Tomato questions

[Wendy]

Hi y'all! This is my first post even though I've been reading forever. I hope y'all don't mind me jumping in with a question or two.

 

I'm hoping to start cannig my spaghetti and pizza sauce. I freeze them now but it's so inconvenient (I can't use it for quick meals)and takes up alot of freezer space.

 

I need to find out first of all if it would even be safe for canning. I also have an old family bbq sauce recipe I'd like to modify for canning but I'll save that for another post.

 

Anyway, I buy the big cans of tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste from Sam's and make my sauce with that. I don't add any fat, dairy or starch. I don't have a specific recipe, I just add until it tastes good. Dried onion flakes, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried spices like Italian and parsley. I make it fairly thick but not like stand your spoon in it thick.

 

Does anyone know if this is safe? Does it need some acid added? If it is safe, how would I processs it?

 

Thank you to anyone that can help!!

[Violet]

No,sorry, it is not safe to can your own recipes. There are cooking recipes and those designed for safe canning. If you want to preserve your own recipes, then freeze them. Either use the Ball Blue Book or the USDA recipes to insure safety.

This link has a spaghetti sauce recipe. Also recipes for a lot of good, safe recipes. Be sure when you can anything the recipes are USDA safe. Lots of recipes online and in books are not safe to can. People who write them usually have no training in food safety.

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can3_tomato.html

The Ball Blue Book also has some basic sauces that can be done in a boiling water bath canner. They are pretty basic, tomatoes, with some added acid and a few dried herbs.

 

[Wendy]

So, in other words, canning is out if you don't use fresh tomatoes? I don't mind trying that recipe at all, I just don't have access to 30lbs of tomatoes. YIKES!

[Tracie]

seems like it would be kinda time and money-wasting to open safely-canned foods in order to mix them together and re-can them. Why not just store the original cans?

[Wendy]

Ok, nevermind. I'll just crawl back into my little hole now. I was just wondering because I buy in bulk and it makes a whole lot at once, then I have to freeze several jars. It would have helped to be able to just can them instead of stick them in the freezer.

[Aint2nuts]

Originally Posted By: Tracie

seems like it would be kinda time and money-wasting to open safely-canned foods in order to mix them together and re-can them. Why not just store the original cans?

She gets #10 cans and wants to make her own spaghetti sauce. Once you mix # 10 cans together, you have a heck of a lot of sauce. She wants to know if she would be able to can that.

[Heather]

I'm no expert, but it was my understanding that you would pressure can the sauce. The times would be for the ingredient that required the longest time.

[westbrook]

well no wonder I am gonna die! I have been using #10 cans to make sauce for years!

 

well I be darn!

[Stephanie]

Westie you are such a mess girl! Are you a comedianne irl???

[sjllm]

Wendy, I`m not an expert canner, but I make pasta sauce from the large cans from Sam`s then can it all the time. I have never had a problem. I pressure can qt. jars for 20 min.

[Leah]

I see what you are going for. You want to make up sauce using commercial tomato products, and then re-can it.

There are some safe recipes here somewhere for that, give it a few days and the folks who posted them will probably show up.

to the forum!

[westbrook]

OMG! that hat needs to be added to our icons!!!! for all those ladies over 50 of course!

 

 

[Wendy]

Thanks ladies. I just didn't want to kill anybody.

 

I didn't see that much difference in using the canned product as opposed to the fresh except for well, that fresh part. lol I just wanted to be sure.

 

Try as I may, I can never seem to produce that many tomatoes, much less all at one time.

[Jeepers]

Wendy, you get out of that little hole right now!

Trying to fish Wendy out of her hole------->

 

I do the same thing. I buy the huge size cans of tomatoes at Sam's club to make my spaghetti sauce and can some of the leftover tomatoes in quart jars for chili. I live alone so there is no way I could use a can that size before it would ruin but they are so much cheaper to buy that way. I can my spaghetti sauce in pint jars and still get 2 meals out of it. Egads, a 6 pound can of tomatoes gives me 6 pints of meatless spaghetti sauce. That's 12 servings for me. So yep, it makes total sense to buy big and can small.

[Violet]

If you can figure out how much tomato sauce to add instead of the fresh tomatoes, then proceed with using the rest of a tested recipe, then I can see using them... however, I would not just use any recipe and then expect it to be safe. You still need the proper ratio of things in the sauce. You will see this warning :

Caution: Do not increase the proportion of onions, peppers, or mushrooms.

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/spaghetti_sauce.html

This makes 9 pints, but some of it is tomatoes and some of the amount are other ingredients. Personally, I would leave out the oil. I just saute my veggies with water. Oil is not needed.

This is also a pressure can only recipe and no meat. There is one listed for meat, too.

Also, do not use those dry packets of sauce mix as they have thickeners in them.

 

 

 

[KatMom]

Ijust made 4 pints of salsa with canned tomatoes and a package of Ball brand Zesty Salsa Mix. I'm a little worried about it now, because it says it has food starch on the list of ingredients. I water bathed it for 35 minutes as the directions said for canning. I guess I didn't question it because it was Ball Brand. Do you think I have anything to worry about? Katmom

[westbrook]

send it to me to test! If I live then eat the rest, if I die, throw it out!

[Tracie]

Wendy - I'm sorry if my question sounded snarky. I didn't mean it to be.

 

By "big can" I thought you meant the size up from the 14oz can at the supermarket. I think it's like 21oz. I'm a little sheltered and it never occurred to me you were making huge batches from #10 cans because I've never done anything like that. I only have one child (and he won't touch spaghetti sauce!).

 

Please don't run away on my account!

[Darlene]

I used to do a mixture of the #10 crushed tomatoes with my home canned tomatoes and made that into my marinara and canned it.

 

I pressure can it, but it's always canned well, keeping in mind appropriate canning guidelines.