canning tomatos safely?? - Page 2

JamesL · August 14, 2012

Worth,
You kill me. I was thinking this guy though

TomNJ · August 14, 2012

The taste of foot!

Actually everyone should know the symptoms whether you home can or not, as there are more cases from commercial sources and restaurants than home canning.

TomNJ

Worth1 · August 14, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomNJ

The taste of foot!

Actually everyone should know the symptoms whether you home can or not, as there are more cases from commercial sources and restaurants than home canning.

TomNJ

Which just goes to prove that out of ignorance or just plain old dont give a hoot.
These people have only one thing in mind, 'money.

It is unimaginable what these folks have done in the past and what they would do if it weren't for the USDA.

Worth

lakelady · August 17, 2012

Good thread! I used to have a friend who had a biology degree in food safety something or other. She told me if you knew how commercial jams and jellies were made you'd never eat them. She said the high amounts of sugar were the reason they didn't go bad.

I was going to make sauce and can it tomorrow, but maybe I'll just stick to puree for now

TomNJ · August 18, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by lakelady

I was going to make sauce and can it tomorrow, but maybe I'll just stick to puree for now

Don't be afraid to make sauce Antoniette - canning is fun and rewarding, just be aware of certain rules for safety. This site gives instructions and approved recipes for sauce.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can3_tomato.html

I have been canning tomato salsa and sauce for over 30 years, and will expand greatly next year if I get the farm in southwest Virginia we just bid on.

TomNJ

ContainerTed · August 18, 2012

I think I'd be drinking that 48 quarts of puree. One choice that I don't think I saw above would be to open the jars and then pressure can them. If I were to decide to do that, I would add the recommended (although optional) 1 teaspoon of salt to each quart.

For the obvious safety reasons, we started canning only the tomato "juice" a few years ago. We do a reduction of about 30%-40% which gives us very thick puree. I've always added the one teaspoon of canning salt per quart when it goes into the jars. Several hundreds of quarts were done with a Boiling Water Bath Canner over the years and no problems or spoilage has ever been encountered. But, now we have a Presto 16 Quart Pressure Canner and everything goes through it. I downloaded all the "books"/Chapters from the website mentioned above and keep them handy all the time. We also have the book that comes with the Pressure canner and two other older books that we found at local book stores. The recommended procedures haven't changed much over the last few decades.

Ever since we got the pressure canner, our BWB canner is only used to sterilize the jars and lids. Besides tomato juice for drinking, we use the very thick puree for various soups, sauces, and salsas - adding the other ingredients to each dish as we prepare them. I freeze peppers, onions, tomatillos, cillantro and some other ingredients that we harvest from the garden. It really tastes good in snowy January.

So, I'm curious about how many others also put canning salt into their "juice/puree"?????

Cole_Robbie · August 18, 2012

Ever since we got the pressure canner, our BWB canner is only used to sterilize the jars and lids.

It's my understanding that if you're pressure canning, you don't have to sterilize anything beforehand. The jars and lids are supposed to be clean, but it only really matters on the rim of the jar where the rubber seals. Everything living is going to die inside the pressure cooker anyway.

ContainerTed · August 18, 2012

I can see, Cole Robbie, that you don't have a DW (or DH as the case may be) who is ultra-paranoid about the whole operation of canning. It took me two weeks to convince her that we just didn't need one of those souped-up ultraviolet germ killer thingies that the water department uses. She insists hospital operating rooms are "nasty germ-ridden places".

The BWB canner is keeping her and my nerves quiet for now

Farmette · August 18, 2012

I have always used the BWB method with great success until last yr when I bought a pressure cooker and processed 8 qts. of whole tomatoes. I think I did something wrong because while all were filled close to the top, after processing the liquid was down about 1 to 1 and a half inches below the top. I am assuming it boiled over before it sealed. So, how safe do you think these are to eat; have been afraid to tray any.
Chris

lurley · August 19, 2012

Farmette, as long as they are sealed they are fine. Leaching usually happens when the pressure isn't kept steady, when it fluctuates during processing, or when the pressure is allowed to go to high. I have a jiggle type canner, and if it is rockin it's socks off the pressure is too high and I am likely to have some loss from the jars. Adjusting the heat down, once the initial desired pressure is reached, to a temp that just keeps it jiggling gently helps prevent this. So does waiting the five minutes the directions tells you to once the pressure is down and the weight is removed before removing the lid and taking out the jars.

RebelRidin · August 19, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farmette

I have always used the BWB method with great success until last yr when I bought a pressure cooker and processed 8 qts. of whole tomatoes. I think I did something wrong because while all were filled close to the top, after processing the liquid was down about 1 to 1 and a half inches below the top. I am assuming it boiled over before it sealed. So, how safe do you think these are to eat; have been afraid to tray any.
Chris

As Lurley indicates.... no problem with the low fluid. You can get that in a BWB too if you process too long.
(Of course I have never done that myself

)

Farmette · August 19, 2012

Lurley and RR:
Thanks for the replies. Perhaps the uneven pressure is from cooking on an electric stove. I should have asked the question sooner; I could have been using them all winter. Oh well....
Thanks again!
Chris

Ken4230 · August 19, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

So, I'm curious about how many others also put canning salt into their "juice/puree"?????

I can remember my grandmother adding salt to tomatoes, beef, cabbage, green beans, potatoes and most everything else they canned.
She said it helped to prevent spoiling. My mother followed suit and added salt for the same reason.
I do it because it improves the taste. If it helps keep stuff from spoiling, that's just an extra benefit.

Father'sDaughter · August 21, 2012

I do it the way my family has been doing it for many generations except, that in the old country they canned peeled tomatoes cut into wedges. Since coming to the US, a food mill was purchased (mom still uses the one she bought back in the '60s) and grandma and mom switched to canning tomato purée. The purée is ladled into sterilized jars with nothing else added, and processed in a hot water bath for 45 minutes.

The first four quarts were canned yesterday, and there's probably another six quarts worth cooking on the stove right now. Best part is, the smell is taking me right back to my childhood!

austinnhanasmom · August 26, 2012

For my salsa and crushed tomatoes,

I add bottled lemon juice to the mix to achieve a pH of 4. (prevents growth)

I heat the mix to 185 degrees. (kills spores)

I add 1 teaspoon of canning salt to each sterilized/hot quart jar. (cuz my mom did)

Then I ladle the hot 185 degree mix into each jar, cap with a lid removed from boiling water, and hot water bath the filled jar for 25 minutes.

If the lids seal, the canned salsa/tomatoes go onto the pantry shelf.

I almost always have to add lemon juice to achieve the proper pH.

I suppose, though, that you could achieve the correct pH without adding anything.

I use pH paper.

August 17, 2012	#19
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	Good thread! I used to have a friend who had a biology degree in food safety something or other. She told me if you knew how commercial jams and jellies were made you'd never eat them. She said the high amounts of sugar were the reason they didn't go bad. I was going to make sauce and can it tomorrow, but maybe I'll just stick to puree for now __________________ Antoniette

August 18, 2012	#21
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	I think I'd be drinking that 48 quarts of puree. One choice that I don't think I saw above would be to open the jars and then pressure can them. If I were to decide to do that, I would add the recommended (although optional) 1 teaspoon of salt to each quart. For the obvious safety reasons, we started canning only the tomato "juice" a few years ago. We do a reduction of about 30%-40% which gives us very thick puree. I've always added the one teaspoon of canning salt per quart when it goes into the jars. Several hundreds of quarts were done with a Boiling Water Bath Canner over the years and no problems or spoilage has ever been encountered. But, now we have a Presto 16 Quart Pressure Canner and everything goes through it. I downloaded all the "books"/Chapters from the website mentioned above and keep them handy all the time. We also have the book that comes with the Pressure canner and two other older books that we found at local book stores. The recommended procedures haven't changed much over the last few decades. Ever since we got the pressure canner, our BWB canner is only used to sterilize the jars and lids. Besides tomato juice for drinking, we use the very thick puree for various soups, sauces, and salsas - adding the other ingredients to each dish as we prepare them. I freeze peppers, onions, tomatillos, cillantro and some other ingredients that we harvest from the garden. It really tastes good in snowy January. So, I'm curious about how many others also put canning salt into their "juice/puree"????? __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch Last edited by ContainerTed; August 18, 2012 at 09:27 AM.

August 18, 2012	#23
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	I can see, Cole Robbie, that you don't have a DW (or DH as the case may be) who is ultra-paranoid about the whole operation of canning. It took me two weeks to convince her that we just didn't need one of those souped-up ultraviolet germ killer thingies that the water department uses. She insists hospital operating rooms are "nasty germ-ridden places". The BWB canner is keeping her and my nerves quiet for now __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

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August 14, 2012	#16
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	Worth, You kill me. I was thinking this guy though

August 14, 2012	#17
TomNJ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Floyd VA Posts: 767	The taste of foot! Actually everyone should know the symptoms whether you home can or not, as there are more cases from commercial sources and restaurants than home canning. TomNJ

August 18, 2012	#22
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Ever since we got the pressure canner, our BWB canner is only used to sterilize the jars and lids. It's my understanding that if you're pressure canning, you don't have to sterilize anything beforehand. The jars and lids are supposed to be clean, but it only really matters on the rim of the jar where the rubber seals. Everything living is going to die inside the pressure cooker anyway.

August 18, 2012	#24
Farmette Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 985	I have always used the BWB method with great success until last yr when I bought a pressure cooker and processed 8 qts. of whole tomatoes. I think I did something wrong because while all were filled close to the top, after processing the liquid was down about 1 to 1 and a half inches below the top. I am assuming it boiled over before it sealed. So, how safe do you think these are to eat; have been afraid to tray any. Chris

August 19, 2012	#25
lurley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 741	Farmette, as long as they are sealed they are fine. Leaching usually happens when the pressure isn't kept steady, when it fluctuates during processing, or when the pressure is allowed to go to high. I have a jiggle type canner, and if it is rockin it's socks off the pressure is too high and I am likely to have some loss from the jars. Adjusting the heat down, once the initial desired pressure is reached, to a temp that just keeps it jiggling gently helps prevent this. So does waiting the five minutes the directions tells you to once the pressure is down and the weight is removed before removing the lid and taking out the jars.

August 21, 2012	#29
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,917	I do it the way my family has been doing it for many generations except, that in the old country they canned peeled tomatoes cut into wedges. Since coming to the US, a food mill was purchased (mom still uses the one she bought back in the '60s) and grandma and mom switched to canning tomato purée. The purée is ladled into sterilized jars with nothing else added, and processed in a hot water bath for 45 minutes. The first four quarts were canned yesterday, and there's probably another six quarts worth cooking on the stove right now. Best part is, the smell is taking me right back to my childhood!

August 26, 2012	#30
austinnhanasmom Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Z5, CO near Denver Posts: 225	For my salsa and crushed tomatoes, I add bottled lemon juice to the mix to achieve a pH of 4. (prevents growth) I heat the mix to 185 degrees. (kills spores) I add 1 teaspoon of canning salt to each sterilized/hot quart jar. (cuz my mom did) Then I ladle the hot 185 degree mix into each jar, cap with a lid removed from boiling water, and hot water bath the filled jar for 25 minutes. If the lids seal, the canned salsa/tomatoes go onto the pantry shelf. I almost always have to add lemon juice to achieve the proper pH. I suppose, though, that you could achieve the correct pH without adding anything. I use pH paper.