Is My First Batch of Tomato Sauce Contaminated?

[AmeesAndBobs]

Hey out there!



I wanted to get the opinion of veteran canners. Every year, I mess up my first batch of produce from the garden because I can under duress, except I'm not so sure this year. I changed my tomato sauce recipe and added a boatload of basil, garlic, olive oil and onions. By the time I realized I had almost forgotten to add acid--I couldn't find the instructions and ended up adding about a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice instead of the 2 tblspns necessary for the quart jar. But I did process them in a pressure canner for 40minutes at about 13 pounds--again, because I was unsure of how long to leave them in there for with the added veggies.



Should I toss them? Do you guys think it's safe to eat? The added veggies and low acidity is making me nervous. I held onto the jars because I *think* they'll be ok? But I'm not certain.



What do you guys think?

 

[bbqcoder]

I think you'll be ok but if you get sick, I'm not responsible.

Do you have a PH meter? See this article.

https://foodscienceinstitute.com/2016/08/16/why-add-lemon-juice-when-canning-tomato-sauce/

 

[pepperhead212]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the pressure canner for non-acid foods? Not that you can't pressure can acid foods, but I don't think you have to worry about the acidity of a tomato sauce, if you are pressure canning, provided the pressure is high enough, and the time is long enough for the size of the jars. It's when you are doing a water bath that you have to get the acidity high enough.

 

[Josie1945]

Your Tomato Sauce will be fine
if you Pressure canned it for 40
minutes at 13 pounds . I do mine
the same but only do 30 minutes.
Works like a charm.

Josie

 

[GotGarlic]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the pressure canner for non-acid foods? Not that you can't pressure can acid foods, but I don't think you have to worry about the acidity of a tomato sauce, if you are pressure canning, provided the pressure is high enough, and the time is long enough for the size of the jars. It's when you are doing a water bath that you have to get the acidity high enough.

It's not just the size of the jars - the density of the food plays a role as well.

 

[bbqcoder]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the pressure canner for non-acid foods? Not that you can't pressure can acid foods, but I don't think you have to worry about the acidity of a tomato sauce, if you are pressure canning, provided the pressure is high enough, and the time is long enough for the size of the jars. It's when you are doing a water bath that you have to get the acidity high enough.

I have a pressure canner and I recall the instructions still specify that you should add acid for tomatoes. I got the pressure canner mainly because it's faster than the water bath canner.

 

[AmeesAndBobs]

This is good info--thank you for the responses. So if you use a pressure canner, you don't have to use acid as well? The heat (alone) from pressure canning kills botulism? I didn't realize this. If this is the case, that sauce is just fine!


Although like BBQcoder said...I think I got the idea that I had to add acid from the pressure canning instructions. I'll keep looking but will get that device to test acid and investigate the need for both acid AND pressure canning. Maybe it's just overkill.

 

[eparys]

At 40 min processing time, you should be fine - the pressure canner is used for low acid foods. I never added extra acid and always added chopped onion to my sauce.

 

[GotGarlic]

This is good info--thank you for the responses. So if you use a pressure canner, you don't have to use acid as well? The heat (alone) from pressure canning kills botulism? I didn't realize this. If this is the case, that sauce is just fine!

Although like BBQcoder said...I think I got the idea that I had to add acid from the pressure canning instructions. I'll keep looking but will get that device to test acid and investigate the need for both acid AND pressure canning. Maybe it's just overkill.

The pressure from the pressure canner increases the heat to around 250F, which is sufficient to kill the botulinum spores.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation recipe for pressure-canned spaghetti sauce does not include added acid and the processing time is 20 or 25 minutes, depending on the size of the jars. You'll be fine.
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/spaghetti_sauce.html

You can read up on how pressure canners work here.
https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/uga/using_press_canners.html

 

[CWS4322]

I am going to jump in here. Heirloom tomatoes do not have the same amount of acid as modern (hmmm) varieties. I always add some lemon juice and a bit of salt to the top of the jar before sealing. I always plant heirloom tomatoes, I am partial to pink, yellow, and black varieties because of the acid content. My Mom can't process grocery store tomatoes (don't ask how I know this, TMI), so I go for the varieties that are lower in acid. Modern tomatoes have a lot more acid than heirloom varieties. And yes, I have done open water bath and under pressure. I haven't died yet. The ex-DH and I planted 250-300 tomato plants every summer. We harvested about 2500 lb. We canned a lot of jars of tomatoes. At the Elders' house, I have 36 plants and don't spend nearly as many hours canning. The ex-DH and I built a "canning kitchen" that was a separate building where we would process the veggies from the 3 plus acre garden. We even put in a window a/c (it was only 10' x 10'building--didn't need a building permit for that size, or maybe it was 9 x 9) but it was so nice to do that in a "kitchen" we designed just for canning and not heat up the house or have all that steam. A modern version of a summer kitchen.

 

[GotGarlic]

I am going to jump in here. Heirloom tomatoes do not have the same amount of acid as modern (hmmm) varieties. I always add some lemon juice and a bit of salt to the top of the jar before sealing.

Are you saying they're not safe if they're heirlooms? She used a pressure canner, so it doesn't matter whether they are or not.

 

[CWS4322]

Are you saying they're not safe if they're heirlooms? She used a pressure canner, so it doesn't matter whether they are or not.

No, just that modern tomatoes have more acid than heirlooms. I am sure that since they were processed under pressure they will be fine.

 

[AmeesAndBobs]

I think part of the reason why I was confused over whether or not I needed acid is because many of the recipes to can tomatoes are geared toward both water bath and canning, and so the recipes add acid automatically and don't differentiate between whether or not you NEED to add it. Probably to be on the safe side since more folks probably do the water bath method for tomatoes. I get it now though, and I did my second batch without acid (still pressure canning) since I don't love the taste.