How to Can Tomato Sauce Safely - Stone Family Farmstead (2024)

FAQs

How long to water bath can tomato sauce? ›

Place jars on a rack inside your water bath canner. Make sure at least 1 inch of water is covering the tops of the jars. Once you've got rolling boiling water, process pint jars for 35 minutes or quart jars for 40 minutes. (See notes for high altitude canning instructions.)

Recommended Methods

Boiling water or pressure canning are both accepted methods for canning tomatoes. Other methods such as oven canning and open-kettle canning can be hazardous and should not be used. All steps in preparing and cooking the foods need to be followed for the processing time as recommended by the USDA.

Tomatoes and tomato products have traditionally been canned in a boiling water bath (212 °F). However, recent research shows that for some products, pressure canning will result in a high-quality and more nutritious product. Directions for canning a variety of tomato products are given below.

Properly sealed canned spaghetti sauce will last for up to one year. To be sure the lid is sealed, remove the band and try to lift the lid off. If the lid stays put, the jar is sealed successfully. Store the sealed jars in a single layer in a cool, dark, dry place.

Canning Tomatoes

To ensure safe acidity in whole, crushed or juiced tomatoes, add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon of citric acid.

Refrigeration is not recom- mended for whole tomatoes, except for short-term storage of completely ripe fruit.

Some growing conditions may cause the tomatoes to be unsafe to can even when the tomatoes look fine. Tomatoes with blight and those from dead or frost-killed vines may be lower in acidity and are more likely to carry bacteria. Do not can using the open kettle method.

High-acid foods such as jams, jellies, fruits, pickles, relishes, salsas, and tomatoes with added acid (i.e., one teaspoon of vinegar), only need the “boiling water bath” method of canning because the acid prevents botulism bacteria from growing.

Boiling-water bath: pints – 40 minutes; quarts – 45 minutes. Dial-gauge pressure canner: pints or quarts – 15 minutes at 11 PSI or 20 minutes at 6 PSI. Weight-gauge pressure canner: pints or quarts – 15 minutes at 15 PSI or 20 minutes at 10 PSI.

Acidifying Home-Canned Tomatoes and Tomato Products

To ensure safe acidity in whole, crushed or juiced tomatoes, add lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar prior to processing: Acid should be added directly to the jars before filling with product.

Do tomatoes have to be hot when canning? ›

You can also raw-pack tomatoes, but hot-packing has two major advantages: you can fit more tomatoes in a jar so there are fewer jars to process, and cooked tomatoes are less likely to float on top after processing because they contain less air.

As long as the can is in good shape, the contents should be safe to eat, although the taste, texture and nutritional value of the food can diminish over time. Home canned foods should be used within 1 year.

Most shelf-stable foods are safe indefinitely. In fact, canned goods will last for years, as long as the can itself is in good condition (no rust, dents, or swelling). Packaged foods (cereal, pasta, cookies) will be safe past the 'best by' date, although they may eventually become stale or develop an off flavor.

You don't need to worry about removing the seeds if you're making a soup or sauce. The seeds will actually add an extra dimension to your dish and if you blend well you won't have to worry about them getting stuck in your teeth. It's a different story if you're making a salad, salsa, omelette or casserole.

You really can't just can your family recipe. Anything canned in a boiling water bath needs to be high acid (for the science minded types, this means that it has to have a pH of 4.5 or below). This is because botulism cannot grow in high acid environments.

I give a cooking range of 30 minutes to 90 minutes (1 1/2 hours). Shorter cooking times will yield a thinner sauce with a fresher tomato flavor; longer cooking times will thicken your sauce and give it a cooked flavor. Watch your sauce as it simmers and stop cooking when it reaches a consistency and flavor you like.

Adjust lids and process in a water bath canner, pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes, at altitudes below 1,000 feet. Using a dial-gauge pressure canner, process pints or quarts for 20 minutes at six pounds of pressure or 15 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure at altitudes below 2,000 feet.

The precise amount of time necessary to achieve a reduction with your desired consistency depends on the type of liquid you're reducing, the volume of liquid you begin with, and the conditions under which you cook it. Most reductions require 15-30 minutes.