> TOMATO MIXTURE
>
> * 12 cups tomatoes
> * 1 cup chopped celery
> * 1/2 cup chopped onion
> * 1/2 cup chopped pepper
> * 3 tsp. salt
>
> This mixture of ingredients achieves the necessary acidity for water
> bath processing. Do not use the varieties of tomatoes listed previously
> with pH values near or above 4.6. Do not add any more pepper, onion, or
> celery than indicated. This will reduce the acidity of the mixture.
.......

Thanks for the suggestions...
We were arleady doing some bags of quartered and frozen tomatoes to be used
in chili, etc for the winter. Just now finding out how bad the skins are if
you don't take them off, next time will freeze whole and pull the skins
before cooking. I knew the skins would slip off easily, I've frozen
tomatoes before, but just didn't think it was that big a deal to leave them
in. Made a nice Ratatouille/ Ragout with all my toms, eggplants, pepper and
Zucchinis, poured that over Cheese Tortellini and baked it with tons of
Mozarella and Parmesan on top; the skins from the toms and eggplants were a
little bothersome. I want to try this canning method, sounds like it will
work well for winter soups/ stews / chili's.
Rita