End-of-the-season tomatoes tend to have really tough/thick skins that don't break down well during cooking. Not only do you need to remove the skins, but also quarter the skinned tomatoes and remove the seeds as well.

Here's a web site that gives some good instructions. As you scroll down the page, you'll find pictures that take you through the process.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: How to make spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes.

Anyone else missing Lou?

Jo

I don't remove the seeds when canning spaghetti sauce, but I do peel because I'm funny about texture, I don't like the peel in there. Some other people don't mind and leave theirs in. (shrug) On the other hand, I always remove the seeds when making salsa and many others don't.

It's all up to you, a matter of personal preference. Here the tomatoes are just starting to ripen, I canned my first quarts last week.

Annie

I don't seed the fresh tomatoes when making sauce....lazy I guess and I love that jelly like stuff around the seeds....but it does make for a seedy sauce.
You will need to cook those tomatoes for a long time to get the sauce thick, you may want to add some tomato paste to shorten the cooking time and maximize the yield....and also it will be sweeter than canned tomatoes, so you may want to add a bit of wine vinegar or lemon juice to your taste.
I have a couple of quarts of sauce from fresh tomatoes I made last week....yummers!
I always peel my tomatoes....I don't like those bits of "cellophane" in my sauce....and hit it with the handheld blender to break it up.
Linda C

It's largely a matter of taste. I was just talking to a colleague at work who says she cans hers quick with the skins on, and then purees it in the blender when she wants to serve it. That's an option too.

I peel but seed only haphazardly as I'm cutting them up. Some goes in and some I throw out. Also, there are skins and there are skins. Some tomatoes have thicker skin than others.

Thanks! I will try peeling, as directed in the link. Doesn't sound too horrible...and texture is important, Annie, I agree.

My own tomatoes aren't ripening yet :-0, but we were in Eastern Washington yesterday and picked up a box there. Any good ideas for green tomatoes? I'll have to do a search for that next. I don't want to lose the hundreds of tomatoes I have, and I'm afraid I will with them so green at this late date.

2 more posts while I was (slowly) writing mine! Thanks to both of you for your input. I have been reading another thread on spaghetti sauce recipes. Am excited to get started. Didn't have much luck in the search on the green tomato issue, though.

rhome, I love fried green tomatoes, so I slice them and freeze the slices on a cookie sheet, then package them. When I bread them I don't thaw first, I fry them frozen and they're good but if you thaw they are mushy and icky.

Green tomato salsa is a nice change from red salsa, I use green tomatoes in place of tomatillas in that and it can be canned. Grandma always made green tomato mincemeat too.

As for those green tomatoes, if you pick them and set them on a table or (in my case) a hay wagon, or even in a root cellar, a lot of them will ripen. They aren't as sweet as fresh off the vine and some will spoil, but you can extend the season a bit that way. I do it every year.

Annie

I haven't had much luck in the past with ripening green tomatoes...But maybe I will try again.

Thanks for the tip on fried green tomatoes...The frozen slices don't get watery as they cook?

I don't have much canning experience, so usually take the easy way out and freeze. I have never made cooked salsa, only fresh. Will salsa freeze well? Is mincemeat OK to freeze, or will it not turn out as well because it's not 'aging' that way?

I noticed you had mentioned green tomato mincemeat in an older thread, but didn't give the recipe. Loralee posted one that I saved...Is yours the same?

Here is the list of her ingredients:
12 pt. chopped apples
12 pt. chopped green tomatoes
24 tsp cinnamon
12 tsp allspice, cloves, salt
10 cups suet (2#)
8# raisins
12 cups sugar
3 cups apple cider vinegar
6 lemons

Thanks so much. I cook a lot, but there is SO much I've never done.

Green tomato relish!
3 pounds green tomatoes, chopped about 5 big tomatoes.
2 medium onions, chopped
1 large green bell pepper
1 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Chop vegetables. Combine with rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until veggies are soft and it is reduced somewhat...I cook more like 45 minutes. Pour into sterilized half pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch space at top. Process in a steam canner or boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
I just refrigerate it....and give it away.
It won't taste right if there is so much as a touch of pink on any of the tomatoes....this is a sour relish and very yummy!
Linda c

Ah, nope, that's not mine. I don't use suet in anything except bird feeders!

I use this one but frankly, I like Nancy's (wizardnm) pear mincemeat better. Still, when I have green tomatoes but not pears.....

Green Tomato Mincemeat/Pie Filling (No Meat)

4 qt. chopped green tomatoes
3 qt. peeled and chopped tart apples
1 lb. dark seedless raisins
1 lb. white raisins
1/4 cup minced citron, lemon or orange peel
2 cups water
2-1/2 cups brown sugar
2-1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vinegar (5% acidity)
1 cup bottled lemon juice
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves

YIELD: About 7 quarts

PROCEDURE: Combine all ingredients in a large
saucepan. Cook slowly, stirring often, until tender and
slightly thickened (about 35 to 40 minutes). Fill hot jars
with hot mixture, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids
and process in a boiling water bath, 15 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts.

My aunt makes green tomato pickles, she uses cherry tomatoes instead of sliced. I don't much like them, but I don't much like pickles....

Green tomato pickles

4 quarts sliced green tomatoes, loosely packed
1 quart sliced onion, loosely packed
1 cup pickling salt, divided
2 pounds light brown sugar
6 cups vinegar (5% acidity)
2 small red chile peppers
1/3 cup mustard seeds
1/4 cup celery seeds
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon whole allspice
2 teaspoons whole cloves

Place sliced tomatoes and sliced onion in separate bowls; sprinkle 3/4 cup salt over tomatoes and 1/4 cup salt over onion; stir both mixtures. Cover both bowls and let stand at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours. Place tomatoes in a cheesecloth bag, and squeeze gently to remove excess juice. Repeat this procedure for onion. Discard the salt liquid. Combine tomatoes, onion, sugar, vinegar, chile peppers, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and pepper in a large kettle. Tie allspice and cloves in a small cheesecloth bag; add to tomato onion mixture. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, over low heat 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Pack tomato mixture and liquid into hot sterilized 1-quart jars (with 1 piece of the chile pepper in each jar - cut if necessary), leaving 1/2-inch headspace; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on ring bands. Process in a boiling water bath 10 minutes for pints, 15 minutes for quarts. Store in a cool dark place. Store opened pickles in refrigerator.

Makes 4 pints

No, the slices do not get watery when fried, as long as you start them frozen. They are a little more "moist" I have to cook them longer to get them crispy. If you thaw, you can't even fry them, they just fall apart. Salsa freezes OK, it gets a little more runny, but not bad. I've never tried to freeze the green stuff, though.

Annie

Thank you, thank you!!! You're both very helpful. I am widening my horizons with my new kitchen. I think I need some more canning jars...

I have never frozen spaghetti sauce but we do not peel our tomatoes and puree them in the blender for spaghetti sauce, etc. We are happy with our results. Deanna

OK, thanks! Maybe I'll try it both ways and see what we think.