Tomato Canning 101: From Roasted Tomatoes to Shelf-Stable Sauce
Class Cost $65
Have you ever wanted to preserve the abundance of summer tomatoes but felt a little intimidated by canning?
Join us for Tomato Canning 101, a hands-on introduction to the art and practice of preserving tomatoes at home. Together, we’ll follow a tested tomato-sauce canning process from fresh tomatoes all the way to finished jars ready for the pantry.
We’ll begin with roasting tomatoes and transforming them into a rich, flavorful sauce, then walk through the steps of preparing and safely processing the sauce for storage. You’ll participate in creating a batch of sauce during a live canning demonstration and learn the essential principles behind safe home canning.
In this workshop, we’ll explore:
- How to prepare fresh tomatoes for sauce
- Roasting tomatoes to develop flavor and simplify preparation
- How to prepare tomato sauce for canning
- The basics of water-bath canning
- Proper jar preparation, filling, sealing, and processing
- Why acidity, processing time, temperature, and headspace matter
- Common canning mistakes and how to avoid them
- How to recognize and prevent food-safety hazards
- How to use tested recipes and reliable canning resources at home
- What makes a canning method safe—and why it’s important not to improvise when it comes to processing times and acidity
Our safety guidelines and tomato-sauce method will be based on recommendations from the National Center for Home Food Preservation and USDA-supported home-canning guidance. Alongside those tested guidelines, I’ll share what I’ve learned through years of preserving our own tomato sauce as a homesteading family—including the practical details that make the process feel approachable and doable in a home kitchen.
This is not just a demonstration: you’ll be part of making the sauce. We’ll work through the process together so you can see, smell, taste, and understand each stage from tomato to jar.
Each participant will be given a small jar of the finished tomato sauce to take home and a booklet with instructions, a supply list, and basic recipes to use at home..
Light snacks will be provided.
Whether you have a garden overflowing with tomatoes or simply want to learn how to preserve seasonal food for your family purchased at the farmers market, this class is a welcoming place to begin. Come learn the skills, understand the safety, and leave feeling confident about bringing a little more of the harvest into your pantry.
