Gardening & Landscaping
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Canning tomatoes or anything else....help
So, I see a lot of you are canning your tomatoes this fall. I don't know how canning works.
Do you have to cook the food first?
I've accumulated a few jars from people giving them to me etc. Can I just use those?
I have a sanitize option on my dishwasher. Can I just clean them and then put in the tomatoes?
Do I have to add vinegar or something?
Do I have to fill the jar to the top? Can there be a little air?
Once I open it, I'm guessing it cannot be reused (other than a few days before it goes bad?)
Re: Canning tomatoes or anything else....help
You need a canning book & to follow those recipes *exactly*. Canning isn't something you wing.
I recommend the Ball Blue book or Ball Complete book. It will explain what you need to do re:sanatizing, re: head space, re: equipment, etc. there's just too much to type out & it can vary for different vegetables, pickles, jams, etc.
I use the website
http://pickyourown.org/
They use mostly ball recipes but post pics to kinda show you exactly how to do it. They give variations (water bath or pressure), on using a mix, or just repeat the recipe from ball.
I used their applebutter, salsa, and spaghetti recipe and it's amazing!
I'm late to this thread, but I garden and can veggies, so I thought I'd chime in.
See this website: http://www.freshpreserving.com/ for a good overview of canning.
I do water bath canning with this set, and I love it. http://www.mastergardening.com/can-1010.html If you don't want to spend that amount, or just want to try some small batch canning to get the hang of it and see if you like it, try this small batch canning discovery kit: http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/new_products/2.php?pid=292&product=326 Some people can without any special equipment, but I would worry about the jars moving and breaking in the boiling water, so I would say that at least a rack is essential.
To reinforce what a pp said, you can NOT just can any old recipe. Recipes have to be tested for canning, or you risk contamination and subsequent serious illness. The Ball Bluebook is very good, and there are a ton of free, tested recipes online.
You have to use canning jars (not old mayo jars or the like); canning jars can be reused if they aren't chipped or damaged, but you always have to use brand new lids (to get a safe, proper seal). My dishwasher sanitizes as well, but I still always boil the jars and lids. You do have to add acid to tomatoes (again, check online or a book for tested tomato canning recipes). Different foods in different jar sizes require different headspace (amount of empty space between the top of the food and the top of the jar), so follow your tested recipe. Once you open home-canned produce, you can keep the unused portion in the frig for a few days. I wouldn't keep it too long after it's opened, though, because it doesn't have any preservatives.
It sounds complicated, but once you try it once or twice you'll see that it's pretty simple as long as you have a trusted recipe. Have fun!