Lee, that's the basic approach, and the sequence is correct.

I don't know about 30 seconds, though. Most of the time I have to leave them in the boiling water longer than that. And the amount of time spent in ice water is irrelevant: I just leave them as I peel.

One optional step is to quarter them and remove the seeds before putting them in the freezer. I don't like having seeds in my sauce, because they tend to make it bitter. I toss the quarters into 2-gallon ziplocks, and, when I've amassed enough for a canning session, I go to it.

For actual canning I use the frozen tomatoes two ways. I either dice them, and put them up that way, or puree them in the food processor, then cook them down to the consistency I want, and can the puree.

As Gardenlad says, you have it right.

If you're going to put them through a sieve, that will probably take out most of the seeds.

As for varieties, if your plan is to can most of them and you like a thick sauce, then you probably want something meaty. Roma plants will be the easiest to find (at least it is in all the stores where I am), but there are other varieties with better flavour if you can shop around to more specialized garden centres for plants, or if you can start from seed.

(Starting from seed is actually quite easy to do, if you can get a cheap fluorescent shop light --- you can get lots of help for this on the tomato forum [I did!])

I like an heirloom paste variety called Opalka, which is productive and hardy and tasty enough to be great as a fresh tomato, but it does look very odd --- the tomatoes are kind of pointy like peppers. Another one that does very well for me is a hybrid called Mamma Mia; it doesn't have QUITE the flavour of Opalka fresh, if you ask me, but it is quite tasty, makes a delicious sauce, and is incredibly productive. It's a traditional roma-type egg shape.

And I LOVE Amish Paste --- it isn't quite as meaty as the other two, but its tomatoes are big, heart-shaped, fairly meaty, and make an amazing sauce.

But everyone has their favourites! There are also some great small round tomatoes that are not quite as meaty but not too runny, good "all around" canners/eaters, very productive, such as Wisconsin 55, Nepal, and Montreal Tasty, all very prolific.

(If you ask this question on the tomato forum you'll get dozens of replies all with people's faves! If you explain where you live and what your conditions are, then maybe someone with a similar set-up can give you advice as to what works in that area...)

Good luck, and happy canning!

Zabby

Thanks for the tips!! I live in Wisconsin and had been leaning towards opalka, wisconsin 55, and san marzanna. Can't quite decide between them. I grow everything from seed, and I can get pretty much any variety through the seed exchange.

Thanks,
Lee

If you like a chunky sauce, thats what you would do for skin removal. if you like smooth sauces, there is no dipping, blanching, or any ther process involved if they are run through a food strainer like a Villaware. The food strainers seperate all of the liquids and pulp and extract the skins and seeds with little effort.

You will need to be sure to add bottled lemon juice or citric acid crystals when you can the tomatoes or sauce.

Oh, hi, Lee. Haven't I seen you on the tomato forum?

Ditto what Linda Lou said about adding the acid. Tomatoes are on the borderline of acidic enough to water-bath can safely, so you give 'em a little boost of acid to be sure.

Here's a link to some standard tomato sauce canning directions (this MSU site is great for basic preserving info of all kinds; or you can get a Ball Blue Book for a few bucks).

You need a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice per pint. Processing time is 35 minutes for pints and 40 for quarts. (Unless you are at high altitude --- unlikely in Wisconsin, I am guessing?)

If you are going to put the sauce through a food mill, then as Ken says, you don't have to seed or even peel them or remove the cores --- you just chop roughly, cook 'em until soft, then run 'em through the mill and the skins, cores, & most seeds will stay behind.

Were you going to smush them through a plain cooking sieve? You might find that a lot of work. Easier, I think, if you don't have a food mill of some kind, to peel & core in that case (and scoop out the seeds if you care about them --- I don't mind them at all). If the sauce is still chunky when it's as cooked as you want it, and you prefer it smooth, you can then use a blender or stick blender (or, heck, a whisk) to smooth it out.

WI 55 is a really nice, productive, all-around tomato and Martin on the tomato forum will send you some seed if you ask. He'll probably send you some seed even if you don't ask but he happens to see your address somewhere. He is on a mission to spread this tomato around the world, and I suspect him of slipping seeds into the pockets of passersby, or planting it on the roadside like Johnny tomatoseed... ;-)

Opalka is meatier. I haven't grown San Marzano but I think it's a true sauce/paste tomato, too, should be meaty. If you use WI 55 you may have to cook a bit longer for a thick sauce but I think it's a bit more productive.

Good luck!

Zabby

Here is a link that might be useful: MSU Canning Info