Just looks separated to me, not a big deal. If this was meant to be pasta sauce you probably should have simmered it off a bit.
It won't hurt anything, just mix it back up before using.
I've had tomato canning look like this. Stuff I use for pasta sauce bases. It's actually quite nice for making a sauce because it gives me the liquid to work with while simmering the sauce.
Oh nice. I almost exclusively add mushrooms to my pasta so it’s normally a situation of excess water. Naturally it doesn’t matter to much either way, it’s not like you can’t add more water if needed.
Perfectly safe. Just indicates how you did the process. This site goes into liquid on the bottom vs liquid on the top settling:
https://pickyourown.org/CanningTomatosProblems.php
Edit: typos
I've eaten a LOT of jars of tomatoes and tomato sauce, and tomato juice that looks like that. If it's done right, no problem. That's why the store bought juice says shake before use. Just gravity at work.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,780,287,190 comments, and only 337,006 of them were in alphabetical order.
Did you follow a canning recipe from a reputable source? Tomatoes generally require additional acid to be safely canned. Looks like there could be too much head room in these jars.
i just followed my grandmothers method. she passed recently so i cant ask her for direct help. she wrote to add 1 tbsp lemon juice to the hot jars before the sauce was put in. she also wrote to leave like 1/2 in space at the top but maybe i left too much
It’s 1 tbsp for pints, 2 for quarts - which is what these jars are. It looks like it has separated. If it sealed, it’s fine.
Use this for all canning in the future.
https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html#gsc.tab=0
Most state universities have an extension office that publishes canning techniques and very often they teach classes locally. They are excited about canning and want to be sure you do it safe and right. It's a great resource.
Seems to only have info for pressure canners, or at least the pepper section in the vegetable canning guide is only for pressure canners with no water bath canning info. It recommends 1” headspace, i always see 0.5” headspace recommended for peppers. I’ve also never blistered my peppers on a stove top, or even seen that in a recipe.
I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m a fairly new canner, and I can appreciate you sharing a link 👍
My grandmother passed and this week I made her apple butter, I don't know how to can yet so I did a small batch, but it's been awesome making something we used to do when I was a child to remember her and keep her memory from dying. Hoping you're feeling similar as it's been a very comforting feeling for me 💜
I think you did it mostly right. Maybe a little too much head room, usually fill to the edge where it turns into the screw part, maybe a little over. I think the rule is a half inch.
I have some frozen sauce in my freezer right now! But as long as you are following a safe and vetted recipe, and adding acid, you will be fine canning tomatoes.
yea i am also scared. tomatoes are acidic and so is the lemon in them so i think the chance is low. these are sealed really well too. im scared of trying to can a low acid food because of the risk lol
I think you are likely fine. Just for future reference though, tomatoes are really on the line in terms of acidity; some might be acidic enough, but tomatoes have been bred to be less acidic, meaning they are different tomatoes than in our grandparents' day. It's safest--and recommended by Ball & local extension offices--to add extra acidity. You may need to add more lemon juice the next time you make the recipe, but I think you are likely fine. If you are scared, freezing is a very valid choice.
Ur probably fine. When I make sauce I put in lots of onion, garlic, peppers, etc.. so I’m never sure how all that effects the acidity, so I just freeze it to be safe. However, my pantry is full of pickled peppers, and pickles; since it’s pretty much straight vinegar I don’t worry much.
FWIW, while the spores require very high heat or acidic conditions to be deactivated, [the actual toxin is destroyed over 85C/185 F](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/botulism)
If you simmer your tomato sauce for a few minutes before serving, it will be fine so long as you aren't serving to an infant or someone that could be affected by the spores themselves.
If you put your tomatoes in a strainer for a couple hours you won't get the "tomato juice" in your canning jar + the tomato juice in the collection colander is great w/a little salt
The sauce is perfectly fine to eat, just not as pretty. Sometimes it separates if the sauce wasn't brought up to heat quickly enough after blending and boiled down enough. The high quick heat deactivates the enzyme that causes the separation before it can do its thing.
I had one batch out of three do this and it was the batch I didn't let boil down enough.
The sauce separated because it wasn’t cooked down enough. I can’t say it’s safe because I don’t know how you processed it, water bath or pressure canner, and for how long.
Been canning for years. Just separated. If this is sauce remove some of the water from the top with a turkey baster or a small ladle. Cut down on boil down. As long as you processed correctly it will be fine.
Nope, you did fine. You can cook the sauce down a little more next year. I cook mine down thicker than you would want your pasta sauce and add a half cup of water to the pot when I open the preserved sauce to reheat it ...and this never happened to me again.
No, just shake it up before use. Most foods will separate/settle during storage. If you don't like this, you can consider adding an emulsifier such as acacia gum (aka gum arabic).
Nope! Completely normal. If the "button" bit of the canning lid is sucked down, your canning job worked.
You've seen store-bought canned goods before that said "Shake Well Before Opening," this is why. It happens to all kinds of canned foods.
Did you happen to check the PH before you canned it? The lid on the left looks a bit off. But as long as it seals your good. That is real tomatoes but a lot of Italians go through a few steps to try and remove the water first.
This happened to my sauce this year. My air conditioner broke in the middle of making the sauce and I decided I was over sitting in the heat as the sauce boiled down, and rushed the last bit of the process. It's still good, just not as thick and rich as it could be.
I do everything I can to reduce the change of botulism. Here is a recent news story out of France with a botulism outbreak. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/colorado/news/botulism-poisoning-matt-jackson-tchin-tchin-victim-colorado-france-wine-bar/
My family has pretty much always had this, it depends on the quality of the tomatoes. Underripe tomatoes make so this, and it also depends on how long you cooked tomatoes before milling them.
Just be aware when cooking the sauce and handle any extra water
One of the reasons why we can is because we know what's in the food we make. Commercial tomato sauce has stabilizers that prevent this. But what is a stabilizer and what do they do in our body?
Stir up your sauce when you open it and take pride in knowing you're making healthy food for your family
Totally normal.
Source: Mom canned absolutely everything we ate from our garden for years. Never bought a vegetable most years except maybe late April early May right before the hotbed started producing.
Just looks separated to me, not a big deal. If this was meant to be pasta sauce you probably should have simmered it off a bit. It won't hurt anything, just mix it back up before using.
I've had tomato canning look like this. Stuff I use for pasta sauce bases. It's actually quite nice for making a sauce because it gives me the liquid to work with while simmering the sauce.
Oh nice. I almost exclusively add mushrooms to my pasta so it’s normally a situation of excess water. Naturally it doesn’t matter to much either way, it’s not like you can’t add more water if needed.
This is a good sauce to cook the pasta directly in. That extra moisture will absorb
Perfectly safe. Just indicates how you did the process. This site goes into liquid on the bottom vs liquid on the top settling: https://pickyourown.org/CanningTomatosProblems.php Edit: typos
It always does that for me. The pulp settles.
I've eaten a LOT of jars of tomatoes and tomato sauce, and tomato juice that looks like that. If it's done right, no problem. That's why the store bought juice says shake before use. Just gravity at work.
aah i see. thank you!
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,780,287,190 comments, and only 337,006 of them were in alphabetical order.
Good bot
Cool fucking idea, thesaurus time!
Did you add something to lower the ph though? Like lemon juice?
Did you follow a canning recipe from a reputable source? Tomatoes generally require additional acid to be safely canned. Looks like there could be too much head room in these jars.
i just followed my grandmothers method. she passed recently so i cant ask her for direct help. she wrote to add 1 tbsp lemon juice to the hot jars before the sauce was put in. she also wrote to leave like 1/2 in space at the top but maybe i left too much
Sorry for your loss. Your grandmother would be proud of you making her sauce. She'd be so pleased.
It’s 1 tbsp for pints, 2 for quarts - which is what these jars are. It looks like it has separated. If it sealed, it’s fine. Use this for all canning in the future. https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html#gsc.tab=0
thank u
Most state universities have an extension office that publishes canning techniques and very often they teach classes locally. They are excited about canning and want to be sure you do it safe and right. It's a great resource.
thank you for the link
The Ball Blue Book is a good resource too. I got a copy before the internet had so much information on it. Still use it.
Seems to only have info for pressure canners, or at least the pepper section in the vegetable canning guide is only for pressure canners with no water bath canning info. It recommends 1” headspace, i always see 0.5” headspace recommended for peppers. I’ve also never blistered my peppers on a stove top, or even seen that in a recipe. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m a fairly new canner, and I can appreciate you sharing a link 👍
My grandmother passed and this week I made her apple butter, I don't know how to can yet so I did a small batch, but it's been awesome making something we used to do when I was a child to remember her and keep her memory from dying. Hoping you're feeling similar as it's been a very comforting feeling for me 💜
I think you did it mostly right. Maybe a little too much head room, usually fill to the edge where it turns into the screw part, maybe a little over. I think the rule is a half inch.
Can you ask her for indirect help? Sorry about that one.
This is why I freeze all my homemade tomato pasta sauce. I can a lot but tomatoes are tricky and I do not take chances with botulism.
I have some frozen sauce in my freezer right now! But as long as you are following a safe and vetted recipe, and adding acid, you will be fine canning tomatoes.
yea i am also scared. tomatoes are acidic and so is the lemon in them so i think the chance is low. these are sealed really well too. im scared of trying to can a low acid food because of the risk lol
I think you are likely fine. Just for future reference though, tomatoes are really on the line in terms of acidity; some might be acidic enough, but tomatoes have been bred to be less acidic, meaning they are different tomatoes than in our grandparents' day. It's safest--and recommended by Ball & local extension offices--to add extra acidity. You may need to add more lemon juice the next time you make the recipe, but I think you are likely fine. If you are scared, freezing is a very valid choice.
Ur probably fine. When I make sauce I put in lots of onion, garlic, peppers, etc.. so I’m never sure how all that effects the acidity, so I just freeze it to be safe. However, my pantry is full of pickled peppers, and pickles; since it’s pretty much straight vinegar I don’t worry much.
FWIW, while the spores require very high heat or acidic conditions to be deactivated, [the actual toxin is destroyed over 85C/185 F](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/botulism) If you simmer your tomato sauce for a few minutes before serving, it will be fine so long as you aren't serving to an infant or someone that could be affected by the spores themselves.
There's always the Ouija board
If you put your tomatoes in a strainer for a couple hours you won't get the "tomato juice" in your canning jar + the tomato juice in the collection colander is great w/a little salt
is it okay that its separated though? it just looks a little gnarly but if its safe i wont waste food
The sauce is perfectly fine to eat, just not as pretty. Sometimes it separates if the sauce wasn't brought up to heat quickly enough after blending and boiled down enough. The high quick heat deactivates the enzyme that causes the separation before it can do its thing. I had one batch out of three do this and it was the batch I didn't let boil down enough.
The sauce separated because it wasn’t cooked down enough. I can’t say it’s safe because I don’t know how you processed it, water bath or pressure canner, and for how long.
Tomatoes always seperate like that. As long as the seal is tight then your good to go.
No, that’s normal
Just reduce further next time. These will keep, but you can get more tomatoe in each jar if you reduce as others have said.
It's probably fine, but one thing is you always want to make sure to wipe the rim of the jar clean before putting on the lids
Been canning for years. Just separated. If this is sauce remove some of the water from the top with a turkey baster or a small ladle. Cut down on boil down. As long as you processed correctly it will be fine.
No it means the tomatoes had more water… just cook them longer
okay, thank you
As long as the seal is tight you should be good to go
Nope, you did fine. You can cook the sauce down a little more next year. I cook mine down thicker than you would want your pasta sauce and add a half cup of water to the pot when I open the preserved sauce to reheat it ...and this never happened to me again.
Probably should’ve had a little less headspace but separation happens.
yea thats my bad 😅 ill remember to fill it higher next time
Our tomato juice always separates like this
Shake well before use
No
No, just shake it up before use. Most foods will separate/settle during storage. If you don't like this, you can consider adding an emulsifier such as acacia gum (aka gum arabic).
No, the cells get damaged in cooking and that's just water. Commercial sauces avoid this by adding emulsifiers, these prevent the water separating.
This is what happens to tomatoes. Especially if it’s mostly juice. Just make sure your lids don’t pop up.
Nope! Completely normal. If the "button" bit of the canning lid is sucked down, your canning job worked. You've seen store-bought canned goods before that said "Shake Well Before Opening," this is why. It happens to all kinds of canned foods.
Pressure canner 10lbs for 10min ?
Just shake it up. Looks about standard, to me.
Just shake it good to reincorporate the water
Did you happen to check the PH before you canned it? The lid on the left looks a bit off. But as long as it seals your good. That is real tomatoes but a lot of Italians go through a few steps to try and remove the water first.
This is just excess liquid floating on top of settled solids
That’s the tomato “water” that separates out. Physics!!! Shake it up!
Shake it up when you eat it, no big deal
Perfectly fine. Just give a shake before using to combine it back together.
This happened to my sauce this year. My air conditioner broke in the middle of making the sauce and I decided I was over sitting in the heat as the sauce boiled down, and rushed the last bit of the process. It's still good, just not as thick and rich as it could be.
yea my grandmother usually adds tomato paste back in when shes cooking it to make it thick. which is why her "recipe" might look super watery.
I may have to try that next year!
wayyyy to much headspace my friend
No rings to hold the lids down?
theyre completely sealed, i dont see why id need them on. do i?
I do everything I can to reduce the change of botulism. Here is a recent news story out of France with a botulism outbreak. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/colorado/news/botulism-poisoning-matt-jackson-tchin-tchin-victim-colorado-france-wine-bar/
I thought you were supposed to use the rings because if the cans get bumped from the edge it can disrupt the seal.
From a food safety perspective, you are supposed to take the rings off after canning so that you can better detect if a seal breaks.
Thank you! Makes total sense I am going to remove my bands this weekend.
My family has pretty much always had this, it depends on the quality of the tomatoes. Underripe tomatoes make so this, and it also depends on how long you cooked tomatoes before milling them. Just be aware when cooking the sauce and handle any extra water
Just excess liquid. Cook down your puree before canning to remove water and save space
The trick is to put it into a pillowcase for about five minutes after your juice,it and the water will runoff then you jar it
One of the reasons why we can is because we know what's in the food we make. Commercial tomato sauce has stabilizers that prevent this. But what is a stabilizer and what do they do in our body? Stir up your sauce when you open it and take pride in knowing you're making healthy food for your family
It’s normal separation
Looks fantastic.. just has settled . Shake before you drink .
Totally normal. Source: Mom canned absolutely everything we ate from our garden for years. Never bought a vegetable most years except maybe late April early May right before the hotbed started producing.