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wannabbefarmer

first time canning

wannabbefarmer
10 years ago

Hi, I just put up my first batch of tomato sauce. after the 40 mins boiling I removed the jars and noticed a large amount of bubbles running up the sides of the jars .Did I do something wrong? will these be safe to eat ? If they don't seal can I reheat the sauce and try again?
Don't want to screw up and be unsafe.
thanks for any input.
Tony R

Comments (7)

  • dgkritch
    10 years ago

    Bubbles alone do not signify that anything is wrong. Probably still just boiling in there.

    Tell us what method you used and we can help more.
    Did you add the required lemon juice or citric acid?
    Process for correct time for your elevation?
    Sauce not overly thick?

    There's more to it than just bubbles. :-)

    Deanna

  • wannabbefarmer
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hi Deanna,

    2 tbspn lemon j per quart as recipe stated and 1 tspn salt. I reduced 18 pounds of ox heart and black prince tomato into 5 qts. it was pretty thick.

    thanks,

    Tony

  • digdirt2
    10 years ago

    What Deanna meant was what was the source of your instructions? NCHFP? Ball books? Lots of unapproved methods out there on the web.

    Thick as in "still somewhat sloshy in the jar" is fine. Thick as in "stands up a spoon" is not. Since you got 5 quarts out of only 18 lbs I'm guessing it is probably ok. :)

    But yeah, if they don't seal you can re-do within 24 hours. Back to pot, reheat, new lid, reprocess.

    Dave

  • 2ajsmama
    10 years ago

    Sounds fine since NCHFP says average is 5 - 6.5 lbs per quart depending on how thick. BTW, salt is optional.

    They should seal - was the pan deep enough to keep the water at least an inch over the tops of the jars the whole time? I have a hard time with quarts, the longer the processing time the more splashes out. No boil-over (water and jars clean when you took them out?)? And you let them sit in the canner for 5 minutes after turning off the heat and removing the cover?

    Sounds good - congratulations!

  • wannabbefarmer
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    thanks dave,
    Food network on the recipe. it's about the same as ragu. those ox hearts are all meat and weigh in at around 20 oz each.

  • 2ajsmama
    10 years ago

    Please link to recipe. Thickness, acidification, processing time sound right, but it's just tomatoes, right, no added ingredients (peppers, onions, herbs, meat)?

  • digdirt2
    10 years ago

    Yeah I was kind of afraid of that. Depending on which set of instructions you used from there it may be ok but please note for future reference that is NOT an approved source for canning recipes. Not that it is the worst source by any means but it isn't always safe either.

    They have several different sets of instructions there and some of them include oil, some use crockpots, and some are overly thick as they use only chopped tomatoes rather than pureed.

    If you plan to do more canning then you need to get a copy of the Ball Blue Book $6 at Walmart or stick with NCHFP instructions for now.

    Dave

    Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Canning Tomato Sauce