WWYD with a case of apples and tomatoes?

bumpuser5078523

36 pounds of Gala apples and 25 pounds of Roma tomatoes. I want to can them, or preserve them some way.

I want diced tomatoes and spaghetti sauce for sure.

All I can think of is apple butter for the apples. I have a peeler/slicer/corer thingy.

bumpuser5078523

The tomatoes end up being 50 cents a pound. Which is good for here!

bumpuser5078523

Would Roma's work for roasted tomatoes or sundried? I might use those, but do they keep?

nevertune

I make tons of crockpot applesauce every year around apple season. I freeze it and defrost it so we can have it all year. I don't see why you couldn't can it! I've never done it, but I know there are recipes for canning your own apple pie filling. I would do the same thing you're already doing if I had that many Roma tomatoes coming my way. Those are my favorite!

sarenu1

My mom always cut and froze apples for pie. And I second apple sauce.

abby8279

Homemade applesauce is soo much better than store bought!  And I have been thinking about making my own spaghetti sauce...just don't know how.

stoneycakes

I haven't tried this yet,  but I've read that if you freeze tomatoes whole, you can easily peel the skin off by running them under warm water when you're ready to use them.  That would be a good back up plan if you run out of energy prepping everything

sarenu1

It was so many years ago, I think she may have done a lemon water bath as she peeled them. Maple might have better suggestions.

freezorburn

I've had good results with Mario Batal's basic tomato sauce recipe, which you can then add anything to it to make interesting. I would imagine you could easily substitute fresh tomatoes for canned. I've been thinking to make a big batch of it to freeze, which will save a few steps for dinners during the week.

TJ1979

Tomato soup!

bumpuser5078523

I love homemade tomato soup. That's why I want to can diced tomatoes.

abby8279

stoneycakes

Don't forget salsa! 

PipSqueak0313

How about drying some of the apples for portable diaper bag snacks?

bumpuser5078523

I'm thinking we are going to skip the apples. We don't use applesauce and not much jam.

My mom found a spaghetti sauce recipe for 25 pounds of Roma tomatoes and it only makes 9 quarts.... it's going to cost me more to make it than to just buy it. The plus side is it hopefully will taste better and you know what's in it....

bumpuser5078523

This is the recipe she found in a quick search.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/homemade-canned-spaghetti-sauce

wrightpalomo

@doeie04 I prefer to just can the tomatoes whole, it's easier than making sauce and it is more versatile later on when you're using them. Although, it is nice to just pop open a can of sauce and dump it on some pasta-- voila! gourmet dinner in 10 minutes!  

bumpuser5078523

Exactly!! I'm lazy and need easy. Haha

mnfarmgal

I'm not much of a canner (I need to learn), but I really like to freeze apple products e.g. applesauce, pie filling, preassembled apple crisp, preassembled apple pies.  Good luck!

CLLDLL

Chickypoo2468 said:

stoneycakes said:

I haven't tried this yet,  but I've read that if you freeze tomatoes whole, you can easily peel the skin off by running them under warm water when you're ready to use them.  That would be a good back up plan if you run out of energy prepping everything

This would make me SO happy. I love just tossing stuff in the freezer. Not a fan of prep work.

This totally works. My co-worker tried it a couple years ago because she had to go OOT unexpectedly when she had just picked a bunch of tomatoes. Even better if you are wanting juice, just thaw them and the juice separates from the rest of the tomato.

zaraceligon

You can also dehydrate them, dry apples are a great snaks for babies while they are teething, and the tomatoes are great for tomato pates.

bumpuser5078523

How about adding ground beef/sausage to the spaghetti sauce? Anyone know if there are certain things you have to do?

wrightpalomo

@doeie04‌ if you are going to add meat you'll need to use a pressure canner to safely preserve the sauce.

bumpuser5078523

Thanks! I found that in my research. Do I need to add anything special to make sure the acidity is okay? I didn't find anything in my research that indicated I do.

wrightpalomo

You'll need to strictly follow a tested recipe for anything involving meats. You want to use a tested recipe so that the density of the food allows the heat of the pressure canner to heat everything inside the jars. Acidity is not so much the issue as is the thorough heating (you'll cook the food in the jars until you kill the spores that cause botulism). For example, you cannot safely pressure can pumpkin at home because it is too dense to be completely heated in a home pressure canner. I haven't been adventurous enough to can any meat at home but my mom used to do her own tuna, beef stew, meat sauce, etc. 

ETA: Tested means tested by a reliable source that follows the USDA home canning guidelines. Don't use an outdated recipe because the guidelines have been updated and botulism is no joke... did you East of Eden?... you don't wanna eff around with canning safety

bumpuser5078523

Didn't know that about pumpkin!

Can I adjust spices to taste?

wrightpalomo

I believe so, but I wouldn't go tinkering with too much. Here's a link to a great Canning 101 from Food in Jars she explains everything really well and has some intro to canning recipes to get you started!