Canned tomatoes and headspace

11 years ago

Although filled for 1/2 inch headspace, a number of the quarts of tomatoes I've canned over the past few days have one inch headspace when cooled.

I was careful to release any trapped air before processing.

Tomatoes had been cooked down to sauce consistency and were hot at time of filling.

Two questions:

1) Any idea why this is happening?

2) What is the best way of handling these quarts? Can I re-process them? Should I just dispose of them? Or can I keep them as-is but assume reduced shelf life? If so, what would be a safe estimate of that reduced shelf-life?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Mike (NJ)

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Comments (3)

digdirt2
11 years ago
So you canned sauce rather than tomatoes. BWB processed or pressure canned?

Assuming they were properly acidified and processed for the full length of time including venting and proper cool-down then they are safe and will store normally.

The recommended headspace for canning sauce in 1/4" per the guidelines so 1" is a bit extra but it does happen - usually from siphoning if pressure canned or boil over if done in BWB - both are most often tied to ring/band not tight enough and/or fluctuations in temperature settings.

No need to reprocess or adjust the liquid in the jars.

Dave
redstar57
Original Author
11 years ago
They were canned using BWB. I added two Tb lemon juice per quart so I believe they are properly acidified. Also, they were processed an hour (recommended time was 45 minutes at my elevation). Nice to know I don't have to worry about them, I'll have to be more careful with band tightness. Also, I was unable to find my rack after not caning for a number of years and have been setting the jars directly into the canner...I wonder if that could be causing issues with temperature fluctuation.

Thanks much for the response.

Mike
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digdirt2
11 years ago
.I wonder if that could be causing issues with temperature fluctuation.

Definitely. Causes boil over. Must have something so if no rack put a folded tea towel in the bottom of the pot for them to sit on.

Dave