Apricot Jam

This recipe is a combination of the recipes included in the pectin boxes and a recipe from Jade’s friend in Pima. Jade loved her apricot jam, but she didn’t use pectin and we like the way it thickens, so we combined the two for a jam we really like.

Preparing Jars and Lids
We use pint jars for jam. Wash the jars in hot soapy water (or in the dishwasher) as set aside.
As you are cooking your jam, put the lids into a pan of water and place over medium/low heat until about to simmer. This should take about 10 minutes. Keep hot until needed. Use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out when you are ready to close your jars.



Preparing Apricots
Wash the fruit. Do not remove skins. Cut in half and twist apart. This leaves the pit on one half of the apricot. Remove pit and put the fruit into a food processor. Process until fruit is slightly chunky, not pureed. A hand chopper, or a potato masher can also be used to mash up fruit.

Cooking Jam
9 Cups of chopped apricots
1 Cup crushed pineapple
1/2 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Bottled or frozen may be substituted.
1 t. butter (Optional, but does reduce foaming as jam cooks.)
3 Boxes Sure-Jell Premium Fruit Pectin. I use the yellow label, not the reduced sugar or liquid varieties.
Measure out 12 Cups of sugar in a bowl and set aside.
Combine above (except the sugar) ingredients into 10-12 quart stock pot. Place over high heat and stir constantly until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. This means it boils even when you are stirring it. Stir in the sugar. I pour it in all at once and stir it while it is assimilated into mixture. Return to full rolling boil. When it has achieved a full rolling boil, time for one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and skim off foam using a large spoon. Some like a slotted spoon.

Processing Jars



Ladle into pints allowing at least a 1/4” headspace. I Ladle from the bottom up so the mixture is consistent for all the jars. Taya is filling her jars in the photo above. She did a great job on her first experience with jam. Wipe rims and threads clean and place prepared lids on top. Fasten bands and place into steam canner. (Prepare steam canner according to manufacturer’s directions.) Most steam canners will take 8 pints at a time.

Steam Canner Method 

(May also use a Water Bath Method to process)
Turn steam canner to Hi if using an electric stove. Gas burners may not need to be all the way up to high. Wait for steam to stream from side holes in a steady plume. This plume is usually about 8” out from the side and is sort of a soft plume. Time for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Remove lid taking care to open away from you as the steam can burn you. Using a jar lifter, remove jars onto a kitchen towel a few inches apart and allow to cool. Jars will probably “ping” as you are removing them from the canner. In the event you have one that doesn’t ping, refrigerate and use, or reprocess the jar using a new lid.
Label and date lids on jars and store in a cool, dry place. Once opened, jam should be used in about a month or so.

We Be Jammin'

I am getting requests from people wanting to know about the how to's for strawberry jam, so decided to post. I want to thank Tracy for getting me started with this, I have had a lot of fun putting up jam for the fam. I also have a pdf version if anyone is interested, just leave a comment and I will email you a copy. I have also made the recipe on the back of the SureGel pectin box and it works out just fine. It was just a little more “solid” than the recipe Tracy had me do, and I like the consistency of her recipe better. I did add a little more pectin to it, but it is still a nice, kind of loose jam that spreads really well. Tracy and I canned my first attempt at her house and it was so much fun I decided to try some more on my own. 252 (or so) pints later I am still loving the whole thing. Tawna, Taya, and Jade now have the “fruits” of their labor on their shelves and I have enough for a year also. Here is the recipe I did:

I doubled Tracy's recipe, and used a bigger stockpot to cook in so I could do bigger batches and cut out some of the cooking time. The doubled recipe below will yield about 11 pints. As the first 8 pints process in the canner, I cook another batch and that way can have a second load ready for the canner pretty fast. This leaves about 6 jars to process in a third round for the canner and when these are processing I start cooking another batch of jam.
Use ripe fruit, not over-ripe for best results. I used a 10-12 quart stockpot. As the mixture cooks it does “grow” a bit and so the pan needs to be large enough to accommodate the process. A 6-8 quart stockpot will do a single recipe (half the one below) just fine and yields about 5 pints.

• Preparing Fruit
  
• Rinse and stem your berries. In small batches, process them in a food processor using the pulse function to the consistency you want. Most of my girls like a smooth jam, I like it slightly chunky. If you do all your fruit at once it makes it easier to just cook and process your jam one batch after the other. If you don’t have a food processor, a potato masher will work.
  
• I did about 32 lbs. of strawberries and got about 52 pints. The boxes I got were supposed to be 4 lbs, give or take and yield will depend on size and spoilage in your fruit. 52 is a jar a week for a year and that is what I like to do for my pantry.
  
• Preparing Lids
• Prepare lids by putting them into a pan of hot, simmering water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.
• Cooking the Jam
  
• In your large 10-12 quart stockpot combine:
  
• 12 C. Mashed strawberries
  
• 1/2 C. Fresh squeezed lemon juice (Tracy has a lemon tree so we had lemons, and she sent me home with a bunch. Thanks Tracy.)
  
• 3 boxes of Pectin, I used the Sure Jell Brand and Ultra Gel works too. The powdered pectin is about 1/3 C. per package. I use the same measurement for the Ulra Gel. (Ultra Gel does not require cooking to thicken, so may be added after the cooking process and after the foam is skimmed off.)
  
• 1 t. butter (the sure jell package recommends this to reduce the foaming as it cooks.)
  

Place on burner and set to Hi. Stir constantly until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. (This means it still boils well even when you are stirring.)

• Add:
  
• 16 C. Sugar (I used 14 cups in mine and it seemed to work fine.)
  
• Stir constantly, sugar will dissolve and allow to return to a full rolling boil. Time for one minte (Tracy and I timed for 5 minutes and it seemed both times worked fine.)
  
  
  
  
• Remove from heat and after a minute skim foam from surface using a slotted spoon.
  
• Processing Jars
  
• Ladel into pints allowing at least a 1/4” headspace. Wipe rims and threads clean and place prepared lids on top. Fasten bands and place into steam canner. (Prepare steam canner according to manufacturer’s directions.) Most steam canners will take 8 pints at a time.
  
• Steam Canner Method (May also use a Water Bath Method to process)
  
• Turn steam canner to Hi on burner and wait for steam to stream from side holes in a steady plume. This plume is usually about 8” out from the side and is sort of a soft plume. Time for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Remove lid taking care to open away from you as the steam can burn you. Using a jar lifter, remove jars onto a kitchen towel a few inches apart and allow to cool. Jars will probably “ping” as you are removing them from the canner. In the event you have one that doesn’t ping, refridgerate and use, or reprocess the jar using a new lid. 
  
  
  
  
• Label and date lids on jars and store in a cool, dry place. Once opened, keep in fridge and jam should be used in about 3 weeks or so. 
  

* If jam is a little on the thin side as will sometimes happen, it makes great syrup for pancakes, topping for ice cream, etc.



Cost of course depends on the price per pound, but in our calculations this was a thrifty way to supply our pantries with jam. The taste is great, and is so much fresher than the commercially produced jars. I love it. I can't wait to try peach, apricot and maybe even some green grape.

Butter

Yes. Butter. I was thrilled to learn I could bottle butter. My kids all think I have a butter fetish because I buy lots of butter. I don’t like to be out, so I usually prepare very well in the butter department. Now I can really prepare. This is actually kind of fun. The information below was taken from the following website: www.endtimesreport.com/canning_butter . There is other information both pro and con about this subject, so if you are curious google “canning butter” and you can research all you wish. I made the choice to can butter as there are people who have had good success. I am just happy there is a choice and a way to store butter other than powdered or frozen. All good methods, so variety couldn't hurt.



One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you are doing 12 jars, melt 11 pounds of butter. If you are doing 1/2 pints, you will need 5-1/2 pounds of butter. The better quality the butter, the less shaking will be required during the process. The lesser quality brands will still work for the same results. I buy my butter at Costco, and I get the salted kind.
Preparing Jars and Lids
Turn your oven to 350º. Place 1/2 pint, or pint jars on 12”x18” baking sheet, or in a large flat roaster pan. Put them in the oven for at least 20 minutes without lids or bands.


Prepare lids by putting them into a pan of hot, simmering water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.



Preparing butter
In at least a 6 quart stock pot, melt butter slowly until it comes to a slow boil (butter will “grow” as it heats through so pot should be large enough to allow this), stirring constantly along the bottom of the pot to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 5 minutes.* A good simmer time will lessen the amount of shaking required later.
Remove the jars from the oven. Stirring the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle, fill heated jars carefully leaving 3/4” headspace. You need this room for the shaking process.



Thoroughly wipe clean jar rims, attach lids and bands. Lids will seal as the jars cool. Once a few of the lids “ping”, and when jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle, gently shake the jars to keep the butter from separating. You may need to do this several times until the butter retains the same consistency throughout the jar. Sometimes the lids will pop back up, but they should “ping” again and will stay sealed as jar cools. If you have lids that don’t seal, re-heat the jars after washing and repeat process.



While butter jars are still slightly warm, put the jars on a tray and put into refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again and the melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This final shaking is very important. Check every five minutes and give the jars a shake until they are hardened in the jar. Leave in refrigerator for an hour.
Storing Your Jars
After removing from the refrigerator, place on a cool, dark shelf. Canned butter should store for 3 years or longer.

* If butter separates during cooking, you can still can it. It just won’t have the creamy texture of butter, but can be used on everything except maybe spreading on bread. If you only use the darker yellow clear liquid that floats to the top, and not get any of the lighter yellow milk fat into your jars, you would have “clarified” butter. It is better for you as there is less fat, and better that it is a natural product in your body. Margarine and other diet spreads are just chemicals and don’t assimilate into your body the same.

A apple a day, or 10 boxes in a month!

It seems like Jade, Tawna, Tracy and I have been doing apples for a month. Wait, we have been doing apples for a month! Not every day. We did 10 boxes of apples this year in our family and I lost count how many Tracy ended up doing. The squeezo was a great investment and I highly recommend it. The pie apples are much better this year and are prettier too. We opted for wedged sliced instead of the easier spiral slices we did last year. Jade and I made our rebellious non-sealing 7 quarts (out of 55 quarts) into apple pie. I think I may have made an apple pie like 20 years ago, so I'm going to say this was my first attempt at doing apple pie. Jade remembered lots of Nana's little tips, so she was a better student than me by a long shot. I found a good recipe online for pie apples, so used it to can our pie apples. I'm posting it here for anyone who wants to try it. It's been fun.

Choosing your apples
Select apples depending on how tart you like your apple pie. The more tart varieties like Granny Smith result in a tart pie unless you add more sugar.

For a mix of naturally sweet and tart varieties, use from these groups: Bramley, Cox Pippin, Fuji, McIntosh, Stayman Winesap, Jonagold, Rome, Cameo, Jonathon. If you can't get any of these, then try Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, etc. You want a flavorful, aromatic and firm apple (Golden Delicious and Galas are too soft, for example). Always use a mixture - never just one type. The Fuji's and Gala's give it an aromatic flavor! Honeycrisp and Pink Lady are also excellent, sweet, flavorful apples.

Preparing Jars and Lids
Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars or you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, keep the jars hot until they are used. Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot apple pie filling.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.

Preparing the apples

Fill your sink or a large container with water to wash the apples. The fastest way to peel the apples is an “apple, peeler, corer, slicer” (but with the corer/slicer function off). With firm apples, it takes about 20 seconds per apple. These apple peelers don't work well on soft, mushy apples or apples with soft spots on them. In that case your stuck with a hand peeler!

Once they're peeled, remove any remaining brown spots. These apple peelers work absolutely great on firm apples, pears and potatoes. They don't work so well on apples that are mush or have soft spots. There are 2 types of peelers: those that have a suction base and those that clamp on to the edge of a table. I prefer the suction type as you can use it more places.
Slicing and coring the apples is next.

You can use a knife, but the $5 corer/slicer you see in the photo is the easiest way to do it. The apple corer/slicer, available at almost any large grocery store, kitchen store, Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. With this or an ordinary knife, any slices that are between ¼-inch and 1/2 inch thick will do.

Remove seeds, stems, any hard parts near the seeds and brown or soft spots. Now you are ready to blanch the apples. Place sliced apples a batch at a time in a large pot with at least 1 gallon of boiling water - the larger the pot and the greater the volume of water, the better! Boil each batch 1 minute after the water returns to a boil. You're not really "cooking" the apples - just blanching them. Blanching means heating them at high temperature for a brief time to stop the enzymes that can cause the flavor to degrade during storage.

Drain and keep the hot fruit in a covered bowl or pot.

Pie Filling

In a large pot combine:
7 1/2 C. cold water (or 2 1/2 C. water and 5 C. apple juice for more flavor)
3 C. granulated sugar (Yes, you can vary the amount of sugar. You could use organic sugar or honey (about 3/4 cup of honey to replace each cup of sugar)
1 T. Cinnamon
1 t. Nutmeg
1 t. Cloves ( I use half this amount because I'm not a big cloves fan.)
Optional additional spices you could add are 1 t. each of Ginger and Allspice.

Stir almost constantly while cooking on medium high heat until the mixture begins to bubble.

Mix 1 1/2 C. Ultra Gel
with 3/4 C. Bottled Lemon Juice and add this to the juice in the pot. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. Then remove from the heat./ It ought to be pretty thick, but still able to drip.

(I buy Ultra Gel at Shar's Kitchen) or you can use a product called ClearJel. You can also use cornstarch but know the following: According to the USDA's National Home Food Preservation Center at the University of Georgia, ClearJel® is a corn starch that has been modified to give it special and unique characteristics when used in food products. It is recommended by the USDA for making pie fillings because it does not break down in the acid food mixtures and does not thicken enough during heat processing to interfere with the intended effect of the heat on killing bacteria during canning. In other words it reduces spoilage and is safer than corn starch. It is preferred for thickening canned pie fillings as well as other foods over other corn starches because it has less or no aftertaste, the thickened juices are smooth and clear, and foods thickened with ClearJel® may be frozen.

Filling Your Jars
The best way to fill the jars is pictured here. Because the filling is on the thick side, layering is preferred so the filling is present through the jar. Fill to 1/2" minimum headspace. I like about 1" better. A thin spatula down the sides of the filled jar will release any air pockets present. Prepare lids and bands and close the jars.


Water Bath Method
Put them in the canner and keep them cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. For our altitude here in Arizona, boil pint and/or quart jars for 30 minutes. After processing time is achieved, remove jars to a draft-free counter and allow to cool, usually overnight without disturbing. If all goes will you will hear the lids ping, or pop down to form the desired seal. If they don't seal, refrigerate and use, or apply a new prepared lid and reprocess.

Steam Canner Method
Follow manufacturer's directions to prepare the canner and water level. Place jars on rack and close canner. Once the steam is a steady 8" or so plume from both sides of canner start timing for 30 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes, turn off burner and allow to sit 3 minutes. Remove jars to a draft-free counter and allow to cool, usually overnight without disturbing. If all goes will you will hear the lids ping, or pop down to form the desired seal. If they don't seal, refrigerate and use, or apply a new prepared lid and reprocess.

Pressure Canner Method
Follow manufacturer's directions to prepare canner and water level. After jars are placed in canner and the lid secured, again follow the direction's for exhausting the air from the canner. After the weight is placed, allow the pressure to build to 6 pounds. Reduce heat to maintain pressure at 6 pounds for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow pressure to fall on it's own. At that point, remove weight and lid and allow the jars to stay in the canner 5-10 minutes. Remove from canner to a draft-free counter and allow to cool, usually overnight without disturbing. If all goes will you will hear the lids ping, or pop down to form the desired seal. If they don't seal, refrigerate and use, or apply a new prepared lid and reprocess.
You can use your pressure canner as a water bath also. Follow manufacturer's directions for this process.

Finishing
Now your jars are all done, cooled and hopefully all sealed. Remove the bands and put them in hot soapy water. Take each jars and gently wash the band threads to remove and sticky residue from the canning process. Set them on a towel to dry or wipe dry and date the lids and label if you need to. I reapply the clean, dry bands for storage, but you don't have to.
Apple pie, apple crisp, over ice cream, there are many ways to use this wonderful filling.

Applesauce made easy!

Jonagold apples, a cross between Jonathan and Golden Delicious



Rome apples. I wish I had a picture of the cut ones. They had bright red swirls inside. Really pretty. They made the deepest pink applesauce I've ever seen.





The Squeezo Strainer is high on my list of most loved kitchen tools. Jade, Tracy, Papa and I made applesauce on Monday from 6 -48 pound boxes of apples. Five boxes were JonaGolds and one box were Rome apples. The apples are so beautiful this year and I love that the whole house smells like an orchard. The garage too since there are still apples out there waiting to be delicious pie apples and applesauce. We followed the instructions that came with the Squeezo and in about 4 hours we processed all 6 boxes into applesauce. After the fiasco we had last year trying to get apples into jars, this was a breeze. No peeling, coring, slicing. Just steam the apples tender and push them through the Squeezo for beautiful applesauce. The sauce comes out and goes down the funnel thing and the garbage goes out the other way for dumping. We used the regular size screen that came on it for the first 2 boxes. Then we put on the pumpkin screen for a coarser pulp and we liked that better. The Rome apples came out very very pink. I ended up mixing my 2 JonaGold boxes with my 1 Rome box for a pink blushed applesauce. I only added about 1 cup of sugar and a dash of cinnamon to a 12 qt. bucket of applesauce. The apples were really sweet enough on their own unless you have a sweet tooth. Tracy took her 3 boxes of JonaGolds home to can and I did my 3 boxes here into the canners. Three boxes of apples yielded 50 pints and 14 quarts. Maybe I will be crazy enough to try tomato sauce someday. Not any time soon though. I love this stuff.

Bottled Ground Beef Mix

Tracy got me going on the goal to do some ground beef this year. I found a good recipe last year and tried it out. We have enjoyed being able to just get it off the shelf this year when we were in a hurry to make a meal. Tracy tracked down the sales and we bought lots of beef. It's easy, but takes time to pressure can it as it has to maintain pressure for 75 to 90 minutes. Tracy plays solitare on her computer while she's watching her canners. I make lists, pace the kitchen, talk on the phone, and check my email. I think I'll try solitare next time - it sounds like more fun.

This recipe is probably permanently engraved upon my brain. I have made it so many times in the last week, I don't see how I would ever forget it. Try it out before you bottle it to see if you like it. I use it in spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, lasagne, rocket soup, and chili. You could use it for tacos too, but I like a drier meat and a little more spice for taco meat. I'm sure there are many recipes it would go well in. As the jars cool, the small amount of fat that stays in the hamburger solidifies at the top. If it bothers you, you can skim it off when you open your jar to use it. It should be very minimal if you have gotten a good lean hamburger.

Wash 9 pint jars or 4 quart jars and keep hot

6 pounds of very lean ground beef
2 cloves minced garlic
3 cups (1 1/2 medium) diced onion

6 cups (1-48 oz. can) tomato juice
1 1/4 cups beef stock
1 T. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Combine last four ingredients in 6-8 qt. pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low to keep hot. In large fry pan brown meat (half at a time if necessary) until pink is gone. Add to tomato juice broth. Saute onions and garlic in meat drippings until tender. Add to meat mixture. Cover and let simmer about 5 minutes. Prepare lids according to manufacturer's directions. Pack meat mixture into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headroom. Wipe rims clean and attach lids and bands.

Process in a pressure canner at 11 pounds pressure.
Pints 75 minutes / Quarts 90 minutes - Remember processing time doesn't start until pounds of pressure has been achieved. Follow pressure canner manufacturer's directions to exhaust steam from canner and place weight to bring pressure up. Be sure to allow pressure to fall on it's own after removing from heat before opening the canner.

I usually double this recipe to get 7 quarts and 9 pints. I took this pic before I cleaned my jars up after canning. They are much prettier when they have been washed, wiped, labeled and boxed. I am still really enjoying all this canning. Kind of sick, I know.

Tomato Base Mix

I will do a nicer recipe later, but here are pics and the how to if you are wanting to do the tomato mix. 

For about 24 lbs. of tomatoes:

6 onions

4-5 cloves fresh garlic

2 bunches fresh Italian parsley

4-5 green peppers

2-3 C. sliced celery

1/4 C. (4 T.) salt

1. Take out stems, I like a strawberry stemmer. Cut in half down through the stem hole and cut off any bad imperfections.
   
2. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for about 30 seconds, remove and immerse immediately in cold water. The skins will be loose and will come off easily. Put tomatoes in a container and cover. (I had some help from Papa on this part)
   
3. Chop the rest of the vegetables the way you prefer. I leave them chunky, but you may prefer a finer chop. I also chose not to do the celery and green peppers in my mix because I don't like them in my soups/chili, etc. I can always add green peppers later if I need them. Just do what works for your end use.
   
4. Cut the tomatoes into chunks - leave them a little on the big side as they cook down some. I used a bussing tub to mix everything and it works great. Combine all the stuff in the tub and add the salt. If you don't have a tub, clean out your kitchen sink, plug it up and use it like a tub. It works well too. Toss well. (I use my hands)
   
5. Fill the prepared jars (dishwashers are great to wash and keep them warm for you) with the mix trying to keep the liquid to a minimum. Once the jar is full and packed just a tad, add enough liquid from the mix in the tub so it is just below the lid screws. Leave about 1/2 to 3/4 inch head space.
   
6. Using a chopstick, or something like it, release any trapped air in jars by running the chopstick down the sides of the jar and the air pockets will bubble to the top.
   
7. Wipe the rims of jars with a clean cloth or paper towel to make sure the rim is clean and ready for lids. Prepare lids by putting them in a pan with water and bring just to a boil. Using a lid lifter (handy little tool with a magnet on one end) grab a lid and ring and screw finger tight on each jar.
   
8. Place the jars in your canner not touching each other and not touching the canner sides. Following the manufacturer's directions secure the lid and bring up to 11 pounds of pressure. Once there, start timing for 25 minutes and maintain the 11 pounds of pressure. You may have to adjust your burner heat and let out a little pressure from the weight now and then to maintain the proper pressure. Just tilt the weight to the side to release some pressure if you need to. DO NOT Remove the weight to do this.
   
9. When the time is up, remove from heat and let the pressure drop on its own. When it does, remove the weight, remove the lid (careful, or you will get steam burned) and using a jar lifter bring jars straight up and out of the canner and onto a towel on the counter. Do not tilt jars. Straight up and straight down. 
   

As the jars cool, if all goes well you will hear the lids “ping” (a metallic pop) as they seal in your hard work. If you have a jar that doesn't ping you can reprocess it with a new lid, or just put it in the fridge and use it up right away. (I cuss them out now and then but it doesn't help). They should sit undisturbed until the next day. You can then carefully remove the bands only. Rinse the jars carefully in cool water to clean off any boil over. Same with the bands. I pile them all in a bowl and soak them in suds. After a while I rinse them, make sure they soaked clean and lay them out to dry. If you want to put them back on your jars you can, but you don't have to. If you have curious kids, it is sometimes a good idea to store the jars with the bands back on them.

I like the Presto brand 23 quart pressure canner. It is large enough to do four 1/2 gallon jars at a time and has been a good investment for me. I found them online for around $88.00. 

If you just want to do plain tomatoes, you can leave them whole in your jars, make sure as you pack them you push on them a little so some juice squishes out. There should be enough liquid in your jars but you can add a little water if you need to. Add a teaspoon of salt to the top of each jar. You only have to bring them up to 10-12 pounds of pressure and then remove from heat. They don't have to pressure for any sustained length of time. Allow pressure to drop on its own as before. You can also use a steam canner or the water bath method for just plain tomatoes. They are excellent all by themselves as well. 

Don't be afraid to try this. It is fun and you will get a sense of accomplishment just to see all the jars ready for your family to eat.