Canning mealy, overripe tomatoes?

[lkmiscnet]

I have an over abundance of tomatoes. The Better Boy variety, for some reason, seem to be unusually squisy on the vine. Perhaps I have not picked them soon enough...

In any event, I have lots of cherry tomatoes as well.

I wanted to try my hand at canning a few jars, but have questions:

1) Will the mealy, overripe tomatoes still can well? Will they taste okay in sauces/soups after canned?

2) Can I mix the cherry tomatoes and the larger tomatoes or should I keep them separated out according to size?

3) Should the larger tomatoes be diced or should they be canned whole (or as whole as I can keep them while fitting them in the jar)?

4) Do I need a canning rack for the bottom of my stock pot or can I let the jars sit on the bottom? This is my first crack at canning, so I only plan to do maybe 4-6 jars.

[cristeen]

Can them how you use them, diced, pureed, whole, whatever. You can mix them, which will meld the flavors, or separate them if you want the visual of whole cherry toms.

Dont need a rack, a cake rack, folded towel or a few extra canning rings can serve the purpose.

[velochic]

#1 - canning sub-par foods does not make them better. If these are tomatoes you wouldn't want to use now (cooked or raw), canning them is not going to help the situation and could even make it taste worse. Usually you want to can your best produce, not the worst. I wouldn't can mealy tomatoes.

#2 - I would keep them separate because they all have different acidity levels.

#3 - it doesn't really matter, but you probably want to blanch and peel the tomatoes.

#4 - jars *cannot* sit on the bottom of the pot - it may cause them to burst.

Seriously, follow the directions of a trusted guide like the Ball Blue Book or the USDA's website. This is not something to just wing.

[babygirlie]

mealy as in worms? O.o

[lkmiscnet]

By mealy, I mean where the insides are like watermelon. Hard to explain...

Some of my Better Boys are feeling squishy on the vine even though they do not appear overripe. Maybe a bad batch...

[artemis33]

Since they don't seem to have great texture (or flavor?), you might consider roasting them with garlic and olive oil first, and then seeing how you like them. I find this improves flavor, and you can feel free to mix varieties. LOVE tomatoes like this, I only wish we had a decent crop this year to do so.

If you like them that way, you can definitely freeze them, though I am not sure about canning.

[cristeen]

I missed the mealy part... if the texture isn't the best, I'd puree them, possibly turn them into a sauce rather than trying to can them chopped or whole.

[BetsyS]

Our very late season tomatoes (and this is the time of year I consider very late season) have that texture. Not sure what it is. I find that they are okay roasted or pureed into sauce. Honestly, I wouldn't bother canning them. It's a lot of trouble the first time, and if the results are bad, it might turn you off canning forever. There also isn't a trusted, reliable source that tells you how to can cherry tomatoes.

I would freeze your tomatoes (after they are cooked, so the quantity is smaller). They'll freeze great.