Making Tomato Paste Over the Fire

Tomatoes are finally making a presence in the garden and kitchen.  We are thrilled to have thriving plants this year after last year's blight.  Our first priority is tomato paste because we use a half-pint for every batch of homemade pizza and we eat a lot of pizza.  Altogether this summer we have canned 32 half-pints of paste.

We are growing 15 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes this year.  The different color combinations and size differences make for a colorful presentation, don't you think?  

We discovered years ago that we don't need to remove skins from our tomatoes when canning.  This saves a lot of time when processing a large batch.  We are using the cast iron pot we used when boiling maple syrup the first time.  It works really well for cooking down large batches of tomatoes for paste and even gives the sauce a smoky flavor which tastes great.

An immersion blender gives the paste a smoothe consistency and is the best kitchen gadget ever.

One teaspoon of lemon juice is added to each jar of paste before processing. 

In our super duper large 41 quart canner we fit all 32 half-pints in one load.  Water bath for 45 minutes.