Preserve the flavor of fresh tomatoes by canning them in a boiling water bath or pressure canner.

Cooks and nutritionists consider tomatoes a vegetable butbotanically, they are a fruit.

That fact affects the way tomatoes are canned.

Jars of tomatoes

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That means that you dont need to own apressure cannerto can tomatoes.

Here are step-by-step instructions for canning tomatoes in a boiling-water bath or a pressure canner.

Well show you how to process tomatoes whole, halved, or crushed.

Empty glass jars in bucket

Credit:Grant Webster

Choose unblemished tomatoes for canning and wash well in cold water.

Once your tomatoes are ready, follow our instructions below for peeling, canning, and preserving fresh tomatoes.

Get ready to have that delicious garden-fresh taste all year long!

Boiling whole tomatoes

Credit:Grant Webster

Here are the tips to get started.

If you overfill or underfill the jars, they won’t seal properly during processing.

If your jars aren’t completely sealed, they won’t be safe to eat later on.

Jars of peeled tomatoes

Juicy tomatoes often don’t require any added liquid.

The basic process is the same.

If you don’t have time to can tomatoes, save them for later by learninghow to freeze tomatoes.

Pouring lemon juice to jar of peeled tomatoes

Starting with 8 pounds of ripe tomatoes, follow these instructions to make and can stewed tomatoes:

Jars of peeled tomatoes

Pouring lemon juice to jar of peeled tomatoes

Jars of tomatoes in canning kettle

Credit:Grant Webster

Glass jars of tomatoes

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Cooked tomato sauce in jars

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Jars of tomatoes in pressure cooker

Credit:Grant Webster