Things You'll Need:
- 4 quarts chopped and peeled tomatoes
- 3 cups chopped onions
- 2 cups chopped celery
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup brown sugar or honey
- 1 dozen pint jars with lids and ring
- Pressure canner
- 2 large stew pots
- Large bowl
- Food processor
- Food mill or sieve
- Jar lifter
- Jar funnel
- Warm kitchen cloth
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Step 1
Place the jars and lids in the dishwasher and run on regular cycle. This washes the jars and sterilizes them at the same time. Place the pressure canner on the stove one quarter full of water and begin heating the water on low-medium heat. Heat a stew pot of water to boiling on high heat as well. Have a bowl of ice water ready too.
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Step 2
Wash and core the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water in the stew pot until the skins split. Remove to a bowl of ice water. Repeat this with all tomatoes. Peel the skin off the cooled tomatoes, place the tomatoes into a food processor, and finely chop the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes into the second large stew pot along with the juice. Chop the remaining vegetables in the food processor and add to the tomatoes. Bring all to boiling and cook until the vegetables are tender.
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Step 3
Put the vegetables in a food mill or sieve and press to remove seeds. Return the vegetables to the stew pot. Add salt and brown sugar or honey. Diabetics may use the same measurement of sugar substitute in place of the honey. Reheat to boiling and then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
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Step 4
Remove the jars, lids and rings from the dishwasher. Place the funnel on top of a jar and ladle soup into the jar leaving a half-inch headspace. Wipe the rim of the jar with the warm washcloth to clean it. Place a lid and tighten ring over the lid tightly. Repeat this step until all soup is placed in jars.
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Step 5
Place each jar into the pressure canner. Attach the lid to the canner and lock down. Be sure to refer to your pressure canner's operating instructions, as all pressure canners are a little bit different in operation.
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Step 6
Process the soup at 10 pounds pressure for twenty minutes. Note that this is a standard recommendation. Once again, refer to your particular pressure canner's operating instructions.
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Step 7
Carefully remove the lid on the pressure can and move the hot jars to the counter with the jar puller to cool. Once the jars are cool, press the middle of the lid to test its seal. If it does not spring back at your touch, it is sealed. If it does spring back, the jar is not sealed and will need to be eaten or placed in the refrigerator up to three days. Store the sealed jars in the pantry. They will last up to 12 months.
