Got Tomatoes? Make Homemade Jarred Sauce

Gather the ingredients. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Rinse the tomatoes and pat them dry. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cut a small "X" in the bottom of each tomato and blanch them in the boiling water for about 30 seconds. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes to an ice bath to cool. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Lift tomatoes out of the ice bath, slip off their skins, cut the tomatoes in half, and squeeze out the seeds. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Put the peeled and seeded tomatoes in a pot with the salt and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady but gentle simmer and cook, stirring now and again, until the mixture is reduced by about a third, about 45 minutes. If at any point the mixture starts sticking to the pot, lower the heat and stir more often. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Meanwhile, bring a canning kettle full of water to a boil. To sterilize the jars and lids, place them in the pot and boil for at least 10 minutes. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Then, using a jar lifter, transfer them to a cooling rack to let them dry. (They will remain somewhat hot after they are dry.) The Spruce / Julia Estrada Put 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice in each of the 4 jars. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Transfer the hot tomato sauce to the hot jars (a wide-mouth canning funnel works well), leaving about 1/2 inch of space at the top. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Screw on the lids, put the jars in a canning rack, and lower them into the boiling water in the canning kettle. Process (boil) for 40 minutes. There needs to be at least an inch of water covering the jars, so keep an eye on the water level, adding more boiling water if needed. The Spruce / Julia Estrada Remove the jars and let them cool. Store them in a cool, dark place (a cupboard or pantry works great) until you're ready to use some tomato sauce. The Spruce / Julia Estrada