Re: Canning (What about tomatoes?)
- Thread starter gsk8
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
I don't see any reason why not as long as they are sterilized. I reuse jars all the time. If they are for canning anything they have to be sterilized but if it's just for a week or so, regular washing will do. I don't know anything about canning pasta sauce but it's easy to get recipes on the internet. You do have to have some kind of sealing tops if it's for canning. For jelly and the like a lot of people just pour paraffin on the top of the jelly. Just make sure there are no chips on the rims.
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
Paula, although tomatoes are more acidic than grren bean you would still need to use sterile jars with rings in good condition and new seals. They can be canned without a pressure canner using a large stock or canning pot that will hold a rack. As for pasta sauce, you can prepare and can it but IMO it is better to can the tomatoes by themselves and then use as you would canned ones from the store preparing your pasta sauce fresh when needed. Tomatoes can also be frozen as can the pasta sauce. You can also cook the tomatoes down before canning and can them as tomatoe sauce, past, or even catsup. Hope this helps.
As far as I know, the same thing would apply to the tomatoes. Any garden items you put in jars to preserve for later needs to be canned in a boiling water bath (which takes quite a while) or canned in a pressure cooker with new seals and jar lids. I'm not sure seals and jar lids will fit pasta jars.
It's been a few years since I've done it but tomatoes that don't seal are not pleasant when you open them after a while.
It's been a few years since I've done it but tomatoes that don't seal are not pleasant when you open them after a while.
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- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Ah-h-h-h-h canning. That takes me back many years when mom used to can all kinds of stuff in the summer. I hated it because she used to make my brother and me pit the cherries for canning. I think I ate as many as I pitted 
I used to run away and hide from her when I knew she was going to be canning again. 
Dee
I used to run away and hide from her when I knew she was going to be canning again. Dee
OK Tomatoes I know about. I do them every year because I can't stand the thought of store bought canned tomatoes. Tomatoes are one of the easiest to do. They are messy but not hard. Yes, you can use the jars you saved assuming there are no chips or flaws on the surface edges and they take the standard sized lids and rings available.
I also agree that you may want to do tomatoes rather than pasta sauce. Then you can use the tomatoes for everything from Macaroni and tomatoes, to goulash, to lasagne, to spaghetti, to soup. Great things tomatoes.
If you decide to do the sauce, one of the things that makes it easy is that you thoroughly cook the sauce before canning. If you seal your jars well, it should last indefinitely. As in all things, you use common sense. If it looks bad and smells bad, you throw it out.
I also do chilli sauce every year - great for salad dressing and better than ketchup on a hamburger.
I also agree that you may want to do tomatoes rather than pasta sauce. Then you can use the tomatoes for everything from Macaroni and tomatoes, to goulash, to lasagne, to spaghetti, to soup. Great things tomatoes.
If you decide to do the sauce, one of the things that makes it easy is that you thoroughly cook the sauce before canning. If you seal your jars well, it should last indefinitely. As in all things, you use common sense. If it looks bad and smells bad, you throw it out.
I also do chilli sauce every year - great for salad dressing and better than ketchup on a hamburger.
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- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Tomatoes freeze very well. Just wash out milk cartons thoroughly and pour the hot tomatoes in and freeze.
If you have green tomatoes at the end of the season, green tomato mincemeat is good, and can also be frozen instead of canned.
I am always edgy about canning anything other than jam or jelly. Just about when I get up the nerve to try, someone will get botulism who has been canning for 20 years, and I go back to freezing stuff again.
Doris
If you have green tomatoes at the end of the season, green tomato mincemeat is good, and can also be frozen instead of canned.
I am always edgy about canning anything other than jam or jelly. Just about when I get up the nerve to try, someone will get botulism who has been canning for 20 years, and I go back to freezing stuff again.
Doris
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Sure glad for all that posted here. I don't know that much about canning tomatoes. I don't think my mother canned tomatoes much. I would remember since we 2 girls had to do all the work.
Just a little aside. One of the things I liked best was chokecherry jelly. The sandhills were on the north & west side of town and we lived on the east. She would take us and put us kids in a blow out to play in the sand while she picked chokecherries. I know it's not grammatically correct but I'm too lazy to correct it.
Just a little aside. One of the things I liked best was chokecherry jelly. The sandhills were on the north & west side of town and we lived on the east. She would take us and put us kids in a blow out to play in the sand while she picked chokecherries. I know it's not grammatically correct but I'm too lazy to correct it.
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Chokecherries are some kind of little berries that grow on low bushes in the sandhills. Kind of like cherries. It's so long since I saw them I can't even remember what they look like.
Blowouts are sandhills that the wind has blown the center out of. (More bad grammar). Usually one side has pretty much disappeared and you have a hollow hill on 3 sides. I wonder if there's a site for blowouts? You wouldn't catch me there now. Lots of snakes. ugh 
Blowouts are sandhills that the wind has blown the center out of. (More bad grammar). Usually one side has pretty much disappeared and you have a hollow hill on 3 sides. I wonder if there's a site for blowouts?
You wouldn't catch me there now. Lots of snakes. ugh
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
Chokecherries
I found some information about chokecherries. The two article are conflicting in that one says the pits are harmful to eat while the other says they are edible?
http://www.homefamily.net/foodnutrition/chokecherries.html
http://food.oregonstate.edu/p/chokecherries.html
I found some information about chokecherries. The two article are conflicting in that one says the pits are harmful to eat while the other says they are edible?
http://www.homefamily.net/foodnutrition/chokecherries.html
http://food.oregonstate.edu/p/chokecherries.html
I've been canning for many years now, mostly tomatoes, pickles and jam. Personally, I wouldn't use anything but canning jars made for that purpose. Canning takes a lot of time and effort, and to have your product go bad because you used the wrong jars would be a real bummer.
I make tomato sauce and can it - if you decide to do that, be prepared for a really long, hot day. I usually start in the morning (around 9) and finish around 11 at night. That's because you have all the prep time, the simmering, then the water bath. But it sure is worth it when you open the jar in February! Commercial sauce can't touch it.
One thing that is really easy to do, and I recommend, is to can a quart or two of whole or stewed tomatoes each night. That way it is manageable, and uses your tomatoes at their peak. When I do whole (peeled) or stewed, I include a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice and a teaspoon of kosher salt in each quart. Doesn't effect the taste, and helps with the preservation. (BTW, we usually have about 25 plants, so I have a lot of opportunities to can .)
Good luck with your canning. I have found it to be highly rewarding (and I never thought I'd be the type to can). There's a book out there that I got a few years ago called "American Country Living Canning and Preserving" by Linda Ferrari. Don't know if it's still available, but it has a lot of good technical tips plus good recipies.
I make tomato sauce and can it - if you decide to do that, be prepared for a really long, hot day. I usually start in the morning (around 9) and finish around 11 at night. That's because you have all the prep time, the simmering, then the water bath. But it sure is worth it when you open the jar in February! Commercial sauce can't touch it.
One thing that is really easy to do, and I recommend, is to can a quart or two of whole or stewed tomatoes each night. That way it is manageable, and uses your tomatoes at their peak. When I do whole (peeled) or stewed, I include a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice and a teaspoon of kosher salt in each quart. Doesn't effect the taste, and helps with the preservation. (BTW, we usually have about 25 plants, so I have a lot of opportunities to can
.)Good luck with your canning. I have found it to be highly rewarding (and I never thought I'd be the type to can). There's a book out there that I got a few years ago called "American Country Living Canning and Preserving" by Linda Ferrari. Don't know if it's still available, but it has a lot of good technical tips plus good recipies.
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Mostly Rutgers, for the canning. We do some Early Girl and Beefsteak for eating. I did successfully use Beefsteak for sauces, but had problems with them for stewed/whole (not enough juice).
Edited to add that the beefsteak/meatier versions are better for salsa - the Rutgers seem to have a bit too much juice for that. I do combat that by adding a can of tomato paste, but it's better to have the meatier tomatoes for salsa, IMO.
Edited to add that the beefsteak/meatier versions are better for salsa - the Rutgers seem to have a bit too much juice for that. I do combat that by adding a can of tomato paste, but it's better to have the meatier tomatoes for salsa, IMO.
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Canning jalepenos
My husband loves jalepeno peppers. One year we planted quite a few and I canned them for him. Not an experience I ever repeated.
The canning recipe I used called for garlic, onion, horseradish and vinegar. It was so potent and stinky, it gagged me and made my eyes water. I had to go outside while it simmered. Then, being a know-it-all, I didn't wear gloves like the recipe stated while I cut little slits in the peppers. My hands sizzled for quite a while after that. 
However, he loved the peppers.
My husband loves jalepeno peppers. One year we planted quite a few and I canned them for him. Not an experience I ever repeated.
The canning recipe I used called for garlic, onion, horseradish and vinegar. It was so potent and stinky, it gagged me and made my eyes water. I had to go outside while it simmered.
Then, being a know-it-all, I didn't wear gloves like the recipe stated while I cut little slits in the peppers. My hands sizzled for quite a while after that. However, he loved the peppers.
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
Wow. I had no clue this would be so difficult. I don't have the time to boil and do all that pressure stuff
I thought I could throw tomatoes in a blender, add some spices, and then throw it into a mayo or old pasta jar for use during the winter. Not that simple, eh?
I thought I could throw tomatoes in a blender, add some spices, and then throw it into a mayo or old pasta jar for use during the winter. Not that simple, eh?
Here's how I bottle tomatoes. I have done it this way for 25 years and my mother did it this way for 50 years before that (no exageration). Others do it differently. This is just my way.
1 kettle with boiling water
1 canner - steam or bath
1 smallish sauce pan for lids
bottles as needed
lids as needed
rings as needed
a very old pillow case
big bowl
paring knife
Tomatoes
salt
I get the water boiling in the kettle and wash the bottles thoroughly, checking each one for flaws. I put my lids in a small amount of water (enough to cover) in the small sauce pan and put it on the stove on warm. Put water in the canner and get it on the stove and start it heating. Make sure I have enough rings.
I put a bunch of tomatoes in the old pillow case and put those in the boiling water to scald. I time it for 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the amount of tomatoes. Pull them out of the water and drain for a minute in the sink. Dump them into the bowl. You scald the tomatoes so they will peel easily.
Sit down at the table where my clean bottles are lined up. With my feet on a pile of newspapers (to keep them up so the bowl doesn't slide off my lap), I peel the tomatoes, cut them in sections and fill the bottles. I may have to do several pillow cases full of tomatoes to fill up my bottles.
Once I have enough bottles for a batch, (7), I add the salt - usually about a teaspoon for quarts and a half-teaspoon for pints. (I don't use any special salt ). I wipe the bottle tops and edges thoroughly with a CLEAN cloth. I gently apply one of the lids from the sauce pan and apply the ring. I then put the bottles on the canner.
Once the canner is full, I bring the water to a boil and then time it for the recommended amount of time. The time varies, depending on where you live and what your local recommendations are.
When finished I carefully remove the bottles from the canner. Everything will be VERY hot. DO NOT lift by the lid if possible. I wipe them off, set them to cool and listen for the PING of the lid indicating they have sealed.
The following day I check each lid for sealing. Press the top. If it gives it hasn't sealed. For those that haven't sealed you can either try another lid and redo the canning process or you can stick it in the fridge and use it first.
I know that canning isn't an exact science and it isn't fool proof but it can be done. I eat home canned items all the time and have done all my life. My mother didn't kill me and I haven't killed anyone either. Common sense is a must and you may want to get some experienced help the first few times you do it.
Why do it? Home canned food is soo much better than store bought.
1 kettle with boiling water
1 canner - steam or bath
1 smallish sauce pan for lids
bottles as needed
lids as needed
rings as needed
a very old pillow case
big bowl
paring knife
Tomatoes
salt
I get the water boiling in the kettle and wash the bottles thoroughly, checking each one for flaws. I put my lids in a small amount of water (enough to cover) in the small sauce pan and put it on the stove on warm. Put water in the canner and get it on the stove and start it heating. Make sure I have enough rings.
I put a bunch of tomatoes in the old pillow case and put those in the boiling water to scald. I time it for 30 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the amount of tomatoes. Pull them out of the water and drain for a minute in the sink. Dump them into the bowl. You scald the tomatoes so they will peel easily.
Sit down at the table where my clean bottles are lined up. With my feet on a pile of newspapers (to keep them up so the bowl doesn't slide off my lap), I peel the tomatoes, cut them in sections and fill the bottles. I may have to do several pillow cases full of tomatoes to fill up my bottles.
Once I have enough bottles for a batch, (7), I add the salt - usually about a teaspoon for quarts and a half-teaspoon for pints. (I don't use any special salt ). I wipe the bottle tops and edges thoroughly with a CLEAN cloth. I gently apply one of the lids from the sauce pan and apply the ring. I then put the bottles on the canner.
Once the canner is full, I bring the water to a boil and then time it for the recommended amount of time. The time varies, depending on where you live and what your local recommendations are.
When finished I carefully remove the bottles from the canner. Everything will be VERY hot. DO NOT lift by the lid if possible. I wipe them off, set them to cool and listen for the PING of the lid indicating they have sealed.
The following day I check each lid for sealing. Press the top. If it gives it hasn't sealed. For those that haven't sealed you can either try another lid and redo the canning process or you can stick it in the fridge and use it first.
I know that canning isn't an exact science and it isn't fool proof but it can be done. I eat home canned items all the time and have done all my life. My mother didn't kill me and I haven't killed anyone either. Common sense is a must and you may want to get some experienced help the first few times you do it.
Why do it? Home canned food is soo much better than store bought.
