Stewed Tomatoes

Logi and I made stewed tomatoes at the very end of our canning day on Saturday and I completely forgot to take any pictures.

Growing up, I remember I used to always request stewed tomatoes and toast for lunch when I visited Grandma and Grandpa up north. Since I started canning, I decided I really wanted to have some again so I asked my aunties and Mom how grandma did it, and I gave it a shot. I haven't tried them yet to know if they are the same as Grandma's, but we'll see. If they don't taste as good as Grandma's, then I will just use them in cooking instead of just eating them by the bowl.

To make stewed tomatoes, begin by cutting an X in the bottom of each tomato. Immerse them in boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute and then dunk them in ice cold water. The skins will magically fall off.

Chop tomatoes into large chunks. I had a mix of Roma's and beefsteaks. The Roma's I either halved or quartered, depending on the size and the beefsteaks I cut in quarters or sixths. You want them to be chunky.

Place tomatoes on the stove and bring to a simmer. Cook them until they are "tender and cooked down". This is the instruction I got from my aunt. I'm not sure how long to say to cook them for, but you'll know when they are tender and cooked down :D.

Meanwhile, heat jars and lids to sterilize.

When tomatoes are nice and cooked down, put them in jars, adding 2 T lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of salt per quart jar or 1 T lemon juice and 1/4 tsp salt in a pint jar.

8 quarts of tomatoes will yield approximately 6 quarts of jars.