Low-juice plum tomatoes are good for canning.
All types of tomatoes can be canned, but some produce more juice than others, resulting in a more watery product. Several varieties, often called plum tomatoes due to their plumlike shape, have been developed that produce thicker skins, more pulp, less juice and fewer seeds. They are your best choices for canning whole and for making sauces.
Roma Napoli
The elongated pointed fruit of this variety weighs 2 to 3 oz. each. Roma Napoli is a good choice to grow for canning, as well as for making sauces and ketchup, which also must be canned and processed for long-term storage. It starts producing fruit in 75 to 80 days.
Ace 55
This variety produces more rounded fruit than regular plum tomatoes but has the same thick flesh and low juice content. Considered an heirloom, or old-fashioned tomato, it is good canned whole or made into sauces. Fruit production starts in 70 to 80 days.
Amish Paste
Its thick flesh and low juice content make Amish Paste tomatoes a good choice for canning and making canned sauces. The heart-shaped fruit has few seeds and has a slightly sweet flavor. Its tall plants mature and begin producing in 80 days.
Rutgers
A standard-sized tomato, Rutgers is an old standby that was the tomato of choice for the Campbell Soup company, which developed it for soup production in 1928. According to the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Rutgers " remains well known for its excellent flavor and reliability, especially as a canning variety." The plants mature in 73 days.
Tags: plum tomatoes, Amish Paste, flesh juice, flesh juice content, good choice
