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.
Could you slip the skins off the tomatoes 1st? I like to dehydrate the pretty skins and grind to make tomato powder for seasoning….
Thanks!
Marilyn in MS
Sure.
Raspberry jam! Yummmmmm!
I really, really love having canned plum tomatoes come January. Nothing like the taste of fresh-from-the-garden tomato sauce when it’s snowing.
Peach preserves!
I’m looking forward to doing my first try at canning this week – I’m looking forward to saving any cheap produce I can get my hands on, some berry preserves, and I’ll be canning some tomato sauce/soup base with my parents (with homegrown tomatoes)!
Any kind of jam is a welcome sight on a hot biscuit in the winter!
The conventional answer I am sure, but there certainly is something magical about having summer strawberries in a jar that never gets old. I made a lot of jam this year fortunately.
All kinds of jam and jellies, this year lots of blackberries, but not much plum. A freeze nailed the plums in western Pennsylvania. Thanks
Last year we had some apple pie filling left so making a pie was a lovely treat in winter!
I’m pretty happy about having my pluot, strawberry and peach jams ready for January this year!
My fave preserve to have on hand in January is just plain old canned tomatoes. I love opening the jar and breathing in the scent of summer. Thrills me every single time.
Getting ready to make strawberry French vanilla jam. I use flavored tea bags to give it a hint of vanilla !
Green Beans!
Pickled beets and tomato jam!
My favorite are tomatoes and pickled beets.
strawberry freezer jam, or apricot jam! so bright and summery.
Pickled beets. I love them. Hope to make grape juice soon too.
Peach Ketchup for sandwiches
My favorite is what we call “Mailman Salsa” (our mail carrier gave us his recipe). It’s one of the few forms of tomato that my kid will eat without complaint!
I am always grateful for the pasta sauce made with our homegrown tomatoes. I’ve been looking for a water bath canned tomato soup recipe and will be trying this. Thanks!
Every Christmas we give away something in jars, Ohelo berry jam, chili pepper jam, fudge sauce. Ohelo berry is my favorite, as it is a family tradition to pick together.
Apple sauce from our hyperactive apple tree is a family favorite and pear jelly is a personal favorite.
FYI, the link to the National Center for Home Food Preservation in the paragraph below the picture of the tomatoes in the pot in the sink with water running, directs you to a Fillmore Container.
Thank you for letting me know. I will fix that.
Your Brown Sugar Salted Peach Jam is my current fave but now I’m kicking myself for not stocking up on the $2/lb heirloom tomatoes at the Organic Farm Store this weekend (I did get peaches and pickling cukes I need to deal with this afternoon).
Raspberry jam is my absolute favorite!
I love strawberry jam made from local berries.
I love to have strawberry jam on hand. It’s almost strawberry season again come January, but not quiiiite yet.
My grandmother made pickles that the whole family loved- we used to “shop” the shelves in her cold cellar and that’s always what we’d pick. I’d really like to try her recipe some day.
I need a food mill or I’ll never successfully deal with tomatoes– they taste bitter to me w/skins left on. Not the end of world, I just adjust with a bit of sugar, but annoying. Guess I’ll just have to get one 😉
Canned tomatoes!
Love so many of my preserves. No guess my favorite is canned tomatoes. There is so much I can use them in.
Blackberry preserves – they taste so good on a winter morning!
My favorite thing to find in the pantry on dreary days is a jar or peaches!
Boozy canned peaches!
the preserve I love most in January is jam!!! there is nothing better than a nice ginger peach jam on a cold morning. Of course fresh tomato sauce is also a great resource, making a hardy spaghetti or stew with homemade tomato sauce is always a luxury in the middle of winter.
Love having my own tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, and tomato soup in the pantry throughout the winter!
We use your whole tomato canning technique and love it
Strawberry jam is our favorite here! This tomato soup looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for the chance to win!
Sandi
I love having apple butter and peach jam on my shelves in January–but they don’t usually last that long!
Apple butter is the only thing I have successfully canned. Some January I would love to have canned peaches and pears and bread & butter pickles like my mom used to make.
I know what I’m canning next
Anything peach! Jam, chutney, ice cream sauce, or plain old whole peaches……can’t get enough of them.
I can’t wait to try this recipe…and would love these jars to put it in!
I love having anything tomato on hand!
Been looking for a good tomato soup recipe to can. Thanks!
Since I have your new cookbook, I will have to find out! Never canned anything yet.
Canned vegetables in pints to add in to a pot of soup.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I am Using a bunch of tomatoes from my garden that I had thrown in the freezer as they ripened this summer. I just threw them in the pot whole and didn’t even dethaw, core or slice them. They cooked up nicely and the food mill did the rest. Such a refreshing change from sauce and other tomatoe canning recipes! Cooking the milked sauce down now and will check the ph with a strip because they are mainly yellow and orange tomatoes and may be lower acid. I’ll add a little more citric acid if needed. Thank you food in jars!
I want some heat and eat soups on my shelf! Actually, looking for some good soup recipes to can led me to this blog!
Tomato jam & salsa are my favorite things to have in the pantry! Thanks for the giveaway & the recipe!