When you can toms do you put them in whole or do you bother peeling them?

Are Romes best for canning or will any variety pretty much can OK?

Sigh. Once again Allenwrench - do you do ANY research at all, EVER?

If you're going to start canning, RESEARCH is, unfortunately for you, going to be ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY unless you really do want to poison yourself.

And it goes beyond whether or not to peel those tomatoes or what variety cans best.

I recommend the Ball Blue Book of Canning. It's a wealth of info and quite reasonably priced. I got a copy new a couple years ago for, I think, around $5. You can probably find a copy on display with the canning supplies at most stores that sell canning supplies.

I follow their directions.

Dip tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 sec to make skins easy to slip off. I can whatever variety I have extras of.

quote:

Originally posted by BreezyGardener:
Sigh. Once again Allenwrench - do you do ANY research at all, EVER?

If you're going to start canning, RESEARCH is, unfortunately for you, going to be ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY unless you really do want to poison yourself.

And it goes beyond whether or not to peel those tomatoes or what variety cans best.

My time is limited. I prefer to go the direct route. I ask question and research, but asking experienced people is the quickest to get some questions answered.

quote:

Originally posted by Liz1:
I recommend the Ball Blue Book of Canning. It's a wealth of info and quite reasonably priced. I got a copy new a couple years ago for, I think, around $5. You can probably find a copy on display with the canning supplies at most stores that sell canning supplies.

I follow their directions.

Dip tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 sec to make skins easy to slip off. I can whatever variety I have extras of.

I got the ball book. I asked about other options than that peeling hassle. That was what I was getting at. I did lots of canning, but of pickles and such, but not any toms.

I don't find peeling via the water method is such a hassle, except for the really little tomatoes. Without pre-dunking, it really is a pain and a half, though. I do find that the tomatoes are more pleasant to consume later without their peels.

quote:

Originally posted by allenwrench:
My time is limited.

FWIW, so is mine.

This is new to me. I had about three grocery bags full of tomatoes I didn't have time to work up and my neighbor told me to pop them in the freezer. When I had time to can them you can just put them in some warm water to defrost a little, cut the top off and the skins just slip off. I haven't gotten t the tomatoes yet and am thinking of just leaving them in the freezer and using them as I needed some. Has anyone had experience doing this?
owl

Owl - I'm not a "canner", so I freeze all my extra produce, & what you just described is how I've been doing my tomatoes for many years now. I rinse them off & dry them, then just pop them whole into Ziploc bags. When I need some for sauce or soup or stewing, I just take out what I need, run them under some warm water, & those skins just slide off leaving me with perfect whole tomatoes ready to use.

It's safe, easy, & about as low-labor-intensive as you can get - lol!!

Canning whole tomatoes works for me. The skins will not be noticed in foods if the tomatoes are cooked for awhile before eating. If little cooking is done, you may notice skins rolled up in your food but it is not at all unpleasant, just unexpected.

I can whatever tomatoes I have left over too. Before water bathing, I add a little salt and vinegar to the jars.

We prefer to freeze tomatoes if there is space in the freezer, and we use the entire frozen tomato too, skins and all.