Grandma's Canned Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 12 pounds tomatoes*
  
• 4 teaspoons Kosher salt (1 t. per quart)
  
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice (1 T. per quart)
  
• 4 Sterilized quart jars with lids and rims
  

Directions

1. To peel tomatoes, place all tomatoes in boiling water. When skins begin to retract remove them from the water and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking and loosen the skins. Peel the tomato skins off and cut out the stem. Press peeled and cored tomato firmly into prepared jar. Fill each jar until there is only 1/2 inch air remaining at the top.
2. Once jars are prepared add 1 t. Kosher salt per quart, and 1 T. lemon juice per quart. Place lids and rims on jars and tighten.
3. Prepare a large boiling water bath in a stockpot or lobster pot. Make sure water is deep enough that it will completely cover the jars. Once water has come to a boil arrange jars on a wire jar rack and lower into water. Allow quarts to process in the water bath for 45 minutes.
4. When processing is complete, remove the rack of jars and place on a heatproof surface. Cover jars with a dishtowel and allow them to sit for a few hours at room temperature to cool.
5. *Note: the rule of thumb is to order 3lb tomatoes for each quart you want to make. We usually pre-order our tomatoes from a local farm and find that one large bushel will yield about 16-18 quarts. You want to use a meaty tomato variety, they work best. We've used several different ones and always find that the farmers we work with can give us great recommendations as to which ones to use that year.