I'm not sure I understand the issue. I'm a newby to canning though plan to do more of it in the future...but I did work in microbiology labs for some years, long ago. Including autoclaving many things. If you canned to the correct time & temp for the volume involved, it doesn't seem like it should matter if they boiled before or not. What is the point of the pre-boiling when the canning is the step that is supposed to kill micro-organisms and their spores? Is it merely a preheating step? If so then they would not have reached correct temperature, so, yes, I guess in that case they are not safe.

Looking forward to an expert weighing in.

I was googling this for more info...it seems like the pre-boiling step can be eliminating depending upon how long they are in the pressure canner. I wonder why that step is even advocated, since obviously home users don't have the equipment to do true aseptic transfer. Why not just leave them in the canner long enough to destroy the relevant organisms?

Well as you already know the sauce has to be reheated to full hard boiling before jarring or it voids the processing time and results in under-processed food. A bit less of an issue with pints than quarts just because of the difference in heat penetration.

So you have a couple of options:

Since less than 24 hours old -

open dump them all back into the pot, reheat to boiling, re-jar, new lids and full re-process. Note that you may need to thin it back down just a bit as it will have thickened.

If they were more than 24 hours old - freeze it would be the only option.

Dave

davidrt28 - the issue is the computed processing times are based on the temp of the food going into the bath. If not already hot enough then much of the processing time is used just bringing the food up to temp, not processing it. Think about it - what would the finished internal temp of a quart jar that went into the bath at say content temp of 170-180 degrees for 20 mins. vs the internal temp of a jar that went in at 210-212 internal temp for the same 20 min.

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

I was googling this for more info...it seems like the pre-boiling step can be eliminating depending upon how long they are in the pressure canner. I wonder why that step is even advocated, since obviously home users don't have the equipment to do true aseptic transfer. Why not just leave them in the canner long enough to destroy the relevant organisms?

Ok this gets us off course for this particular topic and would require much more detailed response about much of the underlying principles of home canning. Reading at NCHFP is the best place to start with that basic info.

For now we aren't talking about pressure canning applesause here - it is BWB canned for 20 mins. Had she been PC it it would have been 10 min @6 lbs.

Dave

Digdirt...ok, thanks very much for the clarification. As I clearly stated, I'm not an expert.

Is there some over-arching reason pressure canning isn't preferred for _everything_? Does water bath canning preserve texture better? Os is it merely a matter of economy of equipment used?

When a high-acid food has the option to be BWB or pressure canned, it's just a matter of user preference as to which way to process. I've read that pressure canning results in a better quality.

Rodney

Low acid foods must be pressure canned to get hot enough to destroy the nasty stuff.

High acid foods (like applesauce) can be pressured canned but the temperature is so much higher that you end up processing the food more.

I've done side-by-side testing of boiling water bath and pressure canning for both tomato juice and applesauce. The texture and color was much better with the boiling water bath. It makes sense, if the food is not heated as much, it will have better texture, color, and probably nutrition.

Another consideration is time. Pressure canning might sound like it takes a lot less time. However, once you factor in 10 minutes of venting, bringing the canner up to pressure, and allowing the canner to cool, you will end up spending more time pressure canning.

Our extension office materials do state that pressure canning tomato products results in a superior product. They don't say how it is superior. Personally I like the taste of pressure canned tomatoes better but the texture of boiling water bath is better. At some point it is personal preference if you have a choice.

Always follow the approved recipe. Don't try boiling water bath with green beans!