Canned Green Tomatoes for Fried Green Tomatoes

Wow, it seems like a long time since I've posted; we've been so busy with harvesting the garden, canning, school, work and preparing everything else for the winter that time just flies fast!

Today I'm going to share a canning recipe that I did and look forward to enjoying all winter long!  

I discovered Fried Green Tomatoes a few years ago, it seems I am the only person in the family that likes them; but I guess I will just have to treat myself with these great green rewards from this summer's bounty! 

As I watched the weather go from beautiful to colder and colder, and eventually there was frost in the forecast, I decided it was time to harvest ALL of the tomatoes and I would just have to find a use for the green ones!

I pureed and froze 9 bags {4 cups each bag} of green tomatoes to use in recipes like green tomato cake and green tomato bread; which I haven't tried, but look to be very similar to zucchini cake or bread.

So the rest of the green tomatoes I canned!  A hot water bath works great for these because green tomatoes are actually higher in acidity than red/ripe tomatoes.  

Here's how I did it...

Ingredients:

-bottled lemon juice

-salt

-green tomatoes

-boiling water

Process:

1. Prepare your jars, lids and canner.

2. Wash and trim tomatoes of any spots.  Slice off the stem and flower ends; then slice the center into 1/4 inch slices.  {I included the stem and flower ends with the pureed tomatoes I froze.}  

3. Put lemon juice and salt in each jar {pinch of salt, 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice for pint jars & pinch of salt, 1 tbsp lemon juice for quart jars}.

4. Stack sliced tomatoes in sterilized jars, fill jars with boiling water; remove any air bubbles and fill with more water if needed, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Wipe rim of jar, place warmed lid on top and tighten ring to finger tightness.  

5. Place in hot water bath, making sure jars are covered with at least 1 inch of water.  Process for 40 minutes, turn off heat, remove canner lid, let sit 5 minutes and remove jars to a wire rack or dry kitchen towel to cool completely.

When ready to use the Green Tomatoes...
* Drain, season with salt and pepper and use for your favorite Fried Green Tomato recipe!  Enjoy!