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Oh. yes!!

Quote from: aquilegia on September 29, 2005, 13:35:48
Where did this thread start?

I'd like to know how to bottle tomatoes. I'm trying to save room in the freezer for other things!

Pulp your tomatoes, add 1/4tsp citric acid per pound of tomato, add seasonings to taste and bring to a simmer to reduce the juice a bit. Meanwhile, boil water in a pan large enough to take all your bottles with an inch of water covering the lids and standing on a rack. (I use a stockpot.) Take sterilised jars (put to dry in oven on lowest heat for 15-20 mins after washing thoroughly; boil the lids) and pour in your pulp/passata, put on the lids until they stop turning but do not tighten (don't forget to use oven gloves or you'll burn!) and gently lower (I use a ladle!) into the water bath. Beware of sticking fingertips into the water - I gave myself a blister the other week thanks to that! Boil/simmer for 15-20 minutes, fish out with the ladle, tighten lids and leave on one side to go cold.

The caveat with canning: occasionally a jar will explode. This is usually due to the air inside the jar expanding and not being able to get out. Ensuring lids are only on enough to stop water getting in before you put into the bath will help prevent that.  But it's as well to have the bath's lid tied on just in case!

You can do passata, ratatouille,  fruit... I bottle gooseberries and rhubarb each year, as you can do it in syrup and then when you want a pie or crumble all you do is reach for a jarful...  they bottle really well as they're very acidic - that helps the preserving as well as the sugar syrup.

moonbells

Succinct - & it works!

My offerings were to show the safety factors in timing etc & to give options of processing methods - including pressure cooking, which is our norm.

Explosions? Only if you don't follow the guide lines?

Quote from: tim on October 02, 2005, 10:18:38
Succinct - & it works!

My offerings were to show the safety factors in timing etc & to give options of processing methods - including pressure cooking, which is our norm.

Explosions? Only if you don't follow the guide lines?

I haven't ever had one explode - thank goodness. Though I have been known to use gauntlets and eye protection goggles when fishing out jars in case! From observation, if you leave half an inch of air gap at the top of your jars, and when you put them in the water, air starts bubbling out from under the lid, then you'll be fine as there's obviously a way out to prevent pressure building up.

Just don't leave them in the water to cool off as that can suck water back in, which may be contaminated. Fish out as soon as they are done!

Never tried the pressure cooker as it's not deep enough for the jars I've been using unless I put them on their sides. Not sure if you're allowed to do that?

Guidelines say tomato puree takes 10 minutes. I did it for more; after all, it's simmered beforehand so extra minutes won't hurt and may just get rid of any persistent nasties.  Better safe than sorry, but that's just my take. Ratatouille I did for a long time too; l couldn't find official instructions and assumed it had the heat transfer of a bottle of gooseberries as it's similarly lumpy and so did it for 20-25m. 

moonbells

Thanks Moonbells - very useful and quite simple. I'll give it a go.

Tim - I'd better have those safety instructions, just in case! Will PM you. Thanks.