Wash tomatoes.
Cut a small X in the blossom end of each tomato.
Dip into boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds until skins split.
Dip into cold water, slip off skins and remove cores. Leave whole or halve.
Place 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice to clean, hot pint jars. Add 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt to each jar if desired.
Fill jars with raw tomatoes, pressing until the spaces between them fill with juice. Leave 1⁄2 inch of head space.
Remove air bubbles and adjust head space. Wipe the rim of the jar and place the prepared lid on the jar and tighten.
Process in a boiling water canner for 85 minutes. Turn off heat and remove the canner lid. Wait 5 minutes before removing jars and placing them on a towel or cooling rack.