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 processing is 85, 90, 95, or 100 minutes across the documented altitude bands. Pressure alternatives must follow one complete NCHFP table.
Source & provenance
Safety classification: Tested recipe from NCHFP.
Safety summary
Do not omit acidification, dilute the tomato juice, use unlisted jar sizes, or combine parts of different processing options.
Processing details
- Method
- Boiling Water
- Pack style
- Either
- Jar sizes
- Pint or Quart Jars
- Headspace
- 1/2 inch
- Processing time
- Boiling-water: pints or quarts 85/90/95/100 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.
- Prepare sound peeled tomatoes and fresh hot tomato juice; acidify every jar, then follow the source’s complete raw- or hot-pack procedure.
- Fill pints or quarts, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Boiling-water pints or quarts: 85/90/95/100 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, food mill or sieve, jar lifter, and pint or quart 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 with hot- and raw-pack options. Required acidification applies to every processing option.
About this recipe
Whole or Halved Tomatoes Packed in Tomato Juice 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 or quarts: 85/90/95/100 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 Tomato Juice — 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 per quart or 1/4 tsp per pint.
- Tomato juice hot, for packing
- 1 tsp per quart Canning or pickling salt optional
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: heat tomato juice; fill jars with raw tomatoes and cover with hot tomato juice, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Hot pack: cover tomatoes with tomato juice, boil gently 5 minutes, then fill jars with tomatoes and hot juice, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Boiling-water process pints or quarts 85/90/95/100 minutes at 0–1,000/1,001–3,000/3,001–6,000/above 6,000 ft.
- Pressure-canning options are also tested; acidification is still required. Follow the NCHFP pressure table exactly for your selected time, pressure, gauge type, and altitude.
Recipe Notes
Private Notes
Questions or results?
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Tried this recipe?
Share your results how it turned out.Serving suggestions
Use both tomatoes and juice in soups, stews, sauces, braises, and casseroles.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the ingredients or process?
Only make changes expressly permitted by the authoritative source. Do not omit acidification, dilute the tomato juice, use unlisted jar sizes, or combine parts of different processing 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
Tomato-juice packing gives a richer tomato liquid than water packing, but has its own tested preparation and processing schedule.
Troubleshooting
Maintain continuous boiling and full water coverage. If the boiling-water canner stops boiling, restart the full process 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 Tomato Juice. Adapted from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, revised 2015.
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.