Tomatoes in their own juice

Prepare the tomatoes. Wash them and dry them with paper towels. Using a very sharp knife, lightly score each fruit in a criss-cross pattern from the bottom. You only need to cut through the skin, not the flesh!

Bring water to a boil in a wide saucepan. Dip the prepared tomatoes into it and keep on fire for about a minute. Then use a slotted spoon to transfer the fruits to a colander.

Rinse the tomatoes with ice water several times. The cut skin will begin to curl, making it easier to remove. Carefully remove the skins from all tomatoes.

Sterilize jars and lids. One of the simplest and most proven methods is over steam. Place a sieve or a special lid with a round hole in the center over a pan of boiling water. Sterilize 500 ml jars for minutes, liter jars for 15 minutes. Boil the lids at the same time (2-3 minutes each).

Cut 500 g of peeled tomatoes into halves. If desired, remove the seeds with a teaspoon: without them, tomatoes in their own juice will look much more impressive. Transfer the tomato halves into prepared jars.

Cut the remaining tomatoes into small cubes. Place the chopped tomatoes in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stirring, bring to a boil.

Wash the greens and dry them well, then chop them very finely. Important! For tomatoes in their own juice, fresh herbs are a seasoning, not part of the dish. Chop the dill and parsley very finely, removing the tough stems.

Wash the celery stalk. Then use a vegetable peeler or a very sharp knife to cut away any tough fibers (if any). Cut the prepared stem into as small cubes as possible.

Add the prepared greens and celery to the pan with the tomato pulp along with salt, sugar, peppercorns and Tabasco sauce. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes until the celery is soft.

Rub the resulting spicy tomato juice through a sieve. If it is not enough, add some drinking water and stir. Return the juice to the pan and bring to a boil again over medium heat.

Pour boiling tomato juice over the tomatoes in the jar. Ideally, the fruits should be completely covered with their own juice: this way the preparation will be better stored.

Pasteurize tomatoes in jars. To do this, cover them with lids and place them in a large saucepan with barely noticeable boiling water. It should reach approximately half the height of the jar. Pasteurize for 10 minutes after the water returns to a boil.

Carefully remove the cans of tomatoes from the pan. Seal and invert onto a double folded towel. Let cool completely. Store in a cool place.