Tomato sauce question

[cowfd]

Hi! I am new here and new to canning. I want to can my tomato sauce using my water bath canner. My question is, are there any rules as to what I can't put in my sauce, since I am using the water bath?

Can I make some jars with meat (beef, sausage)?

Can I have veggies (mushrooms, peppers)?

Can I have cheese in the sauce?


I kow that tomatoes are acidic, but I don't know if any of these ingredients change things for water bath.

Thanks for any help you can give

 

[Wyogal]

It is my understanding that high acid foods can be canned using a water bath, but if you wish to include meat and other low-acid ingredients, it would be best to use a pressure canner. There are several websites that talk about this. You can also get a hold of your local agricultural resources center for more information.
canning how-to - Google Search

 

[sparrowgrass]

I work for University of Missouri Extension, and here is the source we use: National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Tomatoes

Follow the directions exactly--it is important for the health of your family.

DO NOT use a waterbath canner if you are adding meat, cheese or low acid veggies.

 

[cowfd]

First - I thank you both for your responses!

I work for University of Missouri Extension, and here is the source we use: National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Tomatoes

Follow the directions exactly--it is important for the health of your family.

DO NOT use a waterbath canner if you are adding meat, cheese or low acid veggies.

This was an amazing resource! Thank you.

I had a feeling that meat or cheese would preclude me from using the waterbath - but I wasn't sure.

 

[mcnerd]

You should also get the Ball Blue Book of Preserving which is the bible for canners and has great recipes and information. A new 100th Anniversary edition is coming out which has peaches on the cover instead of blueberries. A good excuse for everyone to update their book.

BTW, Tomatoes are no longer considered a "high-acid" food and all tomato canning recipes require the addition of bottled lemon juice to adjust the acidity.

 

[Chef Munky]

Annnnd it's official.

Ball Blue Book® Guide to Preserving - 14400214001 - The Consumer Link

Munky.

 

[cowfd]

I do have the Blue Book - but I'll be honest with you, it's not enough for me. I has great instructions, and great recipes. But it doesn't answer enough of my questions. I need something that will give me more insight, or more ideas on what I can do to a recipe for sustitutions. I like maximum info, and I just don't feel I get enough from this book.

Please don't lynch me......

 

[mcnerd]

I do have the Blue Book - but I'll be honest with you, it's not enough for me.

So you are looking for the ultimate method of poisoning yourself while in the throws of pure canning ecstasy. That is an admirable goal and well worth seeking. First, however, I would recommend researching everything that exists at the National Center for Home Food Preservation and reach the point where you can take the course to become a Master Canner and Master Food Preserver.

At the NCHFP website there is a *free* online course in Food Preservation offered through the Univ. of Georgia extension. If you are heading in the right direction you should be able to score a 100% in the course and they will provide you with a certificate at the end. It's only 4 sections and I completed it in one day.

I'm sorry that the Ball Blue Book doesn't provide you with some serious insights into the world of food preservation and canning. It is a form of 'bible' for most so it is difficult for some to truly understand the meanings of some of the instructions without searching deeper for the definitions and reasons for them. I found all of that quite fascinating, though your IQ is probably much higher than mine, but I did understand one main topic of safety that kept cropping up.....Don't Play With Your Food.

I also learning early on that there is a big difference between "cooking" recipes and "canning" recipes and they aren't the same. The former allows almost total freedom of creativity, while the other requires more of a chemistry laboratory and a Ph.D. Have you reached that level of understanding yet. It is quite an eye opener.

Good luck in your endeavors. Be straight and true and don't be lazy and take shortcuts.

 

[bethzaring]

I have never been able to can just tomatoes. I add onions, garlic, celery, green peppers, carrots, parsley and basil to my V-8 type juice, and to all my tomato canned products. Also, I can San Marzano tomatoes. I pressure can all my tomato products.

Tomato Acidity
Tomatoes are generally considered a high acid food item with a pH below 4.6. Unfortunately, a lot of misinformation has been printed in the popular press about "low acid" tomatoes referring to those with a sweet, non-tart taste. These tomatoes are often white, yellow, or pink in color but are not low in acid content. The higher sugar masks the acidic flavor.
Researchers at USDA and at the University of Minnesota have found that most underripe to ripe, cooked tomatoes have a pH below 4.6. Unfortunately, a few varieties may have a pH above or close to 4.6. These include Ace, Ace 55VF, Beefmaster Hybrid, Big Early Hybrid, Big Girl, Big Set, Burpee VF Hybrid, Cal Ace, Delicious, Fireball, Garden State, Royal Chico, and San Marzano. Some of these are grown for commercial purposes and are not found in home gardens. However, safely canning these varieties requires additional acid for water bath processing or a pressure canning process similar to low acid vegetables.

Home Canning Tomatoes

This link provides some good background for canning tomatoes.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Extension is your source for info on adjusting recipes for canning--there are food scientists on staff, and they can tell you what is safe, and what isn't. To find your local office, go here:

Cornell Cooperative Extension

Services are generally free.

 

[cowfd]

First, however, I would recommend researching everything that exists at the National Center for Home Food Preservation and reach the point where you can take the course to become a Master Canner and Master Food Preserver.

I will gladly do this. I definitely don't want to hurt my family - and this (above) is actually what I was looking for. I was already poking through that site from the suggestion of someone else earlier in this post. I am the kind of person who needs to know EVERYTHING about anything that I am doing, even if I'm never gonna utilize all of the info. It's kinda why I like Alton Brown, you know? He doesn't tell you to salt the steak and fire it up, he tells you what the salt does to the meat and why it's important.

I will never take shortcuts - I don't do it for anything in life, but this is too serious to play with. My grandma always told me, "work smart, not hard - if you do it right the first time, you don't waste time doing it again" It translates here too - wasting food/risking health etc.

That you for the information, really - it's just what I was looking for!

 

[mcnerd]

I think the Cornell link is only for New York communities, but you can go to the NCHFP link to find the extension in your state:

National Center for Home Food Preservation | Links Home