Tomato canning season is here and so I’ve been getting a lot of questions from people who are canning their own tomatoes for the first time. They worry because their tomatoes are floating, their crushed tomatoes have separated or their jars have lost significant liquid in the canning process and now they’re not sure if their tomatoes are safe. Let’s take these three topics one by one and put your hearts at ease, shall we?
Tomato Float
Take a look at the jars on the left in the picture above. Those are the whole, peeled tomatoes that I canned last year. As you can see, the tomatoes are floating over a good inch of liquid and tomato sediment at the bottom of the jar. This one is absolutely no big deal.
Even the most seasoned canner is going to have some canned whole tomatoes that float. This is because there are air pockets inside those tomatoes and when you pack something with some internal trapped air in a liquid, it will float.
You can try to avoid float by using regular mouth jars (the shoulders of the jar help keep the fruit in place) and packing the jar as firmly as possible (without totally crushing the tomatoes). But really and truly, it’s no big deal.
Tomato Separation
Often, I will hear from people who are concerned because their crushed tomatoes have separated into a layer of liquid topped by a layer of solids. What happened here is that you heated your tomatoes for more than five minutes, let them cool and then heated them up again.
By doing this, you’ve broken down the pectin inside the tomatoes. In this situation, the pectin was there holding the structure of the cells together and once it goes, there’s nothing to maintain the integrity of the tomato flesh together and so pulp separates from the water.
I never worry about this one either. Just give the jar a good shake before using.
Liquid Loss
Back to the picture up at the top. Take a look at the quart jars on the right. You might notice that several of those jars lost a TON of liquid. I canned that particular batch in my pressure canner and during the cooling process, they siphoned like mad (that’s the official canning term for when liquid escapes).
Siphoning can be prevented by better bubbling of jars and a slower cooling process. However, even when you’re careful, it still happens sometimes. However, as long as your seals are good, jars with even significant liquid loss are still safe to eat.
You may experience some reduction of quality over time and when it happens to lighter colored foods (like peaches), the product that’s not submerged will begin to discolor. Put those jars at the front of the queue of jars to use and don’t worry about it.
Air Bubbles
Sometimes, you’ll preserve tomatoes and once the jars are sealed, you’ll notice that there are a few air pockets or bubbles in the finished product. As long as the lids remain sealed and those bubbles aren’t actively moving around on their own, the jars are fine. Once a jar is sealed, air pockets are only a problem if they seem to bubbling independently of you moving or tapping the jars, as that can be a sign of fermentation. Otherwise, all is well.
What other tomato questions do you guys have? Let’s hear it!
I canned whole tomatoes raw packed in water for the first time and had a question on color. I processed the tomatoes (straight from the garden!) for 45 minutes and added lemon juice before processing. The color of my tomatoes is not the beautiful deep red color, but rather a orangey/ light red color. I also recently canned salsa with similar results in color. Are the tomatoes safe? And is there are reason they did not become deep red while processing?
There’s nothing about the canning process that should turn your tomatoes red. They are whatever color they are. As long as you added the proper amount of acid and processed them for the correct amount of time, they are safe.
Perfect. Thank you so much for your reply!! 🙂
I just pressure canned a bushel of tomatoes 2 days ago and just removed the band’s. I noticed the rims of all my jars have tomatoes residue on them which I’m sure means there’s tomato sauce between the lid and rim of the jar. The jars are sealed tight though. No lids are clicking. Are they still good even though it’s obvious tomato sauce has managed to escape?
That is fine. As I mentioned in this post, some liquid loss during canning is totally normal, provided that the jars still seal.
Can you reuse lids as long as they aren’t damaged or pierced? I was worried that they wouldn’t seal more than one time.
You are never supposed to reuse lids. The sealing compound doesn’t have the strength and flexibility to give you a good seal more than once.
I just removed my jars of tomatoes that I water bathed for 85 minutes. I noticed that a little tomato escaped from the jars because its’ on the cloth they are cooling on. I’m absolutely certain I cleaned the rim of the jar prior to placing on the scalded lid/rings. There is a little tomato residue in the pot of water I used to process them. is this normal as long as they seal when cooling?
That is totally normal. You simply experienced the loss of liquid mentioned in this post.
I have canned 32 jars of tomatoes now. And only 6 have sealed.
I have followed the directions perfectly.
The reason that so many jars have not sealed, is because the tomatoes boil out of the jar into the water bath.
I have no idea how to prevent this from happening.
So frustrating. 🙁
Carol, it sounds like perhaps you’re not removing the air bubbles from the jars thoroughly enough. What technique or recipe are you following?
I’m preparing to can some san marzano and other plum tomatoes from my garden in a couple of weeks. I have a Wolf steam convection oven with a setting for preserving jam that I’ve used for jams and chutneys and am wondering if I can use this setting (it steams for 1/2 hour) to successfully process tomatoes. If it’s a matter of the length of time, I could always run the program twice. Do you have any thoughts on whether this ‘steam’ method is safe?
I imagine you can use the same recommended times for a steam canner. http://fyi.uwex.edu/safepreserving/2015/06/24/safe-preserving-using-an-atmospheric-steam-canner/
I have a question for anyone who can answer for me. I am a new canner and I am learning so please be nice and remember when you were once new.
Here is my question. I was told it was okay to can my tomatoes in a regular pot. She said she has done it for years this way. I did this, I have been reading online and see this is not the best thing to do. I need to know if the jars I have already done are okay to use or if I should toss them? They all have sealed. Very limited amount of bubbles, color looks great. How do I know if they are okay to eat? I have been checking them daily to make sure they have stayed sealed. Also will mention I did add salt and lemon and processed correct amount of time.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I now understand this is wrong, But is it so wrong I ruined 12 quarts of tomatoes.
Thank you
Tell me more about what you did. You can certainly use a regular pot as a boiling water bath canner. Were the jars fully submerged in the water? And how long did you process the jars?
I’m in the process of making tomato juice with a juicer and the tomato and water are separating on raw juice.
Canned tomatoes in their own juices. I water bathed some for 45 minutes and pressure canned some for 25 minutes. I have since read that if I cold pack slices in jars in their own juices I should water bath for 85 minutes. Only read this in one article. Is it ok that I only processed for 45 minutes in water bath canner?
The correct processing time for tomatoes packed in their own juices and canned in a water bath is 85 minutes. The tomatoes that you processed for 45 minutes will have a higher risk of spoilage. Here’s the official timing reference: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_without_liquid.html
So, The jars that I just canned with tomatoes had about half natural tomato juices and half water. I did also add lemon juice according to that same website. As long as it’s not all natural juices, am I fine boiling for 45 minutes?
Yes. You’re really just trying to break up the density of the tomatoes with the water. There’s always a little bit of natural tomato juice that gets in there.
We did a standard 7-jar canning of tomatoes and were 1″ shy of filling the last quart jar. We processed it the same as the others and it sealed with a click just perfectly. Normally we put anything that’s “out-of-processing-limits” in the fridge – and use it first – to eliminate the possibility of spoilage but this time I want to question why, if the seal made and the process was followed in every other respect, the air gap rules don’t allow for this much air gap. What are the risks of leaving too much air in the jar? Thank you in advance.
There are a couple issues around leaving too much headspace. The first is that during the processing time, a jar typically vents all of its air. This venting voids the jar of air that can carry microorganisms and thus helps prevent spoilage and possible surface oxidation during storage. This venting is also what leads to the formation of the seal during the cooling phase. If you process a jar with too much headspace, the risk of spoilage and oxidation increases.
Second is the fact that if you have too much headspace in a jar, there is a possibility that it will float in the canning pot. Admittedly, this only happens when you’ve left far more headspace than you did. But floating jars often end up breaking during the canning process, as the boiling water buffets them around the pot.
Since you only have a bit more headspace than is called for, I think your jar will probably be fine and entirely shelf stable for some time to come!
Very helpful article. Thank you. I have a question. I have been told not to transport my jars of tomatoes for several days after canning. For years I have carefully placed the jars in crates and not moved them from the kitchen into the cellar for several days. Is this a myth or true? This year I have an opportunity to use an industrial kitchen for canning, but am concerned about transporting them in my vehicle while they are still warm.
That’s a myth. You just don’t want to move them while they’re hot and the seals are still forming. Once the seals have formed and the lids have cooled a bit, they are fine to transport.
I canned some tomatoes in 2013 and the seal on the jar is still good. Noticed in one jar that some the tomato seeds are now dark, they weren’t when I canned them. That did not occur with my other jars, have the tomatoes gone bad somehow?
They are probably fine. Preserves often darken as they sit.
Hi Marisa,
Thanks for the great information. I found your pictures of canned products especially helpful as mine were looking exactly the same. So much easier when great pics explain it all!
Glad to know all my hard work isn’t going to result in throwing them out to the chickens.
Cheers
Sue – Townsville Austrailia
Hi Marisa,
Great article. My father is a seasoned tomato canner and has been for more than 50 years. He re-uses old jars from bought tomatoes, jams, jellies etc. Some top the jars he has used over and over for 10+ years and he’s never had a problem. This year I decided to join in and canned my own with his help. We water bath as my dad has always done.
Here is the problem. I bought 200 brand new preserving jars and the supplier told me they were fine for what I was doing. So we sealed all the jars (we are burley men so I know we did them up tight!) We boiled them for about 1.5hrs And when we pulled them from the 44 gallon drum the old trusty jars were perfect…but the new jars were not so much. Out of the 200 new jars, more than half had filled with water and the lids had become loose. Even the good batch had slightly loose lids but not enough to let water in. I tightened up all of the lids on all 200 jars and the ones that had let water in have now expanded (lids not the jars) and are now sealed very tight. I have two questions. Is the purpose of water bathing to remove the air from the jar and making the jar airtight therefore preserving tomatoes? Now that water has got into the jars, they clearly weren’t airtight so does this mean there is a good chance the tomatoes will go rancid? I also have some of the jars that have a milky white looking substance at the bottom of the jar (on the inside of course). Would love to hear your take on this incident. We worked so hard to preserve 300 jars and now I’m really disappointed.
HI Dominick, I see Marisa didn’t have a chance to reply so I wanted to try to help you. I think ew need more information before we can try to answer your questions.
First, I am concerned that the jars ‘filled with water’. There should only be about a half inch of head space (empty space) at the top of the jar after you fill it with product. If you are using a raw pack method, you need to fill the space around the fruit with water or tomato juice before you put the lids on.
Second, whether you are using the two-piece lid system (a band and a lid) or a lug lid designed with a water-bath sealant, you should not crank the lids down tight. They should just be closed, not tightened (sometimes called fingertip tight.) This is because during the water bath the air in the headpace expands and escapes from the jar. Then when the jars cool, the air in the headspace contracts and pulls the lid down tight, creating an indentation in the plastisol sealant on the inside of the lid where it is pressed against the jar rim. This creates the seal. If the jar is too tight when it goes in the bath, the air can’t escape and the jars won’t seal properly.
Someting to mention is that it is fine to re-use canning jars but you have to use a new lid each time so you have a fresh plastisol seal.
Once you take the jars out of the bath, do NOT tighten the lids or otherwise mess with them. You risk breaking the seal. If you are using two-piece lids it is ok at this point to gently remove the bands, leaving the lids in place.
When the lid is sealed properly, you can tell because the button is depressed. If the button pops up the jar is not sterile.
If the white cloudy material appeared in the jars while they were in the canner, I can only guess. If it appeared later, it is probably mold and they should be discarded.
One thing to mention, it is important to add a little citric acid into the bottom of each jar of tomatoes because some tomatoes are not acidic enough to keep botulism from growing, and the hot water bath isn’t hot enough to kill botulism. See this FDA page: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_intro.html
It has been a while since you asked so hopefully you already figured out what to do. In the future, if your jars don’t seal properly, you can put new clean lids and bands on them and re-process them. Do this the same day before the product has a chance to cool down or to spoil.
I processed 8 lbs. of tomatoes for stewed tomatoes by blanching them and peeling them first. I stored the chopped tomatoes in my pantry overnight. I think the temp was between 40-50 degree. It felt pretty cool. The next day I didn’t get to the tomatoes u til around 3pm. By that time I notice a slight off Oder and some of the solids had floated to the top while the liquid was at the bottom. Also, when I put it in the pan to boil I noitce some bubbles. Not a lot but, enough to be concerned. I pressure canned the tomatoes for 15 mins at 10 lbs. of pressure (elevation under 1000) but, I’m thinking I should throw out the whole batch. It’s not worth getting sick over. If I did use them I would boilg them out of the jar for 10-20 minutes. Anyway, my question is would the pressure canning destroy the organisms of the beginning process of fermentation? I think commercial canning equipment goes to 250 d and home canning only goes to 240 which can’t destroy everything. Just wanted some other canners opinions. I do know the saying…when in doubt throw it out. lol
The pressure canning should have killed off any fermentation process. I don’t think these tomatoes will make you sick, but they may have developed some off flavors during their room temperature rest.
I have some canned tomatoes I’d like to use (canned this summer, but not by me). They didn’t appear to have bubbles when I picked them up, but once I sat them on the counter, I saw bubbles around the top of the liquid. I will be using the sauce in a meal that my one year old son will be eating, so I’m nervous as to whether the canned tomatoes are safe to use. Thanks in advance!
Surface bubbles aren’t an issue. It’s only trouble if the jars have been sitting still and untouched for some time and there are bubbles that are still moving.
I canned raw tomatoes according to the Ball canning recipe. When quartering the tomatoes I scooped out a lot of the clear gel with seeds. I packed the jars full and removed air bubbles. I pressure canned them to be safe. When they were done and I removed them from the canner (most seemed to have ‘popped or sealed already in the canner) and they were cooling on the counter, the jars were full, tomatoes on top and liquid on bottom. Pretty quickly, I noticed air bubble rising to the top of the jar. About 2 hours later, I noticed the liquid on the bottom, solid tomatoes in the middle and about an 1-2 inches of air on top. No more air bubbles are rising. Are they safe? How will I know if they are not? Thank you.
They are totally safe. You’ll know that they’re not safe if the seals break or if the jars have been sitting along for a while and there are actively moving bubbles rising towards the top.
What about if you go to use a jar and open it up and the tomatoes come up over the jar and spill out and you see bubbles bubbling
That means that the tomatoes fermented and you shouldn’t eat them. Somehow, bacteria survived the canning process.
I canned my stewed tomatoes in a pressure canner the same way I did for the last 6 years. I never had a problem until this time. Only four of the 20 jars sealed! I followed ALL directions to the letter. I thought I had a bad batch of seals until I realized that all the jars I had done in my water bath canner had sealed perfectly. I don’t know what happened, but now I have to determine what to do with these stewed tomatoes. Can I reprocess them? I reprocessed some spaghetti sauce last week that I had the same problems with and the sauce got VERY strong and bitter tasting. Will that happen to my stewed tomatoes too? Any other suggestions?
You should be able to reprocess them. Empty the jars, reheat the tomatoes, refill, and reprocess.
This post was so helpful! I’m new to canning and I’m still somewhat nervous about getting everything right. The first time I canned whole tomatoes I used pretty big ones and everything turned out well. The second time I used smaller heirloom tomatoes. I think I have both tomato float and siphoning. Is that possible? The bottom inch of the jar is all liquid, the tomatoes seem to float, and the top inch of the jar is dry even though I was careful to leave 1/2 inch of headspace.
I processed tomato sauce last night and when I was in bed I realized I forgot to add the citric acid. I did add white wine while cooking the tomato sauce. Do I need to reprocess today adding the citric acid.
If you want to follow best practices, then you should. So sorry!
My question is what if my good tomatoes were sitting in a bucket with some rotten tomatoes, is it bad to can the good tomatoes still ?
As long as they’re in good shape, you can still can them.
I misread my recipe and didn’t boil my raw packed tomatoes long enough (45 vs 110 min). All of the jars sealed. Should I open them and redo the canning process?
Don’t open them. Just make sure to use those jars first.
I canned whole tomatoes yesterday…late at night. They all have a lot of liquid loss, even though I filled them with boiling water (with headspace of course) and added 2T lemon juice to the cans. Now when I try to re-can them, Should I combine jars or add more boiling water to make up for liquid loss? And I shouldn’t have to add more lemon juice right? I was just panning on reheating the contents, filling the jars. Adding a new lid and reprocess. Is that correct?
How much liquid did they lose? You probably don’t need to recan them. The texture is going to be really bad if you do.
I forgot to mention that my 4 jars in question also didn’t seal. So I have to do something. I’m trying to decide if I need to repack and reprocess (hot water bath) or should I just make a big batch of chili instead. I have 6 quarts that sealed. Although the sealed jars have also lost liquid. They’re probably ok since they sealed right? Even with the extra space at the top (about 1 inch more than usual) since they sealed those are probably safe I’d guess. It’s just the 4 that didn’t seal. Repack and reprocess? Or chili for dinner today?? 🙂
Ah, then you do need to do something with the jars that didn’t seal. The ones that did seal are safe. For the ones that didn’t seal, maybe make sauce with them and can that, so that the texture isn’t an issue.
Thank you!! I actually just threw 3 jars into quart bags, then tossed in in the freezer. I’ll dump them in chili sometime. And we had chili for dinner yesterday with the 4th jar.
Love your site!
HI – I canned tomatoes and read the instructions incorrectly and only had in boiling water for 25 minutes. The Jars sealed but I am worried I didn’t leave in the water long enough.
What do you think I should do?
thanks!
You have to use your own judgment here. Because you didn’t process your jars long enough, there is an increased chance in spoilage down the line. The chances of that happening are relatively slim, but present.
I canned a batch of tomatoes; however, during the process, my stove broke down. The jars were only processed about 20 minutes but the jars have a good seal. Are they safe to use? Can I put them back and process for the remainder of the time with a sealed lid?
I think I’ve done the dumbest thing ever. I have several ill family members and am always tired. My first time canning tomatoes, I fell asleep while my jars were boiling. Not 30 mins, but 3 hrs and half of the jars were exposed and the tomatos rose to the top in the jars with an inch or two of liquid in the bottom. I’m heartbroken. Are they ruined?
Did they seal? They are probably fine.
They did seal just fine. I am so exhausted as a caretaker and was making them for family. Like so many women here, canning tomatos for the first time and having a mishap is heartbreaking and can bring you to tears. Thank you for your rescue forum. I had no one to call and then found your site. I so much appreciate your rapid response. I learned a lot from all the posts. Thank you sooo much.
I canned a batch of stewed tomatoes on Friday afternoon, I thought all the jars had popped, but when I came back home from a trip on Sunday afternoon, I realized one jar hadn’t sealed! The jars were kept in a cool, dry, dark place while I was gone, can I put this unsealed jar in the fridge and use it later or should I just toss it?
Hi, Hoping you can help. I canned 30 lbs of diced tomatoes last year, all jars sealed well. Our family enjoyed them for 1/2 the winter then one day I went to use a jar and the lid wasn’t sealed. Out of the eight or so jars left some where not sealed and all of them had a weird sweet smell. I packed the diced tomatoes cold into hot jars with lemon and salt, and processed them as per the ball recipe book in a water bath canner. I stored them in my pantry that is the same temperature as my home and it is not always dark. I would like to can tomatoes again but want to be sure where I made my mistakes so that my work is not wasted. Any help you can provide would be much appreciated. I have both your books and really enjoy them. Thank you for bringing this important skill into the modern age!
Cheers
It sounds like they spoiled and chances are, you didn’t process them long enough. Are you working with a modern Ball book or an older edition? The recipes here are the most up to date information: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can3_tomato.html
I checked out the link you sent and they recommended a much longer processing time for raw pack than I did. Maybe I will be brave and try again! Thanks for the link.
Hey, I’ve just sealed a bunch of whole peeled tomatos via your instructions with much success via my water bath, although one of the jars has air actively bubbling inside it, almost looks like it’s boiling inside the jar, it’s been an hour since I’ve taken it out of the water bath. What’s going on?
P.s – love all your helpful information!
Give it a little more time because it sounds like those are cooling and settling bubbles. You really only need to be concerned about bubbles that move on their own after days or weeks, because they can be signs of fermentation. There’s no way that your tomatoes are fermenting an hour out of the canning pot.
Help! This is driving me crazy! Lately we’ve been making home made tomato sauce out of our own canned tomatoes it looks fine in the jar and in the pot but when put over the pasta it separates and it’s just awful. I’ve gotten used to the taste but the seperation is just god awful.
Hello! Thank you for making this very helpful website! I wondered if you could give me any advice- I have spent the afternoon/evening making tomato ketchup. It’s taken a lot longer than I anticipated (as usual), it is still thickening and reducing and I don’t think I’m going to have time to can it tonight. Is it ok to turn it off, cover and finish the thickening and processing tomorrow evening when I get home from work? Thank you, any help much appreciated!
Lisa
Yes. It’s just fine to break up the cooking and canning like that.
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to get it finished later
Many thanks, my first batch of tomato canning went fine, but the second batch had one can that sealed well, but had air bubbles – so I know that that one is ok.
This was a very useful series of explanations!
I just retired so I am trying to learn to economize by canning garden produce i would have previously wasted. I tried canning tomatoes, cut in quarters, in 28 ounce jars in a water canner. NEVER have canned before. I was shocked to see 1 1/2 inches of what looked like water on the bottom of the canned jars making me think I screwed up and should toss them. The tomatoes are floating above the liquid but the lids are sealed fine. Did I not tighten the rings enough when canning and the water over the jars got into the canned tomatoes? Are they safe to eat?
Thank you.
“Canning Cluts”
The water in the bottom of your jars came from the tomatoes, not from the canning pot. You tightened your jars just fine. This happens and they are safe to eat.
Hi,
Thank you so much for your detailed responses to these questions! I’m sorry to bug you with another one. I just canned a bunch of crushed tomatoes today and many of the jars did not seal. I’ve done crushed tomatoes twice before and they’ve always worked out in the past 🙁
It was a full day of canning and I’m leaving them as-is overnight. Is it possible to re-process them tomorrow (or to empty the jars, re-heat the tomatoes, re-pack, re-process?) I don’t want to put all this work to waste!
Thanks in advance!
Here’s what you can do. Remove the lids that didn’t seal. Wipe the rims and apply new lids. Apply rings. Place jars in a canning pot filled with room temperature water. Put it on the stove and slowly bring it back up to a boil. Once it boils, start the timer and process as you regularly do. The tomatoes will be a bit softer and you may see some significant water separation, but they will be safe.
Thank you so much!
I tried pressuring canning tomaotes for the first time. When i took them out of the canner there was about 2-3″ of clear liquid on the bottom and the tomatoes were on top.Could having them in the hot water for too long to blanche caused this problem? I also put 2tbl. of lemon juice and 1 tsp. of salt in the bottom of the jar. I saw the picture you included with the post but my cans have a significant amount of clear liquid on the bottom. Any help is appreciated!
That is just normal tomato separation.
Thank- you for your response. As that was my first attempt at canning it was a concern and i am glad to know that it is normal. I have found your website extremely helpful!
Hey! I made salsa and canned them. It seemed that they sealed fine, but when I opened the jar the salsa expanded, spilling out of the jar. When I tasted the salsa it left my tongue tingling, but did not smell bad. I had several quart jars that did this, and several smaller jars that were fine. Any idea why this happened?
Tiffany, it sounds like the salsa fermented in the jars. Did you increase the processing time for the quart jars? Any time you can a product that is designed for canning in pints, you need to up the processing time by five minutes if you use quarts instead.
I did not do that. Definitely will try that next time! Thank you so much
Thanks for this post. I just canned my first batch of crushed tomatoes and I cooked them longer than five minutes. The jars took longer to sterilize than I had thought. I know better for next time and can relax that my tomatoes separated. There are also air bubbles but they are not moving. Thanks again.
Hello,
I am new to canning and tried whole peeled tomatoes for the first time yesterday – but I think I made a really bad mistake – I accidentally used the canning magnet instead of the spatula to get out the air bubbles ( I know….duh!) It seemed like the bubbles were out, I processed the jars for the right amount of time, and the seals are OK. I did notice some bubbles this morning though…. My concern is that every post I am reading on this topic now is saying to use a non metallic spatula. Are the tomatoes safe to eat? Or should I throw them all out? So upset right now!
The canning magnet will work just fine for removing bubbles, so your mistake isn’t bad at all. The brief contact with the magnet should not have imparted a metallic flavor into the tomatoes. Keep the tomatoes, they should be fine.
Thanks so much! I was really hoping you would say that – Tossing 16 jars of tomatoes would be so frustrating!
New canner here! I canned 4 quarts of tomatoes yesterday. When they were in the water bath, the temperature dropped! Once I discovered this, I got the heat back up….and processed for at LEAST 85 minutes. I had what appeared to be water at the bottom of the jars! Well once the jars appeared to be sealed, I gave them all a good shake. They are downstairs…..I haven’t looked at them since last night. If the jars ARE SEALED TIGHTLY, ARE THEY SAFE TO EAT. I bought a huge box of tomatoes to can, and if I can’t be sure they are okay, I’d rather go on and make sauce now and freeze it! Thanks so much for your advice! A worry wart here!
If you processed the jars for the required amount of time and the jars are well-sealed, they are safe to eat.
Hi,
I water bathed my jars and noticed after the cool down period that the bottom portion, approximately 1/2 is water. It seems to have separated with the sauce, Should I do something.
I Also see little air bubbles in the sauce, is this ok
Thanks
Like this post says, separation is totally normal. The air bubbles are not a concern unless they are moving actively on their own, without any agitation of the jar from you.
New canner! Tried Mrs. Wages salsa, and when done had liquid on bottom, but a bunch of air bubbles, the lids seem sealed (no ping or anything), but still wondering if we should just refrigerate and eat in the next couple of weeks or so instead of putting on shelves for later this winter.
The picture didn’t come through, but as long as you followed the recipe, processed the jars as instructed, and the lids sealed, the jars are shelf stable.
Hi,
I didn’t completely cover the jars with water while processing. My water level was at the neck of the bottle instead of an inch over. I still processed them the accurate time and they sealed fine, what should I look for if they are spoiled???
If the jars go bad, they will either start to mold or ferment.
Hi All,
Need some help! I waterbathed all my tomato sauce for sealing, they were sealed but during the process I realized some of the water enter my jars. Is this a problem, are my jars (sauce) contaminated or can I still store them.
Thanks
It’s quite unusual to have water get into your jars. Are you sure it’s not just a little condensation? Are they filled to the top with water? If they are filled to the very top, you should probably open the jars, remove the water, heat the sauce, and refill and process the jars.
Thanks for your prompt response
I will double check to see if they are filled to the top, is it possible that I have separation of the sauce and water. If this is the case do I still have to reprocess
Hi There, I looked at my jars and on the bottom level (approximately 1/2 inch) is water, is this separation from the sauce due to water-bathing. Thanks
why do red ripe tomatoes sink and green unripe tomatoes float in cold water
No clue. So sorry.
Because ripe tomatoes contain more water, so they are denser than unripe green tomatoes. If you want an easy way to check this, pick up a ripe and an unripe tomato of the same size; the ripe one will weigh more.
Hi!
I just wanted to say “thank you” for your wonderful blog and your “Food in Jars” book.
I started making jams a few years ago, to use up the berries I’d picked in the summer and frozen and also *ahem* to make cheap Christmas gifts. They were a huge hit.
My mother, who gives me a cookbook annually as my Christmas gift from Santa, gave me your book a couple years ago, and I just branched right out into pickles and things. I also started doing a BWB, which I’d never done before (the one canned product that we have always made in my family was never BWBed, so I never did it. Thank goodness none of my jam ever went bad).
In 2012, I found that I can no longer have commercially-canned tomato products, due to BPA issues, and I worried that all my beloved tomato-based recipes would be gone from my life. I waited until tomato season and canned a batch of crushed tomatoes, just as a test, from your recipe.
They were fantastic! I promptly made up another 20ish jars of varying sizes, amusing the heck out of the vendor at my farmer’s market with my weekly purchases.
This year, I’m busy making tomato sauce as well as crushed toms. I’m glad to read, in this post, that the separated sauce is no big deal. Pretty much all of my sauce has separated, so far. I’ll do my best to keep it heated between the pot and the BWB next time.
There are also plenty of other delightful things in my pantry that owe their existence or inspiration to your recipes.
So, again, thank you very much! And my family and coworkers thank you, too. 😀
Dragon
Oh! I’m so glad to have found your post on tomato canning issues! I’ve canned pickles and jam for years, but this was my first go round with tomatoes and I have been feeling really uneasy about my results. I blanched, cored, peeled, added acid and stuffed my hot jars(pints) with tomatoes (1/2 inch headspace), poked them for air pockets and waterbathed them for 85 minutes. I had a TON of siphoning happen with all 8 of my jars, even after I pulled them out of the hot water and separation of tomatoes from the liquid in the jar. The jars sealed, so from what I’ve read they’re safe to keep, but I’m trying to figure out how to keep it from happening again. I’ve gathered that it has to do with how quickly they cool, so does that mean I should let them sit in the hot water for a time after they’ve processed? Also, I didn’t put my tomatoes in an ice bath after I blanched them, is that part of the reason they separated after the water bath? Thank you so much for your help! I’m really trying to get the hang of this!
My Ball canning book says to let them rest in the caner for 5 minutes before taking them out.
I have a question that may or may not have been discussed already. There’s over 100 comments…so forgive me for not going through all of them. I processed my first batch of tomatoes this year and followed all the rules: packed tightly, 1/2″ headspace, 1/4 tsp citric acid for pints, 1/2 tsp salt, removed bubbles with a chopstick, wiped rims, processed 85 mins. My tomatoes do float, but I read plenty on this beforehand, so that didn’t concern me.
Is there a good explanation for what appears to be tomato residue in my water bath water? I could smell tomatoes as they were processing and feared the worst: a broken jar. That’s not the case. While all the jars have indeed sealed, I’m thinking I misjudged the headspace. That’s the only reason I could think of…too full and while heated in the canner, the product boiled up underneath the seal and leaked into the water.
So…how safe is my product? I don’t really want to reprocess and am content with freezing/refrigerating if necessary, but are they at all shelf stable? Secondly, I have…oh…about another 30 lbs. of tomatoes to process. Suggestions on getting the headspace issue solved so this doesn’t happen for all of them?
Any advice is most appreciated. Your blog is one of my new favorites and I’m slowly making my way through all your recipes, both here and in your published books.
Thanks!
As long as the jars are sealed, they are safe. There is always a little bit of liquid loss during tomato canning and so it’s normal for you to have a little bit of tomato product seeping into the jars. It’s not that you overfilled the jars. It’s just that when you process the jars for 85 minutes, a goodly amount of pressure builds up in the jars. There’s some oxygen trapped down within the tomatoes and so that oxygen pushes up to the surface, escapes from the jars, and pushes some liquid with it. No need to worry.
Thanks, Marisa, for the feedback. I went ahead and processed my 2nd batch before your reply, and I had no issues with that one.
You’re definitely right about liquid loss. It’s crazy how much, considering they appear full when you’re packing them.
Lastly, keep up the good work! Your blog and books are so inspiring and certainly unique. The last generation of canners in my family died before I was even a thought, and even my homely grandmother doesn’t can. My family thinks I’m crazy at 25 and canning, but hey, they’re reaping the benefits too! 🙂
Last year I made tomato sauce for the first time in a long time. Every time we used it, it was kind of unappealing because it separated into solids and liquids. You couldn’t use it on pizza dough because it was all gooey. It didn’t taste very good on spaghetti and left a puddle on your plate. Can you tell me what I did wrong?
Tomato sauce often does that if you cook the sauce, then cool it off, and then reheat it to can it. Once you start heating tomatoes, you need to keep them hot right until they go into the canner.
Actually, that’s how I prefer to make my tomato sauce. I make it a day ahead, then let it cool off, then I store it in the fridge. The next day, which is the day I can, I remove the pot of sauce from the fridge and siphon off the clear juice that sitting on top of the tomato “meat” mixture on the bottom. I actually can the clear tomato “juice” separately, which can be used as broth for vegetable based soups. Next, I take the “meat” and cook it down to the consistency I want, and can that hot. Then, I have no separation issues because I’ve already separated it!
Thank you! Just canned Roma tomatoes for the first time and carefully followed the directions. Thought I had to throw them out because all the tomatoes were floating. Now they are safe for a winter soup!
I should add that I did this in a water bath…as I always have. The jars I have thrown away get cloudy. The ones that are still on the shelf tonight are clear. 🙁 Still crying…
I canned 30 quarts of vegetable soup 5 days ago and for the past 2 days, I’ve had jars hissing and leaking…15 jars to be exact. Half of my batch is gone. What happened? I’ve never had this happen before. What should I do with the other 15 jars? The broth looks clear, there’s still a nice head-space on the jar. I’m crying. 🙁
The soup is spoiling. It is not safe to can low acid foods like vegetable soup in a boiling water bath canner.
two weeks ago I canned some tomatoes and tomato soup in a hot water bath. Today while canning green verde sauce the recipe said to hot water bath process at the same time I canned tomato sauce the tomato wanted pressure cooked. So I called the extension office asked if I could pressure cook the verde sauce. While on the phone I told her I had canned tomatoes hot water and why this recipe asked for a pressure cooker. She said I would have to reprocess the tomatoes and soup by opening all the jars and reheating to a hard boil for 5 minutes and then pressure cook. Everything I find online about reprocessing says it has to be done within 24 hours. Are my jars of tomatoes and soup going to be ok not that I reprocessed them. I am almost scared to eat any of it even though I followed the extension office directions to reprocess.
Mary, I’d just follow the instructions from the extension office. She wouldn’t have told you anything unsafe.
I wouldn’t be so sure about the extension office being right. I found out that the girl answering my question at the local extension office had never canned and had no idea how to go about it.. She looked everything up in a book she had. You know, I can do that myself.
How long can you store (refrigerate) jars of tomatoes before you boil/preserve them?
You can’t do that at all. You need to fill and process your jars on the same day.
I’m wondering about this too. Why do you have to fill and process on the same day? Once successfully canned, doesn’t food stay at the same level of “freshness” as it did when it went into the can?
The reason you fill and process the same day has to do with the quality of the product. You are going to have the best consistency and texture for your tomatoes if you keep them hot once you get them hot. If you filled the jars with hot tomatoes, cooled them down and then reheated them again, your texture is going to be heavily compromised. You also risk more jar breakage and seal failure by doing it that way.