Preparing tomatoes for canning is not a hard task to do. It is just time consuming but a necessary step when making sure your hard work is shelf stable and safe for your family to consume.
Tomatoes meant for canning like Romas and Amish Paste tomatoes, are so easy to core and peel for canning. All you need is a pan of hot water, a pan with ice water, some tongs, your tomatoes and a coring tool of your choice. (A paring knife will work fine)
What is Blanching?
Blanching refers to the quick boil given to the tomato before sending it into ice water to stop the cooking process and allow you to handle the tomatoes easier.
Coring and Peeling the Tomato
Coring is simply removing the part of the tomato where it was attached to the plant. This remains a hard core and needs to be removed before canning.
Scoring the bottom of each tomato ensures the hot water will be able to work it’s magic all around the tomato making the skin slip right off after it cools a bit.
I made a video on preparing tomatoes for canning by coring and peeling so I’ll share it with you below.
Here is what your tomatoes should like when properly prepared for canning.