Makes 4 (12-ounce) jars

 

Ingredients:

2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

3 Large (or 5 small) fresh Jalapenos, seeded and chopped 5 pounds Roma or paste tomatoes, 4 tablespoons bottled lemon juice

Prepare a boiling water bath and 4 (12-ounce) jelly jars. Place lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While it heats, remove the cores from your tomatoes and score the bottoms with a shallow “X.” Fill a large bowl 2/3 the way with cold water and place near the stove.

Working in batches, blanch all your tomatoes for 1 to 2 minutes. Make sure to give the water a chance to come back up to boiling between batches. If the water isn’t hot enough, you will have a hard time removing the skin during peeling. As each batch is done, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the bowl of ice water; the cold water stops the cooking and cools the tomatoes down enough for you to peel them.

Next, peel all of the tomatoes. Once peeled, dice all the tomatoes and put into a large pot.

Next, dice all of your peppers. You will want to wear some type of rubber/latex glove for this. Trust me….. From experience these peppers can be dangerous. You can get the gloves at most $1 stores. Place the peppers and the rest of your ingredients except the lemon juice in the pot. Cook on medium for about 45 minutes. It should reduce slightly.

Take your prepared jars and add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice to the bottom of each jar. Pour the tomato mixture into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Use a wooden chopstick to remove any air bubbles and adjust the amount of tomatoes if necessary.

Wipe the rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 35 minutes.

When time is up let the jars cool for 10 minutes before lifting them out of the pot. Then set them on a kitchen towel to cool completely. You can test the seals by pressing down on the lids. If they feel solid, the jars are sealed. If there’s any give, wiggle or popping, they did not seal and should be refrigerated and used promptly.

 

Christina’s Notes:

3 medium globe tomatoes = 1 pound           8 small plum tomatoes = 1 pound

25 to 30 cherry tomatoes = 1 pound             50 grape tomatoes = 1 pound

2 cups chopped tomatoes = 1 pound            3/8 cup of tomato paste plus 1/2 cup water = 1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup canned tomatoes = 1-1/2 cups fresh, chopped, cooked tomatoes

1/2 pound or 1 tomato = 1 serving                1 cup firmly packed fresh tomato = 1/2 cup tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water

1 pound fresh = 1-1/2 cups chopped             1 (16-ounce) can = 2 cups

1 (35-ounce) can = 4 cups undrained           1 (28-ounce) can = 3 cups undrained