Topic: Bottling Advice Required Please.

[Emagggie]

I have run out of room in my freezer and so I must bottle the tomato squishings. I sterilised the jars and when they had cooled to room temp, I put the toms in. Like a twit I filled them too full and as the mush began to seperate, the jars leaked so I took some out of each jar. Will I now have to re-sterilise the jars as I have opened them? None of this seems right to me, probably as no cooking has been involved so far. Delia was no help at all, so I'm hoping someone (or more) can help.

[PurpleHeather]

oops. I hate to waste too.

You have to heat to get rid of bacteria. Sealing is the next problem because you have to get rid of the air.

Air has bacteria which will cause mould. You have to find a way to make a seal with out air.

The old Kilner jars are expensive to buy but they did work.

The other way is hard fat, lard, dripping or butter. melt it and pour on top

I have heard of wax being used.

Something which rises to the top and sets hard but is not poison (obviously).

With tinned tomatoes being so cheap, is it worth the bother and risk?

[Jeannine]

To safely do tomatoes you need to be sure what you are doing. The mould is not the problem, it can make you ill but it won't kill you. The problem is botulism. This will kill.

In order to safely preserve tomatoes you need to be sure they are high acid types, many of our newer ones are not.

If high acid they are treated as a fruit and can be safely preserved in kilner/mason type  jars with snap lids. They do then need waterbathing after filling.The filled and sealed jars need to be submerged in boiling water and held at that temp for 15 minutes, the air will be safely driven out.

If they are low acid  the filled jars must be sealed in a pressure canner not a water bath.

Botulism breeds in a low acid airless environment, therefore a sealed jar is excellent for high acid toms and fruits but very dangerous for low acid toms and veggies.

I have canned/preserved for many years including fruits, veggies fish and meats.

Wax etc is no longer considered safe for preserving  foods and has never to the best of my knowledge h ever been suggested for fruits and veggies, it was  the method widely used used for jams and jellies for many years but no longer considered safe by many.

Delia by the way is using old fashioned methods.

If I can help you I will but I am confused a bit about what you are putting in the jars, is it raw toms or cooked.

XX Jeannine

[Emagggie]

Raw, Jeannine. I think maybe I must find space in someone elses freezer.
I don't know about acidity. I really don't want to take chances so I may make passata with remaining toms and freeze that.
Thankyou both for your advice.

[Emagggie]

S'me again. I thought I'd better educate myself about Botulism, and found the following advice very informative.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How can botulism be prevented?

Botulism can be prevented. Foodborne botulism has often been from home-canned foods with low acid content, such as asparagus, green beans, beets and corn. However, outbreaks of botulism from more unusual sources such as chopped garlic in oil, chile peppers, tomatoes, carrot juice, improperly handled baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil, and home-canned or fermented fish. Persons who do home canning should follow strict hygienic procedures to reduce contamination of foods. Oils infused with garlic or herbs should be refrigerated. Potatoes which have been baked while wrapped in aluminum foil should be kept hot until served or refrigerated. Because the botulism toxin is destroyed by high temperatures, persons who eat home-canned foods should consider boiling the food for 10 minutes before eating it to ensure safety. Instructions on safe home canning can be obtained from county extension services or from the US Department of Agriculture. Because honey can contain spores of Clostridium botulinum and this has been a source of infection for infants, children less than 12 months old should not be fed honey. Honey is safe for persons 1 year of age and older. Wound botulism can be prevented by promptly seeking medical care for infected wounds and by not using injectable street drugs.

Thanks once again Jeannine for probably saving the lives of this family and others  ;D

[Trevor_D]

Jeannine, your reply reminds me of a "My Music" programme from several decades ago, when John Amis gave a particular erudite answer to a question, quoting not just composer, but opus number, first performance, the artists on the recording, its date, etc, etc. And Frank Muir said, "Why don't you just say you don't know?"

Not much more to add really, is there? And - unlike others mentioned - you speak from first-hand experience. Ever thought of writing a book?

[Jeannine]

E Maggie.. Trevor_D.. thank you for your supportive comments. It is very hard for me to answer a question on preserving as I am usually shot down in flames by folks who think it is just scaremongering, but it isn't.

I think the problem is that few people doit in the UK so those that do stick to the old tried an "trusted ways...sadly some of them are very dangerous.

I often here the remark," it didn't do me any harm", well frankly they are lucky.

Botulism kills there is no doubt aboout that. Mould from jams , pickles will only make you ill.

I still check every year with  the only site I truly trust ( the US dept of Ag) for updates on safe procedures.There doesn't apppear to be a UK version of this service.

Here in the UK there are many cookbooks who still print way out of date recipes and procedures, Delia Smith is one of the.

Why don't I write a book...well simply because I would only ever consider it  with all the proper canning methods which most folks think are not needed.

The UK is far far behind other countries with home food preservation.. perhaps we need a Jamie Oliver to get this message accross but while you can still buy unsuitable jars, plastic lids, cellophane jam tops and wax the Uk are not ready to hear the accurate info.

I shudder and cringe soletimes on forums where this is discussed but don't always respond for the above reasons. It is very difficult to tell someone they are doing wrong but with the posting about the toms I simply had to..

 If anyone is interested you can download the US canning guide, it is a long document but well worth the paper.

 Called " The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning".

I will try to find you alink.

XX Jeannine

Link..

               http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html

[Emagggie]

Jeannine- you are a marvel! Thankyou so much. I cannot believe how I have managed to reach my age and still be soooo ignorant.I don't believe in taking chances, so I gave my last lot of pulp to a friend to freeze and cook as she wishes. I will certainly look at the link but I may leave the process well alone. Certainly The Bearded Wonder would rather not see another tomato for a very long time. ;D

It also occurred to me on re-reading replies that Purple heather thought I was using leftovers, for the record I am pulping toms grown on the plot specially for the purpose. ;D