are made of plastic. I don't get many glass jars either, probably because so much of my food is home canned. I use them to store things like small sewing or craft supplies (pins, beads, etc.) or sometimes my dehydrated food, like the parsley I dried this summer. They work well for that.

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  7. I think pickle jars are about the only product in glass anymore.

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  8. Rob...I think you're right. Seems like most foods come in plastic now. I don't save those. I was going to use the plastic jars for storing some of my dehydrated food, but I couldn't get the smell of the food that came in the jar out.

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