Canning is quite easy, but a little labor intensive. Basically, get mason jars with the metal lids. Boil the jars for 10 minutes. Fill with sauce or salsa. Put the lids on and turn just until they start to resist a bit. Boil the filled jars for 10 minutes. Listen for the pop that tells you they've sealed and let cool for about 12 hours.
It's worth looking up basic canning if you're interested in it.
eta: Never mind. Apparently you have to pressure can them... See below.
Canning is quite easy, but a little labor intensive. Basically, get mason jars with the metal lids. Boil the jars for 10 minutes. Fill with sauce or salsa. Put the lids on and turn just until they start to resist a bit. Boil the filled jars for 10 minutes. Listen for the pop that tells you they've sealed and let cool for about 12 hours.
It's worth looking up basic canning if you're interested in it.
They're now suggesting that tomato-based products be pressure-canned because some tomatoes are found to have higher pH levels, so it's not guaranteed to be safe without the pressure canning.
Canning is quite easy, but a little labor intensive. Basically, get mason jars with the metal lids. Boil the jars for 10 minutes. Fill with sauce or salsa. Put the lids on and turn just until they start to resist a bit. Boil the filled jars for 10 minutes. Listen for the pop that tells you they've sealed and let cool for about 12 hours.
It's worth looking up basic canning if you're interested in it.
They're now suggesting that tomato-based products be pressure-canned because some tomatoes are found to have higher pH levels, so it's not guaranteed to be safe without the pressure canning.
Ohhhh. Well I haven't done pressure canning. Damn. We have a garden that is absolutely filled with tomatoes. Time to study up.
Other than using some in salads, I would put the cherry tomatoes on skewers or in baskets and grill them, either alone or alongside meat (they're great with steak) or other vegetables. It only takes a minute or two and they're great grilled.
To make sauce, yes, you should peel them. Cut an X in the peel of each tomato and drop them in boiling water for like one minute. Then immediately take them out with a slotted spoon and put them in a big bowl full of ice water to stop the cooking.
My marinara is super simple. I saute an onion and a few cloves of garlic, add the tomatoes (chopped into chunks), some oregano, salt, and pepper, and simmer. Sometimes I'll vary it a bit by adding hot peppers (or a tiny bit of crushed red pepper seeds), or roasted red peppers, or a tiny splash of balsamic, or some fresh basil leaves, or shave some Parmesan into it, or saute other vegetables with the garlic and onion like diced carrots and green bell peppers.
I don't mess around with canning because of botulism. Not worth the risk IMO, especially with acidic foods - you have to follow a specific recipe to ensure the right pH, etc. But both sauce and blanched and diced tomatoes will freeze well for a few months. I would use either double-bagged ziplocs or Tupperware/Rubbermaid type containers, not disposable containers like Ziploc or Gladware.
Wash them, core them, cut them in chunks and process them a food processor. Put them in freezer bowls or ziplock bags and freeze. You can turn them into sauce or use for soups and chili later. No need to peel or seed them.