1. Prepare jars, canner and lids. Wash jars, lids and screw bands in hot, soapy water. Rinse well and drain. (Discard any jars that have nicks, cracks, uneven rim surfaces or other defects.) Place a rack in the bottom of a boiling-water canner, then place the required number of mason jars on the rack. Add water to the jars and the canner until the jars are about two-thirds full. Cover the canner and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Keep jars hot until you're ready to use them.
2. Set screw bands aside—they do not require heating or sterilizing. You want the screw bands to be at room temperature for easy handling when you apply them to the jars. Place lids—the flat, round portion of the two-piece closures—in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Do not boil. Keep lids hot until you're ready to use them.
3. Working in small batches, immerse tomatoes in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until the skins start to loosen or crack. Immediately plunge into a bowl of cold water and slip the skins off. Remove cores and any bruised or discolored portions that become apparent after blanching. Leave whole, halve or quarter.
4. Prepare tomatoes for packing*
5. Working with one jar at a time, remove a jar from the canner, pouring hot water back into canner. Place the jar on a heat-protected work surface, such as a wooden cutting board, a towel or a heatproof tray. If using, place funnel in jar. Before packing each jar of tomatoes, add lemon juice or citric acid to the hot jar in the quantity specified in chart**
6. Pack tomatoes into prepared jars to within a generous ½ inch of top of jar. Ladle hot cooking liquid (or boiling water if using the raw-pack method) into jar to cover tomatoes, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot liquid. With a clean damp cloth or paper towel, wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
7. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Cover canner and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling continuously, begin counting processing time. Process pint jars for 40 minutes and quart jars for 45 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes; remove jars, cool and store.

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*Raw-Pack Method

Bring about 4 cups water to a boil and keep hot (you will use it to fill the jars.) Do not heat tomatoes.

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Hot-Pack Method

Place tomatoes in a large stainless steel saucepan. (For best results when canning whole tomatoes, do not layer them in the pan. Quartered and halved tomatoes can be layered.) Add water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring gently. Reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes.

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**

Bottled lemon juice- Pint: 1 tbsp, Quart: 2 tbsp
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Citric acid- Pint: ¼ tsp, Quart: ½ tsp
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Add salt if using, in the quantity specified below:
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Pint: ½ tsp, Quart: 1 tsp
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Variations

Tomatoes Packed in Tomato Juice:

Packing tomatoes in tomato juice concentrates and enhances the flavor of the end product. However, the processing times must be increased. Use either the hot- or raw-pack method and follow the steps above, substituting commercially prepared or homemade heated tomato juice for the water. Increase processing time to 85 minutes for both pint and quart jars.

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Raw-Packed Tomatoes with No Added Liquid:

Packing tomatoes raw with no added liquid produces the most concentrated flavor. However, this method requires extended processing times to ensure that the heat fully penetrates to the centers of the jars. Use the raw-pack method above, except do not add boiling water to tomatoes when packing in jars. After adding lemon juice or citric acid and salt to each jar, pack raw tomatoes into prepared jars to within a generous ½ inch of top of jar. Press tomatoes into the jar until the spaces between them fill with juice, leaving ½ inch headspace. Increase processing time for both pint and quart jars to 85 minutes.

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