Safety classification
Tested
Testing authority: National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia / USDA-derived guidance)
Safety reviewed: 09/09/2026
Processing details
Altitude adjustment: Boiling-water times increase across the documented altitude bands. Pressure alternatives vary by selected time, gauge, and altitude; follow one complete NCHFP table.
Source & provenance
Safety classification: Tested recipe from NCHFP.
Safety summary
Required bottled lemon juice or citric acid applies to every processing method. Do not omit acidification, change the packing liquid, or combine different process options.
Processing details
- Method
- Boiling Water
- Pack style
- Either
- Jar sizes
- Pint or Quart Jars
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
- Processing time
- Boiling-water: pints 40–55 min; quarts 45–60 min by altitude; tested pressure alternatives also available
Tested source
Safety status: Tested authoritative recipe. This recipe follows the National Center for Home Food Preservation source. Follow its quantities and complete process exactly.
Canning timeline
- Prepare jars, canner, and ingredients.
- Wash, peel, and core sound tomatoes; acidify every jar as directed, then follow either the complete raw-pack or hot-pack procedure.
- Fill pints or quarts, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Boiling-water pints: 40/45/50/55 minutes; quarts: 45/50/55/60 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Use the official table for pressure options.
- Cool jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check seals.
Equipment
Boiling-water canner or pressure canner, saucepan, jar lifter, and pint or quart canning jars.
Visual method guide
- Prepare: Use sound produce and exact measured ingredients.
- Pack: Raw pack or hot pack; remove trapped air and maintain 1/2 inch headspace.
- Process: Boiling-water canning or one complete NCHFP pressure-canning option; use the schedule for your altitude and canner type.
- Cool: Leave jars upright and undisturbed before checking seals.
Safety essentials
Tested NCHFP tomato recipe. Required bottled lemon juice or citric acid applies to every boiling-water and pressure-canning option.
About this recipe
Whole or Halved Tomatoes Packed in Water is a tested NCHFP home-canning recipe using raw pack or hot pack and boiling-water canning or one complete nchfp pressure-canning option.
Before you begin
- Method
- Boiling-water canning or one complete NCHFP pressure-canning option
- Pack
- Raw pack or hot pack
- Jar size
- Pints or quarts
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
Read the linked authoritative source completely before processing.
Altitude and processing schedule
Boiling-water pints: 40/45/50/55 minutes; quarts: 45/50/55/60 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Use the official table for pressure options.
Whole or Halved Tomatoes — Packed in Water — NCHFP
Ingredients
- 21 lb Ripe tomatoes average for 7 quarts; about 13 lb for 9 pints
- 2 tbsp per quart Bottled lemon juice or 1 tbsp per pint; required. Citric acid alternative: 1/2 tsp/quart or 1/4 tsp/pint.
- 1 tsp per quart Canning or pickling salt optional
- Water boiling, for packing
Equipment
- 1 Boiling-water canner or pressure canner Use one complete tested NCHFP processing option.
- 7–9 Pint or quart canning jars About 7 quarts or 9 pints per canner load.
- 7–9 Two-piece canning lids Use new flat lids and prepare according to manufacturer directions.
Directions
- Wash tomatoes. Dip in boiling water 30–60 seconds or until skins split, then dip in cold water. Slip off skins, remove cores, and leave whole or halve.
- Add required bottled lemon juice or citric acid to each jar. Add salt if desired.
- Raw pack: fill hot jars with raw tomatoes and cover with boiling water, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Hot pack: cover tomatoes with water, boil gently 5 minutes, then fill jars with tomatoes and cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Boiling-water process pints 40/45/50/55 minutes and quarts 45/50/55/60 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft. Pressure-canning alternatives must follow the NCHFP table exactly.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
Questions or results?
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Drain for salads and casseroles, or use the tomatoes and packing water in soups and sauces.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the ingredients or process?
Only make changes expressly permitted by the authoritative source. Required bottled lemon juice or citric acid applies to every processing method. Do not omit acidification, change the packing liquid, or combine different process options.
What if a jar does not seal?
Refrigerate promptly, or reprocess within 24 hours using a new lid and the complete tested process if the source and current food-safety guidance permit.
How this recipe compares
Packing in water produces a different jar texture and liquid concentration than tomatoes packed in tomato juice or without added liquid.
Troubleshooting
Maintain a continuous boil and full water coverage. If boiling stops during a boiling-water process, restart the full processing time.
Discard any jar that is leaking, bulging, spurting, moldy, or otherwise shows signs of spoilage. Never taste food to determine safety.
Source & provenance
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Whole or Halved Tomatoes Packed in Water. National Center for Home Food Preservation tested tomato-canning guidance.
Garden planning for this recipe
Plant, space, variety, zone, and timing estimates live on dedicated ingredient pages:
Typical canning season
Season: Summer, Fall
Months: July, August, September, October
How much of the main ingredient should I grow?
40–80 lb of Tomatoes per person per year
This is an annual planning range that includes preserving and typical fresh use. Plant, row-foot, and square-foot estimates are shown only when compatible cited yield or spacing data is available.
Garden yields vary by cultivar, climate, soil, pests, and care. Always measure the exact prepared ingredient amount required by the tested canning recipe.