I swear that I read or heard somewhere that it is recomended to pressure can tomatos now. Is that true? The Blue Ball book shows using a Hot water bath but I add like a tbsp of lemon juice to each pint.
Is it still safe to hot water bath can tomatos? I pressure canned some the other day and lost about 1.5" of liquid. I am not sure why. Is this normal? I think if I can I would prefer to use a hot water bath canner.
From The National Center Of Home Preserving
Selecting, Preparing and Canning Tomatoes
Introduction
Quality: Select only disease-free, preferably vine-ripened, firm fruit for canning.
Caution: Do not can tomatoes from dead or frost-killed vines. Green tomatoes are more acidic than ripened fruit and can be canned safely with any of the following recommendations.
Acidification: To ensure safe acidity in whole, crushed, or juiced tomatoes, add two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use one tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid. Acid can be added directly to the jars before filling with product. Add sugar to offset acid taste, if desired. Four tablespoons of a 5 percent acidity vinegar per quart may be used instead of lemon juice or citric acid. However, vinegar may cause undesirable flavor changes.
Recommendation: Use of a pressure canner will result in higher quality and more nutritious canned tomato products. If your pressure canner cannot be operated above 15 PSI, select a process time at a lower pressure.
If a procedure from the USDA
Complete Guide to Home Canning for canning tomatoes offers both boiling water and pressure canning options, all steps in the preparation ("Procedure") are still required even if the pressure processing option is chosen. This includes acidification. The boiling water and pressure alternatives are equal processes with different time/temperature combinations calculated for these products.
USDA Complete Guide, check chapter 3
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning