You're not going to kill anyone!

There are a couple of changes to make, but nothing major.

Batch #1: Don't need to cover with a towel, just set in a non-drafty area and allow to cool naturally. And, yes, you should have wiped the rims clean, but as long as they sealed, you're fine.

Batch #2: Sounds like forgetting to remove bubbles was not an issue this time, but should be done. Don't fill jars ahead of time, just wait until you're ready to put them in the canner. They need to be at a boil, not cooling off. OK to cut away mushy/bad parts and use the rest.

Spoon test isn't really all that reliable. If the jars are sealed (and it sounds like they are), you processed for the correct time so no worries.
Just make sure to catch all the details next time.

Deanna

As Deanna said, don't cover the jars with a towel. It's important for air to circulate so that the jars can cool in a reasonable time.

Also, avoid putting metal forks or knives into hot jars. You risk cracking.

Otherwise you sound fine. Some of this is the result of trying to do too much. It takes a while to build a canning rhythm and get to the point where you remember everything.

Carol

Thank You for your replies. I have always wanted to learn canning, but freezing was always easier. Great harvest combined with small freezer was the push for finally learning. I don't know anyone who cans, so I got my instructions from the internet. Mom always did open-kettle canning for tomatoes. She never had a problem, but I can understand why you should not do it like this.

Even though it was a lot of work, I enjoyed canning. I know I will be doing most of my tomatoes like this next year -- remembering ALL steps each batch. Since you should not fill jars until ready to process, is it okay to just let tomatoes sit in pot(no heat), then bring back up to boil just prior to filling jars?

Once again, Thank You for your replies. I feel much better now.

Yes just let the remainder sit in the pot, then reheat when ready to fill the hot jars. Make sure the jars are hot so you don't risk then cracking when you fill them with the hot foods.

If you haven't already check out the instructions for canning all sorts of things - including tomatoes - at NCHFP.

Dave

Thanks Dave. I did check out the instructions at NCHFP. That is where I got the instructions for the crushed tomatoes. I will be getting a bigger canning kettle so I can process more than 3 jars at a time for next year. That way I won't have to let too much sit in the pot while processing the 1st batch. I think I'm hooked on canning, lol.

Welcome to the club! It's addicting...but at least we can eat the evidence! shhhhhh...

Deanna

Thanks for the welcome Deanna! It's so cool to go down to the basement and see my 10 pints of 'maters sitting on the shelf, lol. Every fall, after carrots & potatoes are harvested, I make a big batch of vegetable soup. It's so cool knowing that most of what is in the soup came out of my garden. Can't wait to use my canned tomatoes in the soup. Just drooling at the thought, lol.

This is my second year at canning and I too will be purchasing a bigger canner in the "off season" for next year. Going with a pressure canner so I can can a wider variety of things safely, and one that can process 7 quarts at a time will be very nice over my current large saucpot which I can get 4 quarts into.

Yes, I too will be spending the "off season" searching for canning equipment. I read in a thread that someone had a canner that they could do quarts or stack pints in. I would really like one that I could stack pints in, but of course now I have no idea where that thread is,lol. I am leaning towards a BWB canner because I will only be doing tomatoes. But then I think, why not just go with a pressure canner. That way you already have one if you want to do something else.

Relax, you're fine. I NEVER use the air tool and the wiping of the jar is only to make sure it seals - if it sealed then you have no worries.

When you open a jar that has gone bad you will see and smell that it is bad. I've only seen this happen with my husband's grandmother's canning which had been canned for no telling how many years.

I can around 1,000 jars per year and this year, I had three jars not seal and I had a young lady helping me and I do think she forgot to wipe the jars but again, I knew immediatly there was a problem because they did not seal.

Canning is way more forgiving than people realize.

Pardon me, but botulism is undetectable by sight or smell. Not all forms of spoilage can be determined by the senses.

A paralytic toxin is nothing to mess around with.

Carol

Thanks JohnDeereGal. 1000 jars is a lot of product! Being new at this, I thought they were sealed, but knowing I made a few mistakes had me paranoid. Carol is right -- a paralytic toxin is nothing to mess with & it had me freaked out. A few years ago, my BIL was cleaning out his late uncle's house. In the basement he found a room full of canned goods that his grandmother had put up -- 35 years ago!! Boy was that a sight! They had to call in someone who cleans up toxic waste. So that sight combined with my mistakes had me concerned. Don't think I'll hit the 1,000 jar mark, but will be doing a lot more canning next year.

I NEVER use the air tool and the wiping of the jar is only to make sure it seals - if it sealed then you have no worries.

Actually if you fail to do both you do have some concerns. Air trapped in the jar which can lead to discoloration and bacterial growth and weak seals which can release and waste the food.

When you open a jar that has gone bad you will see and smell that it is bad.

As Carol, botulism as well as several other forms of bacterial contamination have NO odor and do not affect the appearance of the food. Can you see e.coli on your hamburger or smell salmonella on your chicken? Of course not.

So why not do it correctly from the beginning and avoid skipping steps? Then you don't have to worry about it.

Dave

I had the same paranoia when I started to can too. The truth is a water bath canner can't kill botulism spores, only a pressure canner can. Only 21 people get food borne botulism each year and hundreds are struck by lightning so you see the odds.

I'm not saying disreguard safety but your story just didn't throw up any serious red flags. I think you can relax.

I cleaned out a basement like that too. It was sad dumping hundreds of jars and knowing how hard she had worked to put them up.

I canned 246 jars of tomatoes this year which reminds me, I keep a spreadsheet of how many jars of what I can each year and then I can adjust how much I can the following year based on my inventory.

Happy canning!

True, in boiling water bath canning it's the additional acid which kills any botulism spores, not the heat. Botulism as an illness is ranked by the CDC as low-incidence high-risk, meaning it occurs infrequently but to devastating effect.

Here west of the Rockies there is an unusually high incidence of soil-borne botulism spores, so the risk is somewhat higher. This year we had a case of botulism from home-canning which hospitalized three people and a similar very serious case in Washington a few years back.

But in this instance with the OP's tomatoes botulism isn't a concern.

Carol

Interesting that the lemon juice kills the botulism spores. I didn't know that. I also read that you should boil the goods for 10 min to kill any toxins. Is this true? My tomatoes will be used for soups, sauces, chili mainly. I know 10 pints isn't enough for all that, but I do have a ton already in the freezer.

When I looked in that basement room, all I could think was all that hard work and good food gone to waste. What a shame.

Keeping inventory is a good idea. Doubt I will have enough to do that b/c my garden is a bit small. But I sure do get a good, large batch of tomatoes every year. Even when everyone else has a bad year for tomatoes, I am blessed with a bunch.

That was news to me too. All of the research I've done says 250 degrees for three minutes is the only 100% way to know. Home canners only get to 240.

I've read boiling before you eat canned goods for twenty minutes is another safety measure. I admit, I do not. Again, you're three times more likely to die from lightning than you are to get botulism. While I wouldn't golf during a thunderstorm, I also don't hide under a bed. I think we all have to find our own comfort level.

Happy that you always get tomatoes, I sure don't but this year was amazing. I got 250 lbs every other day. I gave away over 1,000 pounds and pulled all of my bushes by July 1st. I sure use a lot of tomatoes - I put up 246 jars of them and we've already put a good dent in them.

Wow that is a lot of 'maters! I am still getting some. Just picked another basketful this afternoon. We live in the city, but have a very large yard. My garden is small, but bountiful. I would so love to live out in the middle of nowhere with plenty of space to grow tons of food & flowers. But I married a man who is very much a city boy. He loves my green thumb & garden goodies, but always jokes that there is no pizza delivery out in the middle of nowhere, so we can't move there.

My Mom always did open-kettle canning for tomatoes. No one ever got sick, but I can understand why you shouldn't do it that way. There were a few jars over the years that just didn't sound right when I opened them. They looked & smelled good, but just didn't make that sound. When that happened I just poured them in the toilet & opened another jar.

We lived in the city until three years ago. We so miss five star dining. Here they only have what we fondly call "bubba food" - everything fried and in the same grease. It's an hour to a town of any size. I love it but I get lonely sometimes (thus forums like this help).

My garden is pretty big and we have 70 acres so space isn't a problem. I had about 150 tomato plants. I planted only about eight for my fall garden and they are blooming. I plant my spring ones indoors under grow lights about Valentine's Day.

I know what you mean about the sound but I think sometimes they just have a tighter seal. I opened two jars earlier today for a stew and one was really loud and the other not so much but I used them both.

A fall garden would be so nice. Living in Ohio, I only have 1 growing season. It is so pitiful to look out at the stuff that is starting to die. It's getting down in the high 30's/low 40's this week. I know we will have an "Indian Summer", but winter is on its way. Last year was mild, but thinking we are not going to be so lucky this year.

I grew up with a Grandmother who had 30 acres. We would joke that it was easy to stay "in the yard" at her house. She had a very large wooded area, with many wild animals hiding out there. I miss that place so much. Farming is in my genes & in my heart. I do the best I can with the little space I have. Every year my Mom comments on how nice my garden is; how it may be small but it sure does well.

In the summer I am way too busy to get lonely, but winter is another matter. I crochet a lot in the winter, but still get a bit lonely. Husband at work, daughter at school, most days its me & the 2 dogs. I don't like talking on the phone much, but really enjoy the forums. Keeps me from feeling so isolated. Plus I am in contact with the folks who share my interests. Hubby's eyes start to glass over when I talk too much about plants, crops etc, lol.

Do the tomatoes settle in the jar after awhile? I just noticed that the first batch of tomatoes seems to have a bit more headspace than they did 3 weeks ago. Is this normal? They all still look beautiful. Of course, I could be seeing things too, lol.

I'm the same way about summer and winter.

Yes, the tomatoes will settle sometimes - once they are cut enzymes start to work. You can minimize it heating them whole and then chopping them.

I made tomato sauce this year for the first time. It was fun but a lot of work.

I love growing season. I feel so amazed at what God does with a seed and just a little bit of effort from me. It's also hard for me because I feel like the bounty is a real gift and I feel guilty if I don't make the most of it so it's difficult to let things go and stop picking. I have started just to pull the plants when it's time to mitigate those feelings.

I grew English peas for the first time this year. I bet you would do well with them there. I planted in January and hoped to harvest in time to re-use those rows for my spring planting but that didn't work out. I think this year I'm going to back up into December to try and harvest before it gets so warm - my plants were beginning to suffer from the sun by the time I harvested last year.

My Mom always says you should never thank someone for a plant because if you do it won't grow. I have expanded my explanation to "Thank God for the plant, not me, I am only passing it on." I also do what I call "faith farming" -- plant it & pray it grows. Although I pay attention to the science aspect of "farming" it is not what I base my "farming" on. It is by faith that I grow & am blessed with a harvest. To me, the only thing more miraculous than seeds & plants are babies -- and I had 5 of those.

I did try peas a few years back. I didn't get much from them, so didn't try again. In hind sight I think they were planted too late & the heat got to them. I have been working on growing asparagus. Not only do we like to eat it but I also like the idea of perennial veggies. Next year will be my 4th spring & I anticipate a big crop. The plants are doing well. Last year I only got enough for me to have a serving at lunch. This year I did get enough for the family to have some for dinner. So next year should be good.

During the winter I have my houseplants to keep me busy & tide me over to spring. They tend to suffer a bit in the summer. For my birthday (last Sunday) my husband got me a small orchid & one son gave me a small, indoor rose bush. Everyone came over & helped dig up the area where I am putting a perennial flower garden. Around the edge they put the 10 lb., 1920's paving bricks that I "rescued" from the street repaving project that has been going on outside my house all summer. They also helped me with the compost piles. It's all stuff I can do by myself, but doing it alone takes so much time, energy & effort. This was a really big help to me. Then I fed them -- eggplants, tomatoes, cukes & peppers from garden. Along with sandwiches & mac & cheese, plus 3 different cakes & 3 different types of ice cream. One of the best birthdays I have ever had.

Happy late birthday.

I understand, seeds and babies are truly God's miracles.

I have asparagus but I feel badly that I've not learned a lot about it yet. I saw on one of the other forums about male and female - I didn't even know to check. I planted it spring of 2011. I harvested one spear (couldn't help myself) this year but otherwise just let it spread. It seems to be doing fine but I'm not doing anything at all to it. Should I be?

I know that asparagus likes a lot of fertilizer/compost. Here in Ohio, I cut it down in mid March then put compost & dirt over it. Then pick the sprouts when they are approx. 8" tall & at least as big around as my pinkie. I read it is best to break them off not cut them. Cutting them could damage other sprouts that are working on popping up. When it gets to the point where the sprouts are really thin, then let it go. I read that it is okay to pick some the second year they are growing. Just don't pick too many. I did read about male/female but don't remember much about it. On a whim, I just bought a pack of crowns at Home Depot & planted them, lol. "Faith farming". Apparently they are pretty hardy. When only 1 crown sprouted I dug up the other 2. I was planning on taking them back to the store & demanding my money back, but couldn't b/c I realized I planted those 2 crowns upside down, LOL. I just replanted them & they began to sprout.

Used 2 of my pints to make a batch of chili last night. It was so good! And 13 hours later, no one is sick or dead, lol.