Just put it in your fridge :). Folks here might be able to say if it's safer if you open each jar first, so the contents inside are not anaerobic.

You could also freeze some or all of it. DON'T just stick the canned jars in the freezer, because the sauce will expand when it freezes and break the jars. But you could pour a bit out of each one and put 7/8 full jars in the freezer, or transfer the sauce to ziploc bags or plastic containers.

It will be safe forever in the freezer, but will lose some flavor after a year or two.

If it's late at night where you are, you can stick it all in the fridge now and decide about the freezer in the morning. You also will probably not die if you leave it out overnight, although I can't say for sure :).

OK, just to clarify for future reference, all the stovetop boiling, the "sanitizing" (is that sterilizing or not?) and the hot packing do nothing to increase the safety of the product once it's sealed in the jar. Basically it's the creation of an anaerobic environment via the canning process itself that sets up conditions conducive to the growth and development of pathogens.

So realistically, ASAP (no more than 24 hours) it would have to be refrigerated or frozen. Then, for additional safety, be extremely careful decanting (don't splatter) and boil the sauce 10-20 minutes before consuming. Basically you need to get the mixture thoroughly heated to 176 degrees minimum throughout.

If any of this makes you uncomfortable, then discard and chalk it up to experience. We've all done some boneheaded thing along the way. You asked, and that's what counts.

Carol

Unseal the jars so it is not anerobic. Then, freeze asap.

Don't freeze in the jars unless they're widemouth and you pour a little out - the regular mouth pints will expand up to the neck/shoulders and break the jars even if you pour 1/8 (4 oz) out.

Has it been over 24 hours? Please let us know what you did!

It was the 24 hours that concerned me also. Within that time frame Linda Lou's suggestion about breaking the seal is apt. After things do get more complicated.

Carol

Sorry, folks! Working... Tried to respond by email earlier today and it didn't allow that. :)

This is what I wrote:

Thanks so much!

It always seemed so easy when the family did it when I was a kid... :)

The cans cooled overnight and sealed nicely and they're in the fridge now, which was about 8 hrs post processing. Will likely boil the sauce for 30 min at consumption time, just to be REALLY sure. I certainly don't want to make anyone in my family sick!

Going to set aside some time to learn the science behind the canning before attempting any future endeavours... Like the applesauce I already have apples for...

Thanks again for sharing your time and expertise! Expect to hear from me again! :)
Diane

So you processed them late at night? When you get home tonight, be sure to break the seals on the jars as Linda Lou said - it will still be under 24 hours since processing.

Over 24 hours and even after having been refrigerated, you're better off wrapping them in newspaper without opening them and throwing them in the garbage.

Live and learn.

"Over 24 hours and even after having been refrigerated, you're better off wrapping them in newspaper without opening them and throwing them in the garbage."

Does this mean my left-over spaghetti sauce is unsafe to eat after 24 hours in the fridge? Yikes! I think I have eaten sauce that was two or three days old.

Jim

Only if it was vacuum-sealed.

Diane, do you understand that nicely sealed and in the fridge doesn't work? You need to get that sauce into the freezer or invite everyone you know to spaghetti dinner. Now - 24 hour window. I'd empty the jars into zip lock freezer bags if it was mine, I do have some strained berry juice in jars in my freezer but something about those frozen glass jars that I don't find as convenient or easy to handle moving things around.

Jimster, it's the incorrectly processed (and untested recipe) that makes it dangerous after 24 hours in an anaerobic environment (sealed jar). Opened - it's up to you and the temp of your refrigerator - I would reheat spaghetti sauce on the second or third day, but really if its going to come to day three it probably should have been frozen when I saw how much was leftover, then thawed and reheated and I will do that when I'm being efficient :)

Thanks all!

Fully understood, Morz8. Just had to be home to execute the plan.

Tops were popped at 18 hrs post processing. The sauce is now reboiling in preparation for freezing in ziploc bags... :)

The jars are soaking in antibacterial soap in the sink. The lids have been disposed of permanently. I assume the jars are fine for use again after a dishwashing cycle? Should I bleach my sink or should it be fine with a good wash/wipe down. Should I take the garbage bag directly out or is it okay to have the lids in it and stay in the can til it's full? Should I bleach myself (just kidding!)? ;)

I guess what I'm wondering is: exactly how paranoid should I be, at this point in the game, having gotten to the jars well before the 24 hr mark?

I don't think you have to worry about any bleaching or antibacterial soap. Just treat jars and sink and self the way you would if you were dealing with a plate of food you accidentally left on the counter overnight. You wouldn't eat it, but you wouldn't call the CDC, right?

BTW, bleach is horribly toxic and antibacterial soap contributes to antibiotic resistance. I don't recommend having either one in your house.

And I would totally eat that spag sauce.

Fantastic! The only place in my house I have antibac soap is in my kitchen... just to make sure I don't move the bacs all around the kitchen! I like germs and think they help me build my immune system, for the most part. I might say something different while I'm actually sick.

Now that the sauce is boiled again, I feel totally safe too. It's a really good sauce... Been eating it for lunch every day at work! Mmmmmm. :D And nope, I wouldn't think twice to eat the leftovers within about a 6 day period. But that doesn't make it the RIGHT way to do things... :)

Sauce is now cooling again so that I can bag it and freeze it. Hoping I can make room in my freezer. It's full of the extra zucchini loaves I've had to keep making while trying to keep up with zucchini plants! First world problems, eh?

Agree with Nila that since you got to it in under 24 hours and also reheated it, no worries. Plus you'd be cooking it again before eating it anyway so it is fine.

Dave

I bleach my dishpan and sink every week (garbage disposals get nasty!), also bleach my laundry aka produce sink before I wash any produce (mostly it's greens in the spring, apples in the fall) in it (it doesn't tend to get used for laundry, but sometimes handwashing), and bleach my food-grade buckets I use for emergency water storage (also stored with a few drops of bleach), harvesting, and fermenting before and after each use. Also bleach the seed starting flats and pots each year to prevent damping off. Bleach is not a bad thing when used in small amounts (10% solution).

>The only place in my house I have antibac soap is in my kitchen... just to make sure I don't move the bacs all around the kitchen!

I hope this isn't horribly off-topic, but ALL soaps are naturally anti-bacterial. That is a large part of why we humans use soap. But the stuff with the 'anti-bacterial' LABEL has antibiotics added to it. It's a marketing thing, to try to make you think other soaps don't kill germs. And it's a problem for your health.

>Hoping I can make room in my freezer. It's full of the extra zucchini loaves I've had to keep making while trying to keep up with zucchini plants! First world problems, eh?

Next year you can save space by just freezing the grated zucchini, and making the zuke bread when you are ready to eat it, if you want :).

@ajsmama:

>Bleach is not a bad thing when used in small amounts (10% solution).

That's what scientists used to think, back in the day. You might want to look up more recent research.

I grew up drinking well water with a little bleach in it -- in the summer our well would make us sick otherwise, but not in winter. Nowadays, we would solve that problem in another way.