Canning Tomato Soup

• porciones: 5 servings
• tiempo activo: 2 hours
• tiempo total: 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredientes

7 lbs tomatoes

1 large yellow onion

6-8 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup basil leaves

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Bottled Lemon Juice or Citric Acid

Instrucciones

Quarter tomatoes, and place in a heavy bottomed dutch oven.

Heat over low-medium heat, adding a cup of water if necessary to prevent scorching. Stir frequently until tomatoes are softened, and mostly cooked through.

While tomatoes are cooking, peel onion and garlic

Quarter onion, and add to food processor, or chop finely, along with garlic and basil leaves

Pulse until vegetables are fairly fine

When tomatoes are cooked, process through a tomato strainer to remove skin and seeds

Pour tomato juice into a large pot, and add pureed vegetables, sugar, pepper, and salt

Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, and cook down until soup base is reduced by about 25%

Remove from heat, and blend, if desired, until smooth

To can:

Ladle hot soup into sterilized jars

Add 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to each pint jar, or 2 Tablespoons to a quart jar. You can also use citric acid at a rate of 1/4 teaspoon to pint jar, or 1/2 teaspoon to quart jar.

Wipe rims, and screw down lids and bands. I use Denali canning lids after the lids that came with the jars are spent. They have a guaranteed seal, and work so well!

Place in a water bath canner prepared with hot water. I use this canner most often, and also have this one, which works just as well, but doesn’t have a clear lid, which makes it easy to see when it’s boiling.

Make sure water covers jars by about 2 inches.

Cover canner, and bring to a rolling boil.

Process pints for 40 minutes, or quarts for 45 minutes.

Remove from heat, and let cool until safe to handle.

After 24 hours, check for seal, and store in a cool place out of direct light.

To use soup:

Heat soup, adding 1/2 cup of heavy cream, half and half, or milk to each pint of soup

Serve with parmesan and croutons or as you prefer.