home canning tomato products

[flaja]

I know that you can use a boiling water bath to can tomatoes because of the acid content of the tomatoes. Earlier this week I made some pepper/pear chutney that also contained onion and I used a boiling water bath to can it, but this is possible because of the vinegar.

But what about making spaghetti sauce with peppers, onions and mushrooms? Would the acid in the tomatoes be enough to let me use a boiling water bath or would I have to use a pressure canner?

 

[FarmerJamie]

We just made spaghetti sauce - all my canning books said 25 minutes at 10 lb pressure in a pressure cooker.

 

[k15n1]

If you're worried, use a pressure canner. It's 15 min at 10 psi, I think. I'd just do the tomato sauce and add other stuff later.

 

[JRmom]

Because of the mushrooms, I believe it would need to be pressure canned. Can you leave those out and just add when you use the sauce?

 

[moolie]

If you check most canning books (like Ball) you will find that when there are additional vegetables the amounts are small and balanced with the addition of vinegar. The books specifically state that you should not play with the amounts so as to not offset the acid balance.

I'd either pressure can the recipe (to be safe), make it plain (which is what I do with tomato sauce), or freeze it (if the sauce is already made and you don't have a pressure canner).

 

[flaja]

Because of the mushrooms, I believe it would need to be pressure canned. Can you leave those out and just add when you use the sauce?

I was afraid Id have to use a pressure canner. I am trying to make use of some mushrooms I have on hand right now. But I dont know if my electric stove has a burner big enough to use my farm-size pressure canner. The canner was really too big for the gas stove I had where I was living the last time I used it for green beans.

Im using some left-over chutney with some store-bought tomato sauce to make some low-sodium barbecue sauce. But I think I will just put in the freezer. I have more space there than I have in the kitchen cabinets right now.