Tomato sauce for the winter

Ingredients:

• 16–20 kg plum tomatoes
• 14 tablespoons store-bought lemon juice
• Salt
• Sugar

Preparation:

1. Prepare sterilized jars and lids:
   
   Wash all jars and lids thoroughly with soapy water and rinse well. Fill a pot (or pressure canner) with water to a level at least 2.5 cm above the jars and bring to a boil. Use tongs to carefully lower the jars, tilting them to fill them with hot water. Pour hot, but not boiling, water into a small saucepan; place the lids in the water. Place a kettle of water on the stove. Once the jars are prepared, you can can your food.
2. Peel and core the tomatoes:
   
   Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Carefully lower the tomatoes into the boiling water and blanch them for 60 seconds. Remove them with a sieve and transfer them to the ice water. Once the tomatoes have cooled, peel the skins; they should come off easily. Remove the cores with a small knife.
3. Prepare tomato sauce:
   
   Roughly chop the tomatoes and place them in a large saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and heat, chopping and stirring the tomatoes to prevent burning. Continue heating until all the tomatoes have been added and crushed. Bring the tomatoes to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the sauce until the desired thickness is reached. Reduce the liquid by a third for a thin sauce or by half for a thick sauce.
4. Fill and close the jars:
   
   Using jar tongs, remove the jars from the saucepan, carefully pouring the water back into the pan. Place them next to the saucepan with the sauce. Increase the heat under the canner to high. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt to each jar; if desired, add 1 teaspoon of sugar to balance the acidity. Using a ladle, pour the sauce through a funnel into the jars, filling to within 1 cm of the rim. Run a clean chopstick inside each jar to release any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel. Place the lids on the jars, then screw the lids on tightly.
5. Preserve the jars:
   
   Using tongs, carefully transfer the jars to the pressure canner so they stand upright. Once all the jars are in the pan, they should be covered with at least 2.5 cm of water; if not, add more from the kettle. Bring the water to a full boil and simmer for 40 minutes.
6. Remove and cool.:
   
   Using jar tongs, carefully remove the jars from the pressure canner and place them upright on a kitchen towel or wire rack. Do not place hot jars directly on a cool surface. Let cool without moving for at least 12 hours. If any jars are not sealed tightly, re-can them as described above or refrigerate them and use immediately.
7. Storage:
   
   Label the lid or jar with the canning date. Store jars in a cool, dark place for up to 12 months.
8. The first step in canning is ensuring your hands, equipment, and surfaces in the canning room are clean. Jars should be glass, free of chips and cracks. Canning jars are sealed with metal lids with a rubber seal. Two-piece lids with discs are most common, as are flat lids with a ring. Preparing the jars before filling is also important: wash the jars with hot, soapy water, rinse well, and place them upside down on a tray. To sterilize the jars, boil them in a large pot of water for 10 minutes. Jars only need to be sterilized if the canned goods will be processed for less than 10 minutes in a boiling water bath or pressure canner. Use jar tongs to remove the hot, sterilized jars from the boiling water. Make sure your tongs are also sterilized: dip the ends of the tongs in boiling water for a few minutes before use. All equipment used in making jams, jellies, preserves, and pickles should be clean, including towels and especially your hands.