Tomatoes
Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2021 6:00 pm
A freind with a large garden went on vacation and left a txt, "The tomatoes will need to be picked while we are away." That txt kicked another item off of my bucket list.
I am ready for a break to work on tractors.
Spike
Tuesday evening in less than an hour M and myself picked over 3 flats of large and small tomatoes.
We went with a blanch and cold pack whole tomatoes and compared times on water bath vs pressure canning. Pressure canning uses way less heat and the cycle time is almost twice as fast.
The pressure canner only needs 3 quarts of water to produce enough steam for 7 quarts. A side note that a 16 quart canner is not large enough for quart jar pressure canning. The steam head space is required.
The first batch was blanched about 2 Wed. afternoon
and the last of 36 quart was on the table by 11. It was a long day and a pain in the back.
The small tomatoes were left for today, 3 flats, 1 layer deep. M wanted salsa or spaghetti sauce.We started about 11 this morning cutting 36 cloves of garlic from our garden, onion, jalapeno, bell pepper, plus other spices. by 3 this afternoon the last of 14 quart were proccessed and by 5 the kitchen was clean and tools put away.I am ready for a break to work on tractors.
Spike