Trudy Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) Before I found MrsS and learned to stay up to date on canning changes, I always canned my tomatoes from my 1981 BBB. Raw packed in own juice in bwb for 45 mins. I know now to add citric acid and process for 85 mins., but that turns them to sauce. It's kinda hard to change after doing something the same way for more than 40 years, but last year I decided to try crushed tomatoes and then pressure canned tomatoes, but didn't like those either. So this year I tried adding the calcium cloride (aka pickle crisp) and they turned out great! I'm a happy canner now!! Look at the difference! Left side bwb 85 mins WITH 1/2 t. calcium cloride ... Right side bwb 85 mins without calcium cloride! Tonight we are having pepper steak with tomato chunks instead of tomato sauce. Edited June 22, 2012 by Trudy Quote Link to comment
Violet Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I have not used the Pickle Crisp on tomatoes, just potatoes and pickles. Nice to see the end product ! Now, if I had tomatoes, I would want to make tomato strawberry jam ! It has cinnamon and spices. Just so delicious ! Quote Link to comment
Andrea Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Yep, just took my first 12 pints of salsa out of the canner today! I actually had enough leftover from pigging out on them fresh to eat! Thanks for the pickle crisp tip! I'm going to give that a try! I try to limit our salt and have been doing a bit more canning to accomodate our needs. I would love to can my own salt free tomatoes, but I hate the mush factor. Thanks! Quote Link to comment
Trudy Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) Violet, Where can I find the recipe for the tomato strawberry jam? My 2 favorite foods in one jar...bound to be good! I wish I could send you some of my tomatoes. I should have taken a picture of 2 10 ft. tables, a card table, and box lids everywhere of beautiful red tomatoes! I always get at least 10 boxes every year (250 pounds). Sometimes I go twice. I have been buying from the same people for over 30 years, and I still only pay $5 for a 25 pound box. (Already picked) I picked up my order last Sunday and imagine my surprise when I saw that they were all red and ready to can!! Usually they are at different stages so I can put up a couple canners full every other day or so,but with so much rain, they hadn't been able to pick all week. I have been working day and night trying to get them all done. Makes me think of mom11 and her canning marathons ( except I don't have no chicks to help me) ! I sure miss her posts! Edited June 23, 2012 by Trudy Quote Link to comment
Amishway Homesteaders Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 thanks Trudy - might just give that a try this year. Quote Link to comment
Trudy Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Andrea, I have been canning my tomatoes with 1/2 the salt for several years now, and I don't notice the difference anymore. Not sure if I'm ready for salt-free yet, but I was thinking about trying 1/4 t. per quart next time. You are welcome AH. I think you will like the difference. Now I will tell about the experiment that didn't turn out as well. I have been wanting to try the Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup from Gardenweb so I asked Violet about it and she said it was safe to can. So... the first batch was so good I decided to make a quadruple batch. I had everything on the roasting pan and ran out of garlic. I finished the soup without the garlic and put it in the fridge overnight.I tasted it the next morning, and it was the best soup I have ever tasted! BUT- It was supposed to be tomato-garlic SO.. I wraped the garlic in foil and roasted it- added to soup and processed. I noticed it was a little dark when it came out of the canner so I tasted it. :yuk: It was so bitter I ended up dumping 20 jars of soup. I guess it was the large amount of garlic. The recipe called for 2 heads of garlic for each batch, so I added 8 heads for 4 batches. (I only used 4 or 5 cloves (roasted on the pan with the tomatoes, onions and carrots) for the first batch that was so good.) I will make this soup again, just add less garlic. Here is a pic of the first batch before it was blended, and yes it is as good as it looks! Just less garlic next time! Quote Link to comment
Trudy Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 I want to can some tomatoes with only a tiny amount of jalapeno pepper. Could I add about 1/4 of a pepper to a jar of raw packed tomatoes and process as usual, without having to add vinegar? Or maybe add a little dehydrated jalapeno and still raw pack them? Quote Link to comment
Andrea Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 If you are pressure canning the tomatoes, I don't see a problem with this but do check with Violet first! Quote Link to comment
Violet Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 If you will use the regular amount of bottled lemon juice, and then use dried jalapeno, it will be fine. If you add any low acid things in the raw state, then that makes the whole product low acid. Quote Link to comment
Trudy Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 Violet, I use citric acid in my tomatoes. That is the same as using lemon juice, isn't it? If not I can use the lemon juice. Quote Link to comment
Violet Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 You can use the citric acid just fine. I prefer it. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.