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My grandparents used to make canned cherry tomatoes every year. Sweet and sour, perfectly salted, and full of summery flavors of garlic, onion, cloves, and fresh herbs. Those cherry tomatoes were so good that I couldn't stop eating them. Great on their own, as a snack, they are even better paired with fried or mashed potatoes, Shepherd's pie, grilled, roasted, or BBQed meats.

Sadly, I don't have my grandparent's original recipe, but my version of their canned cherry tomato recipe is very close. The trick is to get the right balance of sweet, tart, and salty and add enough right seasonings to get that rich summery flavor. I love the results.

We can a dozen quart jars of these tomatoes every summer to enjoy them during cold months. Together with canning tomato sauce, this is a great way to preserve tomatoes.

Picking cherry tomatoes for canning

For best taste, I like to pick almost but not fully ripe, firm, and undamaged tomatoes. Thick-skinned cherry tomatoes are also much better for caning compared to thin-skinned tomatoes. They hold their shape much better during canning.

Soft, fully ripe, or overripe tomatoes won't hold shape during pressure caning, so it's best to avoid them.

Do not use tomatoes from dead or frost-killed vines.

Green tomatoes are more acidic and are considered better for canning, but they lack the taste and texture that I like in canned cherry tomatoes, so I never can them.

Acidification

To ensure safe acidity in whole cherry tomatoes, I add four tablespoons of a 5% acidity white vinegar per quart per USDA recommendation on canning whole tomatoes.

You may also use two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. However, I tried them, as well as wine and apple cider vinegar, and did not like the flavor. I prefer white vinegar by far for canning cherry tomatoes. But do experiment and pick what suits your taste.

Basic seasonings for canned cherry tomatoes

You only need sufficient acidity to make canned cherry tomatoes. There is no need to add anything else at this time; cherry tomatoes can be seasoned after you open jars if that's what you want.

However, I like serving canned cherry tomatoes alongside grilled, roasted, and BBQ'ed meats. So, they need to be fully seasoned. They go fabulously with meat. They also pair well with potato dishes. Hence, they need to be fully seasoned.

Other than vinegar, I add salt and sugar to create a perfectly salted, slightly sweet, and tart taste. I use the same 3% salinity when making my fermented pickles; I think it provides the optimum taste. I did several experiments with higher and lower salt levels and provided my findings in that post.

On top, I add 2 bay leaves per jar, 2 garlic cloves, and a dozen black peppercorns. This is all you need to get very tasty basic canned cherry tomatoes.

Adding herbs will get you more flavor; sage, dill, cilantro, celery leaves, or parsley work very well with canned tomatoes. If you want a little spiciness, add a couple of jalapeno slices. Don't get carried away with jalapenos, they can make canned tomatoes very hot if you add too much. I also like adding a small shallot in each jar; shallots add a lot of flavor.

Canning cherry tomatoes

When canning cherry tomatoes, I leave the skins on. You can use peeled tomatoes, but they look and hold shape better when skins are left on. The skins will split during processing, but that's not a problem.

If you want to remove skins, dip them in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until skins split; then dip in cold water and slip off skins.

Tomatoes may be canned using two methods: raw pack and hot pack.

Raw pack

Heat water, for packing tomatoes, to boiling. Fill hot jars with prepared raw tomatoes, leaving ½-inch headspace. Cover tomatoes in the jars with boiling water, leaving ½-inch headspace.

Hot pack

Put prepared tomatoes in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover them completely. Boil tomatoes gently for 5 minutes. Fill hot jars with hot tomatoes leaving ½-inch headspace. Add cooking liquid to the jars to cover the tomatoes, leaving ½-inch headspace.

Hot-packed cherry tomatoes lose their shape, and I never liked the results. I now use the raw pack method exclusively.

Processing

USDA recommends processing tomatoes using boiling water canner and pressure canner methods. The boiling water canner method, which is much longer, seems to soften tomatoes too much, which results in poor shape. I prefer the pressure canner method with a weighted gauge. But feel free to pick whichever method you prefer or have the equipment for.

Adjust lids and process according to the recommendations in Table 1, Table 2, or Table 3, depending on the method of canning used.

Table 1. Recommended process time for water-packed Whole or Halved Tomatoes in a boiling-water canner.

Style of Pack	Jar Size	0 - 1,000 ft	1,001 - 3,000 ft	3,001 - 6,000 ft	Above 6,000 ft
Hot & Raw	Pints	40 min	45 min	50 min	55 min
Hot & Raw	Quarts	45 min	50 min	55 min	60 min

Table 2. Recommended process time for water-packed Whole or Halved Tomatoes in a dial-gauge pressure canner.

Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 2,000 ft	2,001 - 4,000 ft	4,001 - 6,000 ft	6,001 - 8,000 ft
Hot & Raw	Pints or Quarts	15 min	6 lb	7 lb	8 lb	9 lb
Hot & Raw	Pints or Quarts	10 min	11 lb	12 lb	13 lb	14 lb

Table 3. Recommended process time for water-packed Whole or Halved Tomatoes in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.

Style of Pack	Jar Size	Process Time	0 - 1,000 ft	Above 1,000 ft
Hot & Raw	Pints or Quarts	15 min	5 lb	10 lb
Hot & Raw	Pints or Quarts	10 min	10 lb	15 lb
Hot & Raw	Pints or Quarts	1 min	15 lb	Not recommended

Source: National Center for Home Food Preservation - Selecting, Preparing and Canning Tomatoes