ISO help w/canning homemade sauce

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Jackharmsworth

Assistant Cook
Joined
Sep 15, 2019
Messages
2
Location
London
Hi everyone!

New to the website because I wanted to get to grips with preserving and canning.

First things first, I have a tomato sauce recipe that I want to make a batch of to preserve without freezing. It contains the standard of onion, garlic, tomatoes, carrots and some herbs.

Can I just cook this and then jar it up and boil the can until it’s sealed and then keep it until I want it?

Hope you’re able to help and steer me in the right direction!

Jack ?
 
I think you will get the usuall reply from this group which is generally, " Stop! Don't do it!"


If you are talking about "Shelf Stable" canning/ Bottling for your cuppboard, you need to Know What You are doing...


I always want to ask when these quearries come up, "why not just Freeze your sauce?!"


it is sooo much more simple..


And Safe!


Eric, Austin Tx,
 
Wish I could help Jack, and Welcome to DC.
I understand wanting to shelf something instead of freezing. My freezers are about to explode if I put one more thing in there.

BUT...

There are certain rules for canning that must be observed to prevent botulism. Water baths must contain a balance of acidity/salt/sugar to preserve. You need to look up individual recipes to find out what they are. I can't help you with that. Pressure canning also has various pressures and timing and again I can't help you.

I'm sure someone here will be able to help guide you.
Welcome again!
 
Home canning of tomato products can be tricky and care must be taken to prevent botulism. There is a process of sterilizing jars, boiling products, sealing and handling that must be followed. Acidity of tomato varieties vary and pressure canning is the only recommended method of canning low acid foods. I have always pressure canned any tomatoes or tomato products. Actually, the only items I water bath (or as you refer to it as boil) are relishes, pickles, jams and jellies. I have included a great link below to the USDA Guides. There are several links on this USDA Home page covering all aspects of canning. The link for tomato and tomato products has a recipe focusing on Tomato Sauce and it calls for pressure canning.



https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html



Canning can be time consuming as well as a very expensive process to do it properly and safely. Perhaps this year freezing might be a better choice for you.
 
Welcome to the forum, Jack!

I can't add much to what the others have said - I wouldn't do it either! I'm another that only cans things like pickles - the rest goes in the freezer. Making a sauce with that many other non-acid ingredients added to the tomatoes, a lot of acid will need to be added to make it safe to process in just a water bath. Even pure tomato products often needs some acid added - you'll find some threads about this on the forum. If you are going to can a lot of things like this, you might want to think about investing in a pressure cooker.
 
Welcome to the forum, Jack!

I can't add much to what the others have said - I wouldn't do it either! I'm another that only cans things like pickles - the rest goes in the freezer. Making a sauce with that many other non-acid ingredients added to the tomatoes, a lot of acid will need to be added to make it safe to process in just a water bath. Even pure tomato products often needs some acid added - you'll find some threads about this on the forum. If you are going to can a lot of things like this, you might want to think about investing in a pressure cooker.
If you are going to can a lot of things like this, you might want to think about investing in a pressure cooker.

Just wanted to clarify that you need a pressure *canner* to safely can low-acid foods, not a pressure *cooker.*

https://www.healthycanning.com/pressure-cookers-versus-pressure-canners/
 
My ex-DH and I canned a LOT of tomatoes, but we always froze the sauce. We had all the equipment, but it was just so much easier to freeze the sauce. Other than tomatoes, sauerkraut, and pickles, we froze everything. Granted, we had several (8 freezers). We keep all the beef in one, all the beans, corn, sauce, cabbage, zucchini, eggplant, peas, okra in another, etc. We also had a 3+ acre garden.
 
The OP is in England, where people typically have smaller kitchens and less freezer space than Americans are accustomed to, so we should keep that in mind when we respond.
 
CWS I was wondering why you would have 8 freezers, until I got to the 3+ acre garden thing!

I've always been one for freezing, even before MVs made thawing and reheating easy, and Foodsavers helped things last so long.
 
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CWS I was wondering why you would have 8 freezers, until I got to the 3+ acre garden thing!

I've always been one for freezing, even before MVs made thawing and reheating easy, and Foodsavers helped things last so long.
You joined DC after the ex-DH and I got divorced so you didn't get to hear about all the gardening we did. And the chickens. :LOL: Miss it. Now I change my Mom's diapers, try not to fight with the KN, and eek out a few tomatoes, beans, and peppers in Northern MN. And feel as if I am in a time warp--living in my parents' basement, different house, but that's where I lived until I was 18, cooking as if we are living in the '70s. The Brady Bunch...wishing for my life in rural Ottawa, Ontario. This too shall pass.
 
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The OP is in England, where people typically have smaller kitchens and less freezer space than Americans are accustomed to, so we should keep that in mind when we respond.
Thank you everyone for the help.

Got Garlic is right and I only have a small garden and kitchen and the large freezer I have is used primarily for meat so I didn’t want it filled with sauces!

I think it’s safe to say I won’t be able to Can/Jar this sauce and will have to make fresh.

Appreciate the help though.

Best, Jack ☺️
 
Thank you everyone for the help.

Got Garlic is right and I only have a small garden and kitchen and the large freezer I have is used primarily for meat so I didn’t want it filled with sauces!

I think it’s safe to say I won’t be able to Can/Jar this sauce and will have to make fresh.

Appreciate the help though.

Best, Jack ☺️
Now that you have joined DC, please stick around! And welcome to DC.
 
Freezer space is like gold. I recommend it to everyone but know where to stop. We got two deep freezers and they have grown full. Well at least when they're full they pull slightly less juice.

I think it a worthy endeavour to learn to can. It kept people alive or we wouldn't be here. No refrigeration, had those cellars or veggies and salted pork etc.

I know this is not a survivalist group, but some might think about what happens if it really hits the fan. If the power goes out the freezers go out, if you can can you still got food.

Down the basement here we got some canning jars, lids etc. (I think Jimmy Hoffa is down here somewhere) Never canned.

Most of what I would can would be tomato based. Not all but most. I might as well learn how to not kill myself with it. That would be slightly ahead of schedule.

T
 
Termy the OP is from a few years ago. But there are people that can tomatoes and follow the canning rules and use a waterbath canner for tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes for instance. I usually can over 100 qts per summer, and 100 pints of salsa. The middle of august is our tomato glut time, and it is tomato heaven for the first 10 batches, then it becomes tomato hell because I'm so sick of them but must get them all done!
 
Though I have pressure canned tomato, I never pressure can salsa as there are no safe guidelines do to the wide variations in ingredients. Another option is to puree your sauce, spread on a cookie sheet, and dry in a low oven, or dehydrator. The dried sauce is the blended into a powder, and sealed in an airtight container. It is shelf stable and takes up little space. It is then reconstituted with water when read to use.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Summer57, I tend to can plain tomatoes w/lemon cooked down until I call it sauce, but no spices or herbs. I like to use tomatoes different ways, like for spaghetti sauce, or for mexican beans, or chili beans, or for salad dressing. I bought a 33 quart waterbath canner, which is huge. It holds 9 or 10 quarts.



I've known a lot of people that use their pressure canner instead of the waterbath canner. Whatever works!
 
When I had a pressure canner I used it for just about everything I canned. The lids always sealed. So, even with jam, I would put it in the pressure canner. I can't promise that lids will always seal in a pressure canner, but for the couple of years that I used one, they did.
 
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