Tomato canning day!

A fellow mom and I decided to set aside our holiday Monday to do some tomato canning. The husbands were briefed as to the plan and coordinated the management of children outside the house.

I booked the Vrtucar and did a run to the grocery store and farmers market early on Sunday morning to pick up our supplies: jars, tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes – about 40 pounds in total. I bought beefsteaks from the grocery store and Romas from the farmers market. The grocery store tomatoes, sold in 3L baskets, weren’t a great deal, but at least they were from Ontario.

Next year, I’ll do a little more legwork to find someone who sells by the bushel – I would hope that buying in bulk would make the process slightly more economical. Because, despite what my hairdresser thought when I told about my tomato canning plan at my last appointment, it’s really not a money saving activity. At least not the first year when you need to buy your jars. Or factor in your time. And your spouse’s patience.

On Sunday night I mentally prepared: counting stockpots, collecting ingredients, dusting off my canning tools and rereading the instructions in my Bernardin canning book to determine the most efficient way to can the tomatoes in our limited amount of child-free time. I watched and re-watched the tutorial by the guys behind the Bitten Word. (Next year, I will heed their advice and bring beer.)
On Monday morning, with the children out of the house and off to the dinosaur museum, we quickly got the first batch of tomatoes washed, blanched and peeled. It took a bit of pot jockeying to figure out how to manage it all. The canner, the blanching pot, the lids, the ice bath… it was a squeeze.

Initially, we thought we could use the BBQ to avoid turning the kitchen into a steam bath, but the pots just didn’t fit. We would have to work with only the four burners on the stovetop.

Once the first jars (8 x 500mL ) were in the canner, we realized that the final water bath processing step was the Achilles heel of the production line. With only one canner, we had a bit of down time between each batch.  Not good.

With a bit more pot jockeying, we set up two more burners to sterilize jars while the canner was occupied and we got started on the next round. To be more efficient in this round, we opted for the bigger 1L size jars.

Lesson learned: If you only have one canner, use the biggest jars that you can fit in it. (Duh, right?)

The children arrived back at the house while round #2 was in the canner. We decided to pause for lunch and finish the job once everyone was tucked in for naps. Use your own judgment, but a third round of canning may be the straw that breaks the marital camel’s back.  Nevertheless.

When the third batch was in the canner, we made a quick sauce with the remainder of tomatoes. (Note: If you do this step, provide camel/spouse with back pain medication and/or beer to soften the news that after four hours, you just aren’t *quite* done.)

The final tally from our tomato canning day was:

• 12 x 1L
• 8 x 500mL
• 2.5 x 500mL sauce

Split between two families, we’d certainly have to can much more to have enough to last the winter. Spouses – this is your official warning for next year.