Question about canning tomatoes

[quiltymom]

I've been seduced by the wonderful tomatoes, friuts, etc., at my farmer's market and have decided to dive into the world of home canning.

I've been reading various books and there seems to be a difference of opinion about if you need to pressure can tomatoes, or if they can be steam canned -- with added acid. (what does that mean, anyway?)

Since I've decided to get started on this now I've not had much of a choice in canning equipment to choose from, so I have the basic set of stuff to steam can. I really don't want to invest in a pressure canner until I've tried it.

Any help, please? Thanks in advance.

 

[piratesmate]

When I was canning 15 - 25 years ago pressure canning was still considered to be an "iffy" endeavor...especially with children in the house - too much chance of the thing exploding.

I canned spaghetti sauce every year & never heard of "adding acid." That may be something new? Maybe you should check the Ball website? They're pretty much the "authority" on canning. ETA: Ball no longer sells canning products! I told you it had been a while! LOL Now you can get the same info from: http://www.homecanning.com/usa/

I have their book, but it's from the mid-80s. At the time there was no problem with steam bathing ripe tomatoes. Just don't use ones that have "bad" spots or low-acid tomatoes like yellow ones. My recipe called for a celery plant (minus the root) and an onion to a basket of tomatoes. That little bit of celery didn't affect the acidity of the recipe.

I always froze my other veggies due to the acidity question. But I canned peaches, pears, applesauce, pear sauce, pear mincemeat, pickles and lots of different jams/jellies as well as grape ketchup & peach ketchup. I always used the water bath for those too. The parafin method failed for me one year & we ate jelly every day for a month!

 

[bclydia]

Okay, for tomatoes, you are able to can them in a water bath if you add acid. So, that means vinegar or lemon juice. Tomatoes are a low acid food. They don't contain enough acid naturally to prevent the growth of nasty bacteria that can do you serious harm. If you are using a recipe that doesn't contain added acid, then you need to use a pressure canner. Yes, this is an added expense and I don't recommend it for someone who's just starting out. Check out homecanning.com for recipes.
Someone posted a recipe for salsa the other day here that contained vinegar and that you could do easily.
I've done pressure canning (read 400 lbs of roma tomatoes) but it is so much work and that type of canning takes considerably more time.
Let me know if you have other questions.

 

[piratesmate]

If you need to know about adding acid to your tomatoes, try this site: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5336.html

 

[quiltymom]

Thanks for all the good information. I just want to make sure I do it right and that I don't end up with something that turns bad! That would be a lot of wasted effort, ya know?

I'll let you know how it goes...

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

I always put a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of salt in the jar before adding the tomatoes and hot water bathed them. I can't remember how long without looking at my dogeared book but it seems like it was fairly long - 45 mins maybe?

Deb

 

[JudithM]

Another thought for tomatoes: I have never canned anything, but I do cook tomatoes down & freeze them. I wash & core the tomatoes & then throw them in the blender. I cook them down to a consistency I like for cooking. I put them in plastic containers & freeze them.

 

[quiltymom]

Tomorrow (or maybe even this afternoon )I will begin my tomato canning adventure! Thanks again for all of your advice and tips. I bought 8 lbs of tomatoes at the farmer's market, so I thought I'd begin with making the salsa from a different thread and see how that goes.

I did make my first batch of jam today - blackberry. Just blackberries and sugar, but I think I cooked it too long (I got a phone call and forgot to turn off the stove! Oops!). Yet it tastes yummy, especially when I spread it on a slice of lemon rosemary bread from the French bakery that sells at our market.

I'm very excited. This whole preserving thing could be addicting!