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callousedknees

can grape tomatoes?

20 years ago

Has anyone canned grape tomatoes? I have them coming out my ears.

Comments (6)

  • 20 years ago

    I did cherries and yellow pears. I liked peeling them better than larger toamtos. It was much less messy. I'm planning on doing some more (including grapes this time) over the weekend.

  • 20 years ago

    Cut in halves and dry them. Canning, might be OK, but they do have lots of seeds and skins that you may not want. There is little 'meat' in them, mostly just juice. Drying will make them into tiny tomato raisins..

  • 20 years ago

    Thank you so much. I just blanched a batch and they were kind of a pain to peel. I think I like peeling the big ones better mrsgalihad. How do you dry them ksrogers? Do you have to have a dehydrator? What do you use them for after? Do you eat them like raisins? They do appear to have a lot of seeds, but mine are big and seem to have quite a bit of 'meat'. By the way ksrogers... I've read some of your posts and wondered how long you BWB tomatoes. 90 minutes seems like a very long time. I know my grandmother canned them for years and we never got botulism and I know she didn't run them that long. I wish she were still here to ask all these questions! I sure am glad for GW and all of you.

  • 20 years ago

    You need to can them 90 min. in a water bath canner, not shorten the time if they are whole tomatoes. Some sites still say 85 min. This one below still says 85 min. If they are crushed, the processing time goes down.
    Sorry, but your grandma's methods most likely would be considered out of date and unsafe. Things change in knowledge about home canning.
    From University of Missouri:http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/hesguide/foodnut/gh1456.htm
    Tomatoes used to be considered an acid food, but some of today's varieties are low-acid. To safely can tomato sauce or whole, crushed or juiced tomatoes, you need to add acid whether you are using a boiling water canner or a pressure canner. Use 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid.

    Here is a link to a food safety site. Scroll down to the section on tomatoes, you can see the different methods and times for processing.

    Here is a link that might be useful: MSUE on tomatoes.

  • 20 years ago

    My tomatoes are not canned whole anymore, don't like the seperation. Now, I feed them through the ViIlaware and all seeds and skins are removed. The tomatoes get the required citric acid added to each empty jar prior to filling. The tomatoes are boiled/simmered for a a couple of hours, until they are thickened up a little, like a tomato sauce. No, I don't process that long, but do give them a half hour. I feel that because of the necessary added acid, they are safe enough, as acidic fruit jellies, etc.

    As to drying the tomatoes, yes, a dehydrator is very useful. I use one for drying herbs, peppers, and many other items. Mine is a low priced Ronco with just a low wattage coiled heater at the bottom of stack of trays , but there are some very good models that have forced air fans to dry the items faster. The quicker something is dried, the better its flavor. Some like to use an oven, but thats just not a good way to do it. For the grape tomatoes, after being dried, they go great as a sprinkle in a salad, or added to a sauce. The shrink down a LOT, so be prepared

  • 17 years ago

    There is a recipe in the new Ball Blue Book (yellow cover) for canning cherry tomatoes. I don't have the recipe handy but it's primarily a vinegar brine with a fresh sprig of rosemary and a clove of garlic.

    When you are ready to use them, you drain them and mix the brine with EVOO and other seasonings, then marinade the tomatoes overnight. There is a picture of them on the antipasto platter and they do look yummy.

    I put up six pints of the yellow pear and they are about ready to test. If they are as good as they look, I'll be putting up several more batches.