Question....about frost

[Jewlzm]

Ok.. So I admit it.. I was unprepared for the frost that hit 2 days early... My tomatoes didnt get to come off the vine before they froze.. is it still ok to can the red ones?

 

I know this is a serious breach of conduct of a canner.. but I am so depressed that I may not be able to do anything with them **sigh**

[Shandy]

Oh man! I'm sorry. That would bum me out too. I just pulled out last weekend because temps were dropping pretty drastically...and now it's nice again and eveyrone else is still doing vine ripened tomatoes.

 

But I've been caught before and hate that feeling of losing out on all those tomatoes. We have most horizontal surfaces covered with green and varying colors of pink to yellow to orange to red tomatoes inside the house now. Better than losing all of them.

 

And the sad thing is that I really don't think you can can them. However, I have heard that you can freeze them safely. Here is a link on freezing tomatoes that have been thru a freeze/frost: http://www.extension.umn.edu/info-u/nutrition/BJ633.html

 

Here is what I found on one extension site:

 

"Tomatoes that are damaged by frost are also not recommended for canning because the softened tissue may be quickly invaded by fungus. If the canner insists on recovering a frost damaged crop, the fruit should be picked the morning after the frost and processed that day."

http://foodsafety.psu.edu/lateblight.htm

 

And another:

 

"Select only disease-free, preferably vine-ripened, firm fruit for canning. Do not can tomatoes from dead or frost-killed vines because the tomatoes will have less acidity than is required for safe canning. Green tomatoes are more acidic than ripened fruit and may be canned safely with any of the methods described here."

 

http://ces.ca.uky.edu/muhlenberg/Canning%20Tomatoes.htm

 

Now if it's true that it's just the acidity of the tomatoes that is affected, seems like that could be taken care of by pressure canning. But I don't mess with it. If "they" say don't do it, I haven't done it. I have small children eating my home canned goods.

 

However, Violet may have more info on this.

[Jewlzm]

Thank you Shurleen

[westbrook]

tomatoes..

 

pick all red ones use

 

pick all the tiny ones pickle, fry or what ever.

 

the rest... pull plant out of the ground.. shake dirt off the roots, hang in a garage by the roots. Come around January or Feburary, they will be ripe.

 

place an apple in a brown paper bag with tomato to turn tomato red.

 

 

[Violet]

I am sorry this happened.

If they came off frost bitten vines, do not can them. You need to freeze them instead. Not even pressure canning will make them 100 percent safe.

Not worth the risk. We are all here to survive, so please, freeze them instead or make something and eat them, like spaghetti.