Canning tomatoes is a fall ritual for CBC K-W reporter

For as long as I can remember, at least one weekend every autumn during my childhoodmy family would spend a morning picking tomatoes that would be turned into sauce and canned.

The canned tomatoes would be used over the coming months to make pasta sauce for our family. While the entire process was a dreaded chore for a kid like me, the end result led to a beautiful aroma of tomato sauce simmering on the stove which still reminds me of home.

My wife and I have continued the tradition of 'doing-tomatoes', as we say, but with significant modifications which includes buying the tomatoes at the market, and juicing and preserving them in a jar, in less than a day.

The market

We purchased just a half-bushel of tomatoes at the Kitchener Farmers Market this year fromfarm vendors Martin and MarieAnne Wegner.

The Wegners run a family farm in Scotland, Ontario, just outside of Brantford, where they work about 16 hectares (40 acres)of land, growing 26 different varieties of vegetables. At least a fifth of a hectare (half an acre) is set aside for field and Roma tomatoes. The Wegners know what a good tomato looks like.

"Fairlyfirm, low blemishes and the colour," saidMarieAnnewhen explainingwhat she looks for.

This summer's heat ripened the tomatoes faster.

"This year,a week earlier, because it's the hottest summer since they started keeping records," Martin Wegner said."It's usually until Thanksgiving we have them. This is not even the end of September."

The Wegners plant their tomato around the third week of March. The plants grown in the greenhouse are transplanted to the field around the Victoria Day long weekend and are ready for picking by early August.

Juicing the tomatoes

Our entire main floor kitchen becomes a tomato-processing plant that includes a machine that separates the seeds and skin from the tomato pulp.

After the tomatoes are juiced, they're put in a pot and simmered for three hours. When the sauce has thickened it is poured into hot jars and sealed. Then we wait for the ping of the lid seal.That ping sound means the seal on the lid is closed tight over the jars.

These are directions that we have written on the back of a banker's envelope and have experimented with over the years. By no means are we professionals and every year I call myItalian mother, who is now 91 years old, as well asa friend who worked in the food industry and of course, consult with YouTube.

Do you have a seasonal canning ritual?

Drop us a line at yournewskw@cbc.caor comment below. We'd love to hear from you.