By Michelle Fabio

If everything has gone according to plan, and I hope it has, you’re swimming in tomatoes right now.

There are plenty of ideas for what to do with your crop here on Tomato Casual from freezing to canning to homemade tomato juice, but have you thought about tomato jam?

Before you crinkle your nose (not that you would, tomato lover that you are), this fabulous concoction was recently featured in no less than the New York Times when writer Mark Bittman shared Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Tomato Casual reader Chris W writes:

“I just started canning and I am having trouble. I canned whole tomatoes by the BALL BOOK. They started to bubble and produce gas. I threw them away. I didn’t want to mess with it.

So I tried making my own sauce. It been about a week and again now the sauce is producing gas. They seal well. And I cook them like i am supposed to. I don’t know what i am doing wrong.”

I am sorry you are having trouble with your canning!

With the help of former Tomato Casual Contributor Amy Jeanroy, I will go over the canning steps and the reasons why you may have bubbling and gas.

One note : boiling water is extremely important in the canning process. It sterilizes the jar and contents, killing bacteria. Use boiling water as noted below.

1. Use hot water to wash the jars. You need to Read the rest of this entry »

By Thomas Cenci

So if you’re like me and you don’t have the weather to make your own sun dried tomatoes, because you live England or in a country which rains all year round, and seems to only have two weeks of sunshine, then don’t fret, because with this recipe you can make them all year round even if it’s snowing.

All you need is some tomatoes (obviously), olive oil, salt, pepper, and some garlic and thyme (both optional), you can use any tomatoes you like, but I prefer to use either cherry or baby plum as they dry out quicker, you can also use any herb you like such as rosemary or even dried coriander for that little twist.

Simply cut the tomatoes into halves Read the rest of this entry »

By Michael Nolan

First, a quick note about the photo: Don’t try it.

It is a joke. Seriously.

Just don’t.

With so much time and energy devoted to selecting, planting and growing your lovely tomato plants, it is easy to let the harvest sneak up on you before you’ve had the chance to make plans.

The first response I expect to be flashing in your minds is “what the heck do I need plans for? I’m going to eat them!” Touché, my friends. Touché.

But if you are growing more than one or two tomato plants, you will likely have Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

In a sad reminder to tomato canners everywhere, 14 people were recently admitted to a Russian hospital, one of whom later died, because of an outbreak of botulism; the source was found to be homemade canned tomatoes consumed at a family gathering.

Botulism is an illness caused by the toxin “botulin” produced by Clostridium botulinum. As this toxin is one of the most powerful, for humans even one microgram can be lethal.

While botulism is a rather rare illness—there are usually fewer than 30 food-borne cases of botulism per year in the United States—and particularly in a food with high acidity like tomatoes, it can be deadly.

Here are a few things you can do to prevent botulism from affecting you and your family.

(1) As high temperatures Read the rest of this entry »

By Michelle Fabio

A lucky reader has scored some sun-dried tomatoes and stored them in a jar with olive oil—now she’s wondering how to best vacuum seal the jar.

For starters, if you’re jarring only in olive oil, just be sure to pack the tomatoes in as tightly as possible leaving some headspace at the top for expansion, cover the tomatoes completely in oil, and then seal tightly. Store jars in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

If you’re adding garlic and basil like my southern Italian mother-in-law does, follow the same process but then store in the refrigerator to guard against botulism.
Read the rest of this entry »