Quote:
Originally Posted by Lowlander
I have for the last bunch of years, we have always run out tomatos through a REBER tomato machine and then boil the puree for several hours. After some reduction, we put them in the jars (still boiling) and hot water bath them.
We have hadn't had any issues, but I was wondering about the long process time and acid addition mentioned by other recipes.
Have we done something wrong all this time?? every tomato based product we have canned has been fine with no problems. Am I just being paranoid??
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I use the NCHFPwebsite and follow their instructions very closely. I sometimes make recipes frome Elle Topp's "Small batch" preserving book, especially her herbed spaghetti sauce. The NCHFP website also has complete instructions ( I think they may even have a full primer) on how to can. I refer to the pressure canner instructions everytime I pull it out, unless it's only been a week or two.
Btw, don't use the instructions, or the gauge that comes with your canner. A weight set is better, as the gauge needs calibration yearly. The instructions with the canner are never as good as on the website.
I have two Presto canners. Inexpensive but very reliable. Can't see spending lots more for the All American. The only part that might wear out on the Presto would be the rubber ring and it's cheap.
It's quite easy to can tomatoes. Just follow the recipes by the letter, you don't need a pressure canner, just a boiling water pot. I use citric acid instead of lemon juice to increase pH but either one is fine, just needs to be commercial lemon juice. Some lemons ( I'm sure my weird lemon cross fits in this category) are not acidic enough to meet the guidelines.
One thing that drives me nutty is that none of the canning recipes are by weight, they are all volume or, worse numbers of fruits in a batch. But, it's reassuring that there must be a huge fridge factor 1. To account for huge inaccuracies of volume or fruit size variation and 2. To dumb down the recipes for the lowest intelligence and least educated part of the American population. Keep in mind these recipes are treated to keep people safe!