Comments on: Preserving Summer: Crushed Tomatoes

By: Rory Branch

Rory Branch — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:22:35 +0000

Wow I know more about botullisim than I ever wanted to know.

By: foodietots

foodietots — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:23:48 +0000

@ Jennifer – Honestly, as long as you find some good instructions and follow them closely, canning’s not that difficult. The peeling, chopping and cooking part was harder, the rest is just boiling water, mostly.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:00:31 +0000

I was too chicken to try canning (I opted for the freezing route), but I may have to give it a try next year!

By: foodietots

foodietots — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:26:52 +0000

@ Jill – I know, the worst part was doing all that work and then not getting to eat it! I’m having the same problem being patient enough to wait for the homemade ice cream to be ready.

@ Nate – I would have frozen them but we only have a small freezer and live in a neighborhood where we lose power when it rains. I definitely need to invest in a chest freezer in the future.

@ Sylvie – Yep, first time! I’ll have to see if I can find that reference again. It was something along the lines of having to cook the tomatoes to a high enough temp before freezing to really kill the bacteria. I’m skeptical about the whole thing (my conspiracy theory of the week is that the USDA tries to scare you off home canning so you’ll buy commerical…) but didn’t want to take any risks with the little one.

By: Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener

Sylvie, Rappahannock Cook & Kitchen Gardener — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:55:54 +0000

Was it your first time canning? congratulations!

I have canned about 40 quarts of crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato sauce and paste – and a bunch of fruit & pickles too. I had too: the freezer is full. But at least, it was not a hot summer…

I had never read anything about adding lemon juice to your sauce when you freeze it though… that does not really make sense to me. The freezer temperature should be cold enough that you don’t have to worry about botulism, shouldn’t it? Would be interested in knowing the sources that suggest that step.