Canning tomatoes question

[merigayle]

I want to can tomatoes (as sauce) in my water canner. Is it necessary to add vinegar to it? I read conflicting things online but I do not want to give my family botulism. I only have a water bath canner and am not looking to purchase a pressure canner. Freezer is too small. Any advice?

[RioG]

if it helps... i canned apple sauce with no issues.  tomatoes are technically a fruit... 

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[merigayle]

and more acidic than apples. Water bath canning?

[BonitaApplebum]

Yes, usda recommendations have changed, and you should add lemon juice or citric acid to tomatoes (primarily because you can't reliably predict their pH).

Here's a good write up on the whole process, with a specific section on tomatoes.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/348/348-594/348-594_pdf.pdf

[RioG]

i water bathed the apple sauce - that's the only canning i do.

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[Ice Cream]

Why do you can as opposed to freeze?  I always freeze my apple sauce.

[BonitaApplebum]

I freeze everything, canning is too fiddly for me. BUT I have a second freezer in my basement, so I have the room.

[merigayle]

Our freezer is small.

[RioG]

Our freezer is small.

we got this giant one for like $40 used.  so worth it!  you could keep tour eye out for a used one.

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[rocketgirl]

I made caribougrrl's green tomato salsa with a water bath canning.  It was basically green tomatoes (with a few random red ones), onion, jalepeno, lemon juice, lime juice, and salt.

I did sterilize the jars /lids in the dishwasher while I was simmering the salsa. 

They were fine in water bath.

[merigayle]

But salsa has the acid of the citrus and vinegar (if you put that in yours, we do!). I can pickles too, but they are vinegar and salt. I see such conflicting opinions on line about the tomatoes and the need or not to have added acid to it (beyond the tomatoes themselves).

[rocketgirl]

But salsa has the acid of the citrus and vinegar (if you put that in yours, we do!). I can pickles too, but they are vinegar and salt. I see such conflicting opinions on line about the tomatoes and the need or not to have added acid to it (beyond the tomatoes themselves).

I did not use vinegar.  I would think that some lemon juice and salt would take care of it.  If the lids seal, and you store them appropriately (like not in a hot car!), and eat them within about 3-4 months, you should be fine.

[rocketgirl]

But if you're not sure, I think there's a "freezer canning" method for tomatoes.

[merigayle]

We do not have room in our freezer, we did do that last year but it took up so much room and 2 jars did break when thawing.

[BonitaApplebum]

But salsa has the acid of the citrus and vinegar (if you put that in yours, we do!). I can pickles too, but they are vinegar and salt. I see such conflicting opinions on line about the tomatoes and the need or not to have added acid to it (beyond the tomatoes themselves).

Personally, I'd go with the opinion of a cooperative extension over the opinion of any middle aged recreational joggers posting in a food forum!

[merigayle]

Personally, I'd go with the opinion of a cooperative extension over the opinion of any middle aged recreational joggers posting in a food forum!

yeah. I did not know if there was other research others were privvy to. Blech. I hate to freeze it all, it just takes up so much room, but perhaps salsa is my magic answer? It just grosses me out to put vinegar in quantity in tomato sauce! LOL.

[BonitaApplebum]

Why not use citric acid? You can buy it on Amazon. It's tart/sour but not as overwhelming to the palate as vinegar. Barring that, I'd use lemon juice over vinegar-- it will sharpen/brighten the tomato flavor but will blend better than vinegar IMO.

[rocketgirl]

Well, the internet will scare the hell out of you.

And apparently those multi-cookers (like Instant Pot) are frowned upon.  Well.  There goes the idea that you can use one appliance for pressure cooking, canning, and crockpotting...

[merigayle]

You need a special pressure cooker for canning, you cannot use a regular one.

I think citric acid is derived from corn and corn is giving me allergic reactions.

[caribougrrl]

I would use some lemon juice, unless it was marinara sauce in which case I'd use red wine or balsamic vinegar.

[merigayle]

Do you do a pH test on your sauce? I really do not want to cause botulism in my family

[caribougrrl]

Do you do a pH test on your sauce? I really do not want to cause botulism in my family

I never have, but as a result of this thread I did a bit of googling and you CAN buy pH meters for kitchen use.

I doubt I would ever bother.  Unless I was developing rather than tweaking canning recipes.

[merigayle]

Yeah I gotta look into some tried and tested water canned recipes and go from there.

[Run Amok]

When people say they canned something in a water bath and it was fine...what fo they mean? Botulism infected canned goods would not smell/taste off in any way.

 

This is why I can't bring myself to eat home canned goods. Botulism terrifies me!