Cherry tomatoes can be preserved at home, but their size and sweetness do not create a separate shortcut for canning. Use a current, tested tomato recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), USDA, or a university Cooperative Extension source. Do not create processing times or ingredient proportions from a general gardening article.
Use a Tested Tomato Process
Begin with the NCHFP canning tomatoes introduction. Then select the exact tested process you will follow, such as whole or halved tomatoes packed without added liquid or standard tomato sauce.
Follow the selected recipe exactly for preparation, peeling or crushing, headspace, jar size, acidification, canner type, processing time, and altitude adjustment. Cherry tomatoes should not be substituted into an unrelated salsa, sauce, or vegetable-mixture formula unless that tested recipe permits the substitution.
Acidification Is Still Required
NCHFP directions call for acidifying whole, crushed, and juiced tomatoes. Their current introduction specifies bottled lemon juice or citric acid amounts by pint or quart and also describes a 5%-acidity vinegar option. Follow the current source rather than relying on memory or fresh-lemon acidity.
Acidification is part of the tested process even when a pressure-canning option is provided. Salt is generally for flavor in plain tomato directions; it is not a substitute for acidification or processing.
Do Not Improvise Salsa or Oil
Salsa and tomato-vegetable mixtures combine acid and low-acid ingredients. Use a tested formula and do not add extra peppers, onions, garlic, oil, or other low-acid ingredients beyond what the recipe permits. A roasted flavor does not make an improvised mixture safe for shelf-stable canning.
Equipment and Jar Checks
- Use standard home-canning jars and closures in good condition.
- Inspect jar rims and follow the closure manufacturer’s preparation directions.
- Use only jar sizes included in the tested process.
- Measure elevation and use the recipe’s altitude adjustment.
- After processing, cool jars undisturbed and evaluate seals according to current NCHFP guidance.
- Refrigerate any jar that did not seal and use it within the storage guidance for that tested product.
Grow Tomatoes for Preserving
Compare maturity, fruit size, disease-resistance statements, and intended use in our tomato seed collection. Variety choice affects flavor, solids, and harvest timing, but it does not replace a tested preservation process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can cherry tomatoes be water-bath canned?
Use a tested tomato recipe that specifically provides a boiling-water process, and follow its acidification, jar-size, time, and altitude directions exactly.
Does pressure canning eliminate the acidification step for tomatoes?
No shortcut should be assumed. NCHFP tomato directions require acidification for the tested boiling-water and pressure-canning options described in their tomato guidance.
Can I add extra garlic, peppers, or oil?
Not to a shelf-stable recipe unless the tested formula permits the amount and preparation. For custom mixtures, refrigerate or freeze using appropriate food-storage guidance instead of inventing a canning process.
