Tomato Soup

 Had a few tomatoes left and made them into soup.

Tomato Soup

2 Pints 

Ingredients

5 lbs tomatoes

1/2 cup yellow onion (diced)

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp dried basil

2 bay leaves

1 tsp granulated garlic

1½ tsp salt

1 tsp celery seed

½ tsp black pepper

lemon juice or citric acid 

Instructions

Quarter tomatoes and dice the onion. Place them in a large soup pot. Cook, uncovered, for 30 min – 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are very soft.

Remove tomatoes from the heat and let them cool slightly. Working in batches, transfer the warm tomatoes to a food processor, blender, or food mill to puree. If desired, press the tomato puree through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any seeds and skins.

Pour the smooth tomato puree back into the large soup pot. (Using a very wide-bottomed pot will give you more surface area as you reduce tomatoes, making the process take less time.)

Add  sugar, herbs, and spices. (Everything EXCEPT the lemon juice or citric acid.)

Bring seasoned tomato puree to a simmer. Cook tomato soup until it has reduced to the thickness you desire. 

Add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice to each pint jar or 2 Tbsp lemon juice to each quart jar. (Or ¼ tsp citric acid to each pint and ½ tsp citric acid to each quart.)

Fill jars with the soup, leaving ½ inch of headspace. (I like to use a canning funnel to reduce spills and messes.)

Wipe the rims clean of any spilled soup. Then cover the jars with fresh lids and rings.

Process your canned tomato soup in a boiling water bath canner for 40 minutes for pints or quarts.