Hinckley's Exhortation, and Canning Tomatoes

What an incredible conference that was! My husband and I have made a resolution to step-up our emergency preparedness efforts. We live in a tiny two-bedroom apartment, and there's definitely not enough room for a one-year supply of everything we need, but we're going to do our best. We stocked up on hygiene items (shampoo, soap, conditioner, toilet paper, paper towels, etc.), and we bought vinyl pants and diaper pins in case I have to resort to cloth diapers (heaven forbid!) for our 6-month-old. Mike's parents said they've got enough food stored for us, so if it should come to that, at least we know we could move in with his parents and younger siblings.

In addition to hygiene items, it's a really good idea to stock up on medicines. They're expensive to buy all at once, but think about how many times you or a family member gets sick or hurt over the course of a year. You want to be sure to stock up on vitamins (rotate these as often as you can though--they don't last more than a couple years), pain killers, antibiotics, and any prescriptions you take. My mother-in-law studies herbal remedies, and there are herbs out there that can do incredible things. If anyone's interested on a post about herbal wonders, let me know, and I'll talk to my mother-in-law about good herbs to store and what they're for, and what quantities you'll need.

Enough about that for now. If anyone wants another post on emergency storage, let me know, and I'll do it. Last week I promised I'd post on canning tomatoes, so here goes.

I researched tomato canning on the web last week, and I found so many recipes that I didn't know where to start. I decided though that I just wanted plain old tomatoes, so I packed quartered tomatoes in water and used a steam canner. Here's the procedure I used:

Equipment:
Tomatoes
Lemon juice
Salt
Canning jars--pint or quart (mouth size doesn't matter)
New (cleaned) lids
Band for each jar
Funnel
Ladle
Steam canner
Jar tongs

1. Clean jars in dishwasher; make sure jars are hot, and don't take them out until you're ready to pack them.
2. Boil two pots of water: one for blanching, one for hot water pack.
3. Clean tomatoes. Place in large bowl.
4. Pour boiling water over tomatoes. Let the tomatoes sit in the hot water until their skins split.
5. Pour out the hot water and remove the skins from the tomatoes.
6. Remove the stem core. At this point, you can either leave the tomatoes whole or cut them into quarters or halves.
7. Pack tomatoes in jars.
8. Add 1/2 tsp. salt (preserves color, adds flavor) and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice for pint jars, 1 tsp. salt and 2 Tbsp. lemon juice for quart jars.
9. Using a ladle and a funnel, pour water into jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace in pint jars, 1 inch in quart jars.
10. Wipe off necks and rims of jars using a warm wet paper towel.
11. Place lids over each jar, then screw on the bands.
12. Pour hot water in steam canner. Place filled jars on rack of canner.
13. Place the lid over the canner and jars, and turn stove on medium high heat. When the steam escapes in a steady stream, start timing. Tomatoes need to process 40 minutes for pint jars, and about 45 minutes for quart jars.
14. When the tomatoes have processed for the correct amount of time, carefully raise the lid, being sure to open it away from your face so you're not burned by the escaping steam.
15. Using the jar tongs, remove the jars and place them on a towel on your counter top to cool. The lids won't seal correctly until the jars have cooled completely.

It was so exciting for me when I found out that my jars had sealed and the whole thing had worked. I've only ever canned with my mother-in-law, so even though I've done it lots of times, I've never done it by myself. There's a real sense of satisfaction and achievement when you can grow and preserve your own food storage.