Having a stash of homemade tomato soup concentrate in your pantry is like doing a favor for your future self. Portioning it out in 26 ounce jars from Fillmore Container makes it look extra snazzy!
My tomato preservation approach is one that is forever evolving. I make a point of trying at least one new-to-me tomato recipe to each season, always hoping that I’ll discover something particularly delicious and worthy of my time, resources, and shelf space.
This year, there were two experimental recipes. The first was this barbecue sauce (which is quite delicious, but probably won’t be something I make every single year). The second is the tomato soup concentrate that I’m sharing today. I’m already hoping that when I get home from the trip I’m currently on (I’ve been away for a week, which accounts for the blog silence), I’ll be able to get enough tomatoes to make another batch.
Recipes for tomato soup concentrates that are safe for the boiling water bath canner aren’t always easy to find. I did a lot of reading and worked out more math problems than is typically required for a basic canning recipe in order to bring this to you today. I built my recipe upon the framework laid out in the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s water bath safe Tomato and Vegetable Juice recipe.
The thing in that recipe that made everyone here possible is the fact that it specifies that, “Not more than 3 cups of other vegetables may be added for each 22 pounds of tomatoes.” Taking my cue from there, I used 15 pounds of tomatoes, and a scant two cups of diced onions. I felt comfortable doing that, because I was keeping to their approach while reducing the batch size by one-third.
From there, it was a matter of chopping the tomatoes and cooking them down with the onion. Once they were soft, I pushed them through a food mill fitted with its finest screen. At that point, I had approximately 24 cups of flavorful tomato juice.
I added Italian seasoning and granulated garlic, and cooked it down until I had a thick, tasty 16 cups. Once I was finished cooking, I added salt to taste (it’s always best to wait until you’ve finished cooking something down before salting it. Otherwise, you can end up with something inedible).
Then I portioned 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid into five square sided 26 ounce jars from Fillmore Container and filled them up with my soup concentrate. I added five minutes to the processing time required by the NCHFP for the tomato and vegetable juice, to compensate for the increased thickness.
I love canning tomato products in these square sided jars because they give it a more professional look, and I find that the squared off sides make them easier to grab when I’m moving quickly. The 26 ounce size is also great from a portioning perspective. Reheated with a bit of milk, there’s just the right amount for two people to enjoy bigs bowls with a side of cheesy toast or garlic bread.
Oh, and if you find yourself liking the looks of the square shape, know that they’re also available in 8 ounce and 16 ounce sizes.
Disclosure: Fillmore Container is a Food in Jars sponsor. Their sponsorship helps keep the site afloat. They provided the jars you see here at no cost to me. All opinions expressed are entirely mine.
Tomato Soup Concentrate
Ingredients
- 15 pounds of tomatoes
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt plus more to taste
- 2 1/2 teaspoons citric acid
Instructions
- Wash the tomatoes and cut them into quarters. Heap the chopped tomatoes into a large pot and add the diced onion.
- Add about a cup of water to the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching. Place the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil.
- Cook, stirring occasionally for about an hour, until the tomatoes have lost their structural integrity and the pot contains nothing but super saucy tomatoes.
- Remove the pot from the stove. Fit a food mill with its finest screen and position it over a large heatproof bowl.
- Working in batches, start pushing the cooked tomatoes and onions through the food mill. You will probably need to stop three or four times to empty out the bowl into a clean pot.
- Once all the tomatoes are milled, add the granulated garlic and Italian seasoning. Set the pot on the stove and bring to a low boil.
- Cook for one to three hours, until the soup concentrate has reduced by at 1/3 and hopefully a bit more.
- When you're pleased with the consistency, stir in the salt. Start with a tablespoon. Taste and add more as needed.
- Divide the citric acid between five jars 26 ounce jars (the Ball brand 24 ounce Pint & Half jars are also a great choice for this one).
- Funnel the finished soup concentrate into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 45 minutes (if you live above 1,000 feet in elevation, please adjust your processing times accordingly).
- When the time is up, remove the jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortable handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
Strawberry Vanilla jam and Cherry butter. I crave these flavors when it’s cold and rainy out.
Bread and butter pickles and dilly beans!
I’d love some Tomato soup come January! Really any jam is also welcome.
Wild Raspberry jam is my love language come the harsh winter months. 🙂
Apple butter!
Thank you for figuring this out! I have 40 pounds of tomatoes coming Saturday and hadn’t thought too much about what I was going to do with them. We love tomato soup and will give this a try. It will be nice to have a supply of soup on the shelf rather than taking up precious freezer space
In the winter I love to pull out strawberry jam to mix with yogurt for breakfast. It’s like a little bit of summer.
I love having some form of peach jam in January. The tomato soup concentrate intrigues me. Too bad our tomatoes didn’t do that well this year – maybe I can give it a try next year.
Raspberry or peach preserves would be my favorite to have in January. And I want to try making marmalade.
I love tomato soup. I am going to have to try this.
I think raspberry jam is my favorite – it always tastes like they just came straight off the plant!
tomato sauce
Hoping to pick up #40lbs of tomatoes next week. I make pizza sauce with mine, and I’ll try this recipe also!
All of the jams and jellies are great in January but my favorites are peach chutney, tomatillo sauce and peach salsa!
I am excited to make this Tomato soup concentrate. We have tons of organic tomatoes! In January they are a taste of summer!
Oh yummy! With Fall fast approaching, this would be a fave in this household!
I’m always so, so glad to have tomatoes as well as some summery jam like blueberry in the panrty come January!
Perfect! 75 lbs of tomatoes wasn’t quite enough for me to preserve this year hahaha
I’m going to stick with canning regular tomatoes for soup because I like Giada’s recipe where you add a can of cannelli beans that get mashed in. Other veggies go in too so it would violate your veggie to tomato ratio. Oh, well. I have stuck a bunch of tomato pieces in the freezer so I can attempt making sauce to can later when the weather cools a bit. My home grown tomatoes have not had a very long shelf life this year hence the freezer bags.
Strawberry Jam… and this year’s batch came out AWESOME! I may have to try making this soup.
I like to have tomato juice on my shelves. I make cream of tomato soup with it. I may have to give this recipe a try instead.
Looks like a great recipe. I’m going to give it a try. Thank you.
No doubt – Sweet Cherry Butter
most happy to find a sunny jar of nectarine jam, or raspberry jam. tomatoes also make me happy, but not in the same way. 🙂
Raspberry jam!
Just picked up 50# of tomatoes yesterday! Thanks for the great recipe!
Always have to have pickled beets and canned peaches. This tomato soup concentrate sounds wonderful. Maybe another box of tomatoes from the farmer’s market this weekend?!
some pickled fruit and blueberry butter!
Either pizza sauce or salsa!
Jams and jellies – great for a simple hostess gift.
If only my tomatoes would produce enough….
There are so many uses for fresh tomatoes. I made a savory tomato jam that was delicious over fish.
Peach preserves in January….a little taste of summer.
Looks relish!!! Always good to get another tomato recipe while they are coming in like crazy from the garden…
When it comes time to turn the concentrate into soup, how much cream do you add?
I love tomato soup for lunch on a snowy, wintry day! I happen to have the tomatoes to can right now! This is today’s project! Also, I’m so happy to discover Fillmore Containers through your blog. I ordered the 12 ounce sauce bottles and made your Peach Habanero Hot Sauce (a little hotter than yours…a few seeds) and the bottles look so cool and professional. I posted a pic on Facebook and all my friends want some! I have to make another batch! I live relatively close to Fillmore’s location in Lancaster, but my bottles arrived FAST! So happy!
This looks delicious! I’m brand new to canning, but I love my mom’s hot pepper jelly!
I definitely need to try this sauce.
I most enjoy having my canned tomato sauce.
I love having my chocolate cherry flavored fig preserves on the shelf in January -and any time of the year.
The tomato soup concentrate looks great and it does look professional in those beautiful jars!
I love having my hot sauces and your tomato jam recipe, oh and my grams pickles, and kraut…. I love just staring at the pantry sometimes… ?
That tomato soup looks delicious! I’m trying to picture what it would be like to carry 15 lbs. of tomatoes! I’d love to be able to save some salsa for January…although I would be thrilled to actually have ANYthing left on my shelf in January. I’m guessing what I will actually have left are pickles and relish because my cucumber crop was huge this year. I didn’t try freezing cucumbers until too late, or I wouldn’t have given so many away fresh!
Come January I have to have peach jam and blood orange marmalade!
I love having my version of crushed tomatoes preserved, especially in January. I use them in everything from soups, chili, sauce, etc.
This looks great! Do you do a 1:1 ration of milk or water when reheating?
Variety of jam’s and jellies to give as holiday gifts along with jars of Candied jalapeno’s
Thanks for sharing tomato soup recipe.Thank you also for this giveaway opportunity. I can Always use jars of all sizes and shapes.
I’ve got my own soup recipe but can always use another.
I think I’m more likely to do tomato paste in small jars. But these big ones look fantastic. Bet I could find something else to do with them.
I must have tomatoes on my shelf come January and bread and butter pickles.
I don’t care for tomato soup, but my husband does. Doing this in pint jars would make him SO happy!
Banana jam ! Delish