1 imp = 1.2 US qt. or approx. 40 oz. of liquid

1 US qt = ??? lbs all depends on the density of the food since it one is volume and one is weight.

Per NCHFP 1 US qt of tomatoes = approx. 2.5 to 2.75 lbs of crushed tomatoes or 5 lbs per US quart of a sauce. Note the big variance.

Since you are making a sauce I'd use 5 x 1.2 = 6 lbs.of tomatoes per Imp qt. so 11 imp qt. would equal approx. 66 lbs tomatoes.

Hope this helps.

Dave

It's difficult to convert volume (quarts) to weight (pounds), but call it roughly 18-20 pounds.

I started with dry quarts to pecks to bushels, then bushels to pounds.

11 British quarts = 1.42 US pecks; 1.42 pecks = .36 bushels; for tomatoes, a bushel is officially 53 pounds. So 53 lbs. X .36 is 19.08 pounds.

The problem is that quart, gallon, cup, TB spoon, are volume measures and pond is weight unit. To add to the confusion, enter ounces. There are both oz weight and oz of volume.

If we take specific gravity as equal to one (Water, eg) then one quart is = 2 lbs = 32 ozw

Tomatoes' specific gravity is very close to one. If your tomato float then its SG is slightly less than one , if it sinks it is greater than one. But for all practical purposes raw tomato in its own juice has a SG equal to one. But if you squeeze some of the juice out or boil it (reduce water) it will have higher SG.

Foot Note:
These old British system of units are very crude and in my opinion should be abandoned and instead metric system should be adopted. They have mostly done it in science, engineering but the general public is still stuck with it. The amazing thing is that the British themselves have abandoned it. We won our independence from the British but inherited their lousy system of units.

Thanks, Dave

My husband just weighed out 6 lbs of tomatoes, and he had about 10 tomatoes...does that sound correct for one imperial quart?

Just for clarification, below is the recipe as given to me from my dad, in case there is anything that stands out as risky.

11 quarts ripe tomatoes
3 bunches celery
4 lbs cooking onions
5-6 sweet red peppers
5-6 sweet green peppers
4 cups white vinegar
4 cups cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
1tbsp each cinnamon, cloves, allspice, dill seed, ginger.
4/4 cup pickling spice in a bag.
After chopping all vegetables, put all ingredients in a large pot. Simmer 4-5 hours or until approximately 1/2 the volume. Yields 12- 32 oz jars. (I used 500ml jars when I made this, and followed boiling water bath times in bernardin book for their chili sauce).

and he had about 10 tomatoes...does that sound correct for one imperial quart?

Can't really say since it all depends on the variety and their size. But since this is a straight heavily acidified vinegar brine I honestly wouldn't worry about it overly much as long as you don't cook it down so that it is way too thick. Keep it somewhat sloshy for canning like most relishes and then drain off more if needed after opening the jars.

Dave

Thank you again, Dave, and all who responded. So am I okay using about 18 lbs or so, to equal the 11 quarts of tomaotes? I have made this before, but it's been a while. It is a really good chili sauce! Just the right amount of bite, along with the sweet.
I was going to just give in and use the Bernardin Grandmas chili sauce recipe, but it seems to lack a few ingredients that will give it the edge that this recipe has.
:)

really good chili sauce! Just the right amount of bite,

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I'll bet it is a good sauce when you like it. But then where does the "BITE" com from ?

Hm, maybe bite isn't the correct word. How about tangy?