Home canned tomatoes.

I love canned tomatoes this time of year. I just got done eating a pint. Sometimes I eat them with ranch salad dressing, most of the time I just eat them by themselves. Anyone have any ideas on other ways to eat them?

I prefer stewed tomatoes myself. I just heat them and eat them. I get a craving now and then, but I can't eat tomatoes too often. If I eat tomatoes once a week it is fine but more than that and I have problems.

a reply to: catt3

Check out some of the "Stewed Tomato" recipes!

I remember my grandmother making stewed tomato's and she would always put 2x2 inch squares of bread on top before serving them!

a reply to: seeker1963

What kind of bread and were the tomatoes hot or cold? I prefer them cold myself.

originally posted by: catt3
a reply to: seeker1963

What kind of bread and were the tomatoes hot or cold? I prefer them cold myself.

She cooked the tomato's and then she topped em off with regular ole store bought bread before placing the bowl on the dinner table. I would share a recipe with you if I had one, but I have never made them myself. Google stewed tomatoes and pick one that sounds good to you.

Being that you are using your own canned tomatoes? That can only make it that much better!

a reply to: catt3

Take the tomatoes and reduce them for a few hours and make a nice spaghetti sauce.
Add some basil and oregano,bay leaf and boom....also add either brown sugar or maple syrup.

I use Roma tomatoes but canned is just as good.

I thought that this thread was going to have the OP explain the method they use to preserve tomatoes.

Instead we find out that sometimes they eat them with dressing.
Or without.

I have learned so much!

Before anyone accuses me of tomatoism, I happen to like tomatoes, I grow and eat them myself.
In fact some of my best friends are tomatoes....

I love tomatoes. I like them any way they can be prepared. I made a mistake of eating some without checking how fresh they were once though. Never again! I didn't think I would ever leave the restroom. Now, I'm very careful about making sure they are fresh.
We had pigs here. One was slaughtered and the other died of unknown causes. I went out back last year to their old pen and saw that the whole thing was filled with tomato plants. I hope they come back this year so I can pick some.

a reply to: HumansEh

Do you need instructions on how to can tomatoes? And I was just asking how other people liked to eat them.

a reply to: DrumsRfun

I make my own pizza and spaghetti sauces. I make my own pizza crust but don't know how to make noodles, thats something I will have to look into. The other way I really enjoy tomatoes is with fried potatoes(grown myself), pinto beans, cornbread(again homegrown corn milled) and tomatoes on top with a little bit of green onion. Cornbread on bottom potatoes next then the beans then the tomatoes topped with a little bit of green onion.

a reply to: catt3

There is a thread here somewhere, where all participates talk about growing gardens.

It has some great info. Good stories, and some good people who would be more than happy to answer any questions you have regarding gardening.

Sorry, Can't post a link, Just popping in.

I have been spending the last month preparing a room in my basement to start my plants from seeds this year. I am so excited

I will be sharing the adventure in the "Shed 2 thread", in the next couple weeks. It is alot of work. But a labor of love.

a reply to: catt3

Tomatoes and ranch dressing? Um, that's a new one, lol, and not something I find appealing.

Anyway, I love tomatoes too and can then whenever i can (and have time) when I have a harvest. Usually, though, I just make marinara or spaghetti sauce with them, since I make a lot of sauce for things (ravioli, eggplant, etc). Love them right off the vine too. Super sweets are like CANDY fresh off the vine.

Ever had macaroni and tomatoes?
Just boil elbow macaroni like you normally would, drain well, then add tomatoes that are also well drained. You will want to add a little of the juice, but only a little, we're not making soup. Enjoy while it's still warm, but it's pretty good cold too. I serve it as a side dish at dinner.

I was curious about canning tomatoes as well. I know I can google it, but talking to someone with first hand experience would be nice. My parents sent me a pressure canner which has yet to be used.

Do the tomatoes need to be concasse'd first to get rid of the seeds and skin? When canning do you add anything else like garlic, black pepper or whatever to make a different taste?

originally posted by: Philippines
Do the tomatoes need to be concasse'd first to get rid of the seeds and skin? When canning do you add anything else like garlic, black pepper or whatever to make a different taste?

I always remove the seeds and skins when I jar my tomatoes.

I usually add basil and garlic to some of mine as I like to have some marinara on hand. The standard ones I use oregano, salt and pepper.

a reply to: Philippines

No need to use a pressure canner for canning tomatoes because of the acid content in them, just the simple water bath method is all you need.

If you were to add other veggies to your canned tomatoes (ie: making a salsa), then yes you would need to use a pressure canner because the other veggies cause a reduction in the acid content.

When I make canned diced tomatoes, I don't bother removing the skins (I do remove the seeds however) because I want the diced pieces to hold their shape... but when I make a canned tomato sauce, then yes I remove both the skins and seeds. It's just a personal choice thing.

When making canned tomatoes with herbs, garlic, spices, etc keep in mind that those herbs and garlic will get stronger over time the longer the canned tomatoes are on the shelf. So based on the strength of flavour you want, that's how you judge how much you want to add in. Personally, I prefer to make plain canned tomato stewed/diced/sauce and then add my herbs, garlic, etc when I'm actually cooking my tomatoes for a meal... this way I can start with a simple tomato base and then make the flavourings however I want depending on what I'm actually making the sauce for.

A good rule of thumb for any canned tomato recipe is to add a bit of lemon juice (2 tbsps per quart) or powdered citric acid. This not only guarantees that you have enough acid content in your canned tomatoes (because different tomatoes vary in acid content), but it also helps to keep the tomatoes a nice bright red colour in the stored jar over time, that would otherwise turn a slight yellowish colour (flavour is still good, it just doesn't look very pretty). However, if you use a very high acid content variety of tomato, then the lemon juice isn't necessary at all.

Happy canning !