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!
HI Marisa,
I hope you have a spare moment to help me:) I Googled first, but could not find an answer to my issue. I’m a first time water bath canner. My first round of water canning went fine, but when I canned another three pints of tomato sauce, I found by the next day, that the sauce had expanded and was stuck to the top of the jar lid, there was no more headspace, and I can see areas of foamy bubbles, nit moving as of 12 hours after canning. All the jars have a successful seal. I had followed normal protocol: Added citric acid, measured the headspace, cleaned the jar rims, had sterilized the jars, removed air pockets, put hot sauce into hot jars etc, boiled for 35 minutes…
The only thing I did differently, is that I lined the bottom of the water pot with a thin tea towel as I had discarded a makeshift rack I had made which I used when water bath canning the first batch. At the end of the boiling session, I did find that one of the jars had fallen over sideways in the pot of boiling water. I only had three jars in the large pot, which gave them room to wobble around. Please let me know what I did wrong if you know. I want to avoid this in the future. Much gratitude for your help.
Hmm. Did you cook the tomato sauce on one day, and then reheat it and can it the next? That can sometimes cause tomato sauce to separate. However, what you’ve experienced sounds more like the sauce fermented than expanded. Are the lids still firm and concave? Or have the seals started to go?
The conditions of your canning pot should not have cause this.
I’m new at canning anything with tomatoes. I’m going to do the Ball recipe for spaghetti sauce with meat. Can I core and cut tomatoes tonight, then refrigerate, and do the cooking tomorrow?
Yes.
Hello! I have read about the separation, though a little late- my tomato meat is under a good amount of fairly clear liquid, but not too concerned. What worries me is my jar seemed to change shape. Indentations and ripples in part of the jar I didn’t notice before. Any answers would be helpful. I know you would normally avoid dents and such in cans. Thank you!
I would be very surprised if your jar actually changed shape. Glass is incredibly hard and needs far higher temperatures to change shape than what you can achieve in a canning pot. Perhaps you just didn’t notice the imperfections in the glass when the jars were empty?
I canned stewed tomatoes and tomatoes and okra. They all turned out great except they are not very juicy. I think my tomatoes weren’t quite ripe enough. Will they be safe to eat and can I add liquid when warming them up? Like tomato juice?
As long as you followed a reliable recipe that was published in the last 30 years, they should be safe. And provided that they’re safe, it’s totally fine to add tomato juice when you heat them up.
I processed my tomatoes( qt. jars) in a pressure cooker, thinking it would be better. They never came to pressure but boiled for two hours. I took them out and they all sealed and look beautiful. Are they ok?
Was the pot filled with water? Or was there just the 2-3 inches for the pressure canning? Was there still water in the pot after you heated it for two hours and it didn’t boil dry, then you ended up steam canning the jars. They should be okay.
I’ve read all the comments and still not sure if my issue is addressed. First time canner here. Can you tell me if I did anything wrong? I blanched tomatoes, cooled them in cold water. Peeled and cored them. Cut them in quarters and added them to a pot smashing with a potato masher as I went. I cooked them about 25 minutes. I added warm smashed tomatoes to warm jars, with 1/2 in of head space. I added lemon juice and salt and placed limes and rings on. I pressure canned them at 12lbs (per my altitude) for 25 minutes. When the pressure valves went down, I opened the canner and moved the jars to a towel on the canner. I covered them with a dish towel and went to bed.
This morning all jars are sealed. 2 of the 4 jars have separated liquid at the bottom and about and inch and a half to 2 inches of head space in the sealed jars. The other 2 did not separate and look perfect. Are the two that had so much liquid loss and separation safe to eat or store!
Like the post says, liquid loss and separation is totally normal in canning tomatoes. As long as the seals are good, they are safe to eat. The only thing I’d suggest is to skip putting the towel over the jars as they cool. That can slow the cooling process and lead to a flat, sour taste in the finished tomatoes.
Hello, I so appreciate your time and kindness creating this helpful blog. I have read through most of the responses of the last five years, and I think you actually answered my question with your first, and the photo of various results of your own canning. But just to be sure….
I just finished canning four quarts of tomatoes. I squished them into the jars but still, after cooking in a water bath, there is a very large head space, at least two inches in each jar, as the tomatoes dehydrated a bit during cooking. The tomatoes are san marzanos. I have one jar left to go.
Will the tomatoes in the jars turn brown? Spoil? Should I open and repack them together, more tightly, creating less jars of them and recook? Thank you so very much.
Just leave them. You may experience some discoloration on the surface, but as long as the jars are sealed, they will be good.
I have been having problems with a lot of siphoning when I do my whole tomatos. I never use to have a problem and it seems to be a waste. You mentioned bubbling above…can you please explain that to me and if it helps. I was taught to cold pack them for 55 minutes but the local extention service advises 95 minutes so I changed to that time. Everything else that I bottle is fine. Thank you for any help that you can offer.
Bubbling your jars means to use a chopstick, plastic knife, or bubbling tool to remove the trapped air bubbles from your jars before processing. However, I think the issue is really the increased processing time. To reduce the siphoning, I suggest that when the processing time is up, you remove the lid from the canner and turn off the heat. Let the jars cool slowly in the pot for 10-15 minutes. This slower cooling process will reduce the amount of liquid that siphons from your jars.
My question is when I cooked spaghetti sauce some of the cans had the sauce siphon out onto the exterior of the jar and you could tell sauce was underneath liid but the seal held, should I be concerned, or will it be safe
As long as the jars are sealed, they are fine. Just wash the jars and put them away.
Your post is wonderful. I will subscribe. If you answer me how do I find this answer? Do I come back to this website and look for it or will you email me. I am new to canning tomatoes, I haven’t had any issues. My issue is I use Romas and Marzano‘s and I have tons of liquid left over. I fill the jars with crushed tomatoes and the liquid from the tomatoes in the pot. Hot packed whole tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes and both batches left me with well over 6 quarts each of tomato liquid after canning. Is this normal? I haven’t seen this question anywhere and I’ve been searching. Why do I have so much liquid? And since I’ve already boiled it to process tomatoes is it safe for me just go ahead and Can as tomato juice? Second question would be if I canned as tomato juice with citric acid in it can I use tomato juice as a liquid canning future tomatoes
This isn’t something I’ve run into in my tomato canning experience. You can certainly can the tomato juice using the National Center for Home Food Preservation instructions. I don’t know that I’d use it for canning future tomatoes, though. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_juice.html
Help, we have always timed the boiling/processing time, it would go off, we turn everything off, then raise the rack/jars carefully and put them on the wire rack to cool. Tonight, the timer went off, I turned off the stove and took off the lid and was going to have my husband help me lift out the rack and jars. We got distracted, the jars sat in the canner for like 25 minutes, the water cooled of course…. is this OK? Just making pints of stewed tomatoes..
They should be okay!
Thank you SO much this was all very helpful.
I had canned 4 quart jars from my first harvest of our tomato plants. They were sealed, I thought, and put down cellar to be stored. About 4 days later i noticed some water under the jars. I picked them up and turned them up side down and more water came out. I checked the seals and they were loose. I tasted the contents of each and it did taste okay and there was no smell. However after reheating and sealing them again, I noticed that the liquid part that separated from the solids is cloudy. I have done several more quarts and all of those have clear liquid. Are these 4 quarts spoiled?
I have been canning for 40+ years with both the water bath method & pressure canning without any problems. Today I used my new pressure canner for the first time when processing my cold pack whole tomatoes. When I opened the canner I saw that on one jar both the lid and ring were completely off & there was a giant tomato mess everywhere. The other 6 quart jars sealed perfectly, although they were covered in tomatoes from the open jar. Any idea what caused the lid & ring to fly off?
Thank you for this great site. Best practical information I have ever come across.
That happens occasionally when you haven’t tightened the rings tightly enough. You need to exert a little more force than with boiling water bath canning.
Hi! I water bath canned some lilikoi (passion fruit) curd and by the next morning it was starting to separate into a thing layer of water on the bottom and the solids on top. I know this is quite different from tomato sauce, but could this be something similar to the sauce separation issue?
I don’t believe that passion fruit curd is high enough in acid to be safely canning in a water bath canner. Generally, curds don’t do well in a water bath. They tend to curdle.
I realize that I processed my pint jars of tomatoes for only 15 minutes from boiling point two days ago. Can I open them and reseal?
I pressure canned 30 pounds of tomatoes in 1 quart jars for twenty minutes at 11 pounds of pressure. This is my first time doing this. Was twenty minutes long enough? I don’t want to kill anyone. I packed them raw and removed all the bubbles like I was supposed to do, and they look kinda beautiful. But I noticed a they were water on the bottom and floating. I shook them around to mix them, not all but some before I came to my senses and resisted doing the rest. Are they okay to eat? Should I boil them in a pot for another 20 minutes before I make pasta sauce? I had enough sense to add lemon juice and salt before i pressure canned them.
Thanks.
This is normal. Just leave the jars alone.
I just pressured canned 24 quart jars of quarted tomatoes using a regular pressure cooker. I am not sure of the pounds of pressure. It is a Fagor and has a 1 or 2 dial. After it came up to pressure on the 1 setting I cooked for 20 minutes then I read I could pressure cook for 15 minutes. I kosher salted 1 t. with 2 T. Lemon juice in each as well. I did the last batch 15 minutes now I am worried that 15 minutes was not long enough. All sealed well. Is 15 minutes okay pressure canned. Thanks.
Gayle
Provided they were packed in water, that’s the right amount of time according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. However, you should only pressure can in a designated pressure canner. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_water_pack.html
Hi, this is my first time canning anything and I have started with Roma tomatoes. My question is in regards to the processing time. Do you include the amount of time it takes the water to boil in the 45 minutes or is it 45 minutes once the water comes to a boil? Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Michelle
It’s 45 minutes once the water comes to a boil.
I have read that you can do a water bath or pressure cook whole tomatoes is that correct? I ended up pressure cooking my tomatoes for 25 min once desired pressure was reached. Will my tomatoes be safe to eat?
As long as you did them at 10 pounds of pressure for 25 minutes, you should be fine.
Sure did thank you!
I have just canned some tomatoes , first timer and I am doing pint size jars. I was under the impression when reading that pints water bath for 35 min? is that not correct o did i miss something? i added salt and citric acid i just want to make sure as i saw in a comment to water bath for 85 min?
thank you
sorry i processed in a water bath for 45 min?
It depends on how you packed them. If you packed them in their own juices, the required time is 85 minutes. If you packed them in water, 45 minutes should be fine.
I’m trying to understand and make sure I am canning properly but every recipe I read is different. First thing is I read to process my salsa for 45 minutes but the lids were popping when I opened the lid to check on them, so I only had them in the water bath for 25 minutes as soon as I pulled my rack up the lids all popped , is my salsa going to b ok. Also when I boiled my recipe I didn’t remove the red film is that ok?
You never stop a boiling water bath process in the middle to check the jars. Of course they will seal. The process isn’t just about getting the jars to seal. It’s also about proper heat penetration and sterilization. Once the process starts, you leave the jars in until the timer rings. Because you shortened the processing time, those jars now have a much higher risk of spoilage. And what red film?
I am raw packing tomatoes. I have them all in jars with lids and rings in place waiting to go into the pressure cooker. I noticed the table under the tomatoes was wet and upon inspection have found that the tomatoes are foaming/frothing and spilling out of the closed jars. What is going on? Is this normal? Is it okay to go ahead and process the tomatoes in the pressure cooker after cleaning the lip of the jar, lids and rings?
Tomatoes have a lot of air in their flesh. That’s the foaming you’re experiencing. They should be fine.
So I just canned 7 quarts of tomato sauce, and like another reader, forgot to add the lemon juice. I was planning on reprocessing them with the lemon juice, but decided to call the Ball help line to ask just in case, and they said they cannot be reprocessed, why would this be? I’m seeing a lot of sources, including you, say you can. What should I do? I my kids (1 and 3) eat this sauce so I want to make sure it’s safe!
What they probably meant is that you can’t reprocess the full jars. You need to open up the jars, reheat the sauce, add the proper amount of lemon juice to the jars, fill them with the sauce, and then reprocess it.
Thank you! That’s what I’m going to do. How many tablespoons would you use? I have seen recipes that call for 1 and recipes that call for 2. I put one in my second batch, and have done in the past with no problem. Thanks again!
I just finished canning some jalapenos and two of the lids came out with a small crease on the edge by the ring. Doesn’t look as though there is any liquid loss and it seems the lid is concaved. Have you experienced this and do you have any suggestions? I haven’t removed the ring yet as they’ve only been out of the canner for a couple of hours.
That creasing often happens because you overtightened the lids prior to processing and so the air had to struggle to vent out of the jars.
Thank you ma’am!
I have canned tomato salsa & forgot to hot bath afterwards. I don’t use a pressure canner But didn’t think anything of it until I realized I hadn’t heard the popping sound like I did when I canned my juice two days after. I’ve checked lids & they seem to be sealed but I’m worried about it. How can I tell if salsa is good when I open jars.
I would not eat that salsa.
I have solved the problem by cooking my tomatoes for a few hours on a really low flame (gas range) and reducing the tomatoes down. You can always add the water back if need be. I cook the tomatoes down by almost half before canning. I use my home canned tomatoes for chili and pasta sauce, so it works for me.
Hi: I made tomato sauce at the end of September. When I opened the jar at the bottom was a milky substance. The sauce did smell different then the other ones (not necessarily bad but very different). I threw it out. Any Idea why this happened?
Thanks so much
I have no idea. I’ve never heard of that happening before.
Marisa–I hate to admit that I did this but here goes–I had done everything your supposed to do to can cold pack tomatoes. I had rapid boiled for 85 minutes (it was late in the evening) thought I would wait a couple of minutes before lifting my rack to sit my canned tomatoes on the edge of the water bath pot. Well as you probably can guess I fell asleep and the tomatoes was still completely submerged still in the water bath pot. They was cool to the touch had apparently been submerged for 6 to 7 hours. All the can tomatoes are sealed. Are these going to be good to eat? Has anyone ever done this before. Help I’m really concerned about this.
As long as the seals are good and tight, they should be fine.
I have some canned roasted garlic tomato sauce that I canned two years ago. I’ve opened 4 of the 8 jars and all so far have very small amount of orange foam on the top. Not a lot but a little bit on all of them? Is this normal and / or safe to eat still? Thanks!
Was it properly acidified? Were you following a recipe from a tested source? Did you can it for the proper amount of time? Then it’s probably fine.
Just canned 38 quart of spaghetti sauce and part of them have pinkish bubbles on top when I took them out of canner. I’ve never seen this before. Lids are sealed. Wouldn’t think they start spoiling before I set them on the counter. What do you think?
As long as you followed a tested recipe and did the water bath process correctly, they are fine.
I canned a bushel of tomatoes a week ago, checked the lids the next day and reprocessed the few that weren’t sealed, as I’ve done for years. Today, my husband heard a tiny hissing sound walking past the pantry, and noticed some jars (while still appearing to be sealed) were leaking. 🙁 I have gone through and rechecked all of them to make sure the remainder have a firm seal, but am unsure about the safety of the others. Can I stick in the fridge for quick consumption or make them into a sauce to can? And do I need to do anything with the jars that seem ok? Obviously, I don’t want to do something stupid, but I hate having to pitch anything that I could salvage.
If the jars are leaking, they are spoiling and shouldn’t eaten. I’m not sure what you should do with the rest of the batch besides keep an eye on them.
I canned tomatoes using the hot water bath method, the lids on each jar are pushed up in the middle as if there is too much pressure built up in the jar. What would have caused this?
If the lids are pushed up in the middle rather than being concave, the contents of the jars are spoiling and should be discarded.
I have a question, I made some chili sauce last week and now I am seeing these little white looking “spores”? on the side of the jars.
not sure if that is what it is. I am just worried because I don’t know if it is spoiled.
Alma, did you follow a tested recipe for the chili sauce? Send a picture to marisa@foodinjars.com so that I can see what you’re talking about!
I have a question, I made 7 quarts of tomato sauce last night, woke up and realized I forgot the lemon juice! is it ok for me to open them up today, reheat the sauce and then reprocess them after adding the lemon juice?
Yes.
I peeled and quartered about 30 lbs of tomatoes Monday, ran out of time so I refrigerated them in a large, sealed bowl. It’s Wednesday…is it safe to raw pack and process them or did I miss my chance?
You can still process them.
I have just canned salsa for the first time and my head is ovèr a 1/2 inch. The jars did seal. Is the salsa still safe to eat?
It’s fine.
Thank you for a wonderful page Marissa. While canning some Roma tomatoes, I had to stop canning for about four hours. The jars had been washed in the dishwasher and the crushed tomatoes were in a large pot on the stove. When I returned, I reheated the crushed tomatoes on the stovetop and brought them back to a boil, but forgot to consider that the jars in the dishwasher had cooled. Dishwasher was not opened, so no exposure, but I canned directly into room temp but sterile jars. Cleaned the rims, added lemon juice concentrate, and water bath processed for required time. Will everything be OK even though the jars were room temp and I had to reheat the tomatoes? Thank you
As long as the jars didn’t crack, all is well. Your tomatoes may end up separating a little since you heated, cooled, and heated them again. But as long as the processing step went off without a hitch, all is well.
Hi i have just started to learn how to do tomatoes the video i watch told me to peel cut in half and water bath for 50 minutes in jars . It sealed but there are alot of bubbles that move freely. Plz help are good to store for winter use ?
At this stage, air pockets that move when you tilt or rotate the jar aren’t what matters. The only air bubbles that are troublesome are those that are moving independently while the jar has been stationary for some time. Read this post for more. https://foodinjars.com/2011/10/canning-101-air-bubbles-in-finished-products/
I have been canning tomatoes for 45 years and have never had a problem. I cut and put thru my kitchen aid juicer, cook tomatoes and place in hot sterile jars add one teaspoon of kosher salt place lids and process for 30 miniutes. Last year because of the acid concern I added citric acid. It tasted terrible and I through out my meatballs and sauce. This year I did my old way and now I am worried. Could I place the seal processed jars in the refrigerator not enough space to place in the freezer?
Sure.
I peeled tomatoes and put them in a stainless steel pot (ordinary stainless not 18/10). After 1 or 2 hrs i transferred them to another container as was chopping them. When all the tomatoes were transferred there was about 1 or 2 inches liquid on the bottom of stainless steel pan. Half an hour later when i took the pan to wash i noticed the tomato water had turned into a gelatine like substance. I do not know what that is., Are those tomatoes safe to can nd eat?
Yes.
Can you tell me, I canned some salsa last year and do not like the consistency, the taste is good. Can I empty those jars into a pan and add more chunks of tomatoes and reprocess?
Salsas are carefully balanced for safety. It would not be safe to add additional tomato at this point. You could open the salsa, cook it down, and then recan it. But I’d probably just drain or puree each jar upon opening, rather than remake the whole batch.
First time to can tomatoes using water bath. I packed tomatoes(uncooked) added salt& lemon juice and brought to a boil then boiled for 20 mins. Found this site and saw where they were cooked much longer. Mine are sealed and beautiful – do you think they are okay?
Because of the shorter processing time, your tomatoes have a higher chance of spoilage.
So appreciating your generosity with answering so many questions! Here’s mine: every time I’ve canned tomatoes, I’ve ended up with about 1.5-2 inches of liquid at the bottom of the jar. I understand that’s not a problem, but I see your photos and it’s clearly possible to end up with a jar that’s perhaps MORE full of tomatoes. Is there anything I can do to try to eliminate some of the air bubbles in advance? Looking at the 3 lovely pints I did last night, I’m wishing there was one more tomato in each jar–but last night, as I filled the jars, they really seemed stuff to the brim with tomatoes. ANy advice? Or should I just live with my 2 inch floaters?
All I can say is that you might try packing them a little more tightly!
HI I have a questions. I just started canning this month with our garden tomatoes. Everything online is stressing me out about bacteria and botulisum. My neighbor taught me to can stewed tomoatoes (diced tomatoes, green peppers, onions and salt with some lemon juice) then process in a water bath. Theyturned out lovely.. water on the bottom a few inches and tomatoes all up to the lid nicely packed. After reading online and getting worried my sis in law showed me how to use a pressure cooker. They tomatoes did not turn out the same at all… they all have a huge headspace gap with some water on the bottom and some just having no liquid at all at the top. Should I be worried? Also, is it ok to do water bath for tomatoes because it is way easier and I prefer it but worry that it needs teh pressure cooking?? please advise thanks
You can process tomatoes in a water bath, but you have to add acid and you can’t add your green peppers and onions. There’s lots of good, safe information about canning tomatoes here: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can3_tomato.html
Lids. Poping after 9 days of canning what Can Can do to fix the problem
If the seals went bad after nine days, you’re probably experiencing some spoilage. There’s really nothing you can do at this point.
Is there a danger in overprocessing tomato sauce? My gas grill burner went out during processing so I processed them 85 minutes after return to boiling.
Nope. It should be fine.
I have never had this happen to me befour,I did a water bath added my salt lemon juice took out air bubbles clean rims,when they were done I ended up with about an inch of white at the bottom of my canned tomatoe jar,
Is this ok why would it do that? please help I don’t want to get sick.
It’s normal to that happen with tomatoes on occasion.
Can i cook the tomatoes one day and reheat and can the next?
It’s not a great idea. When you heat, cool, and then heat tomatoes, you break down their pectin and they end up separating. You get jars that are half pulp and half water when you do it that way.
I processed my tomatoes in their own juice and misunderstood the timing thinking the raw pack with water was the time to use so I only processed for 45 to 50 minutes. They sealed okay so are they okay to use?
As long as you put the proper amount of acid in them, they’re not going to become unsafe. The shorter processing time does mean that they have a higher risk of spoilage, though.