Are you pressure canning or using BWB? It makes a difference in the amount of headspace left and with produce showing up in the water the odds are the jars are overfilled.

Hopefully you have reviewed the revised guidelines on canning tomatoes and adding the required acid that wasn't required 20 years ago? ;)

Are you hot packing or cold packing? That too makes a difference. Whole, halves, crushed tomatoes, or what? All have different headspace.
More details please.

Dave

Dave,
I am cold packing in BWB and yes I am adding citric acid. The tomatoes are cut up and then pushed down into the jar so I guess you could say they are crushed. I also run a spatula around to get rid of the air bubbles and leave about 1/2" headspace. Yes I have also read the revised canning rules. I have a Ball blue book but it is old but have checked a newer one and times are the same- 45 min. There's really almost no produce in the canner water. I have a feeling it might be that I am bringing it to a boil to quickly but it takes soooo long to get to the marking where I would leave it after it starts to boil somewhat gently. These newer stoves (I have gas) don't give you as much room around the burners either for the canner to fit, as the older ones. Also the newer stoves tell you "not to can" on them, what do they think you are going to use?
Nancy

Hot pack in BWB is usually preferred. It might be due to the use of old lids that have dried up seals, or possible insufficient headspace in the jars. I do know that if old canning supplies are used, sometimes these can affect the seal. The lids, need soaking in barely simmering water, a good funnel to prevent the contents from being dripped onto the glass sealing area. I wipe the rims with a wet paper towel prior to placing a lid on. Snugging down the bands is also important. Not too tightly so that air can't escape during the processing, but enough to also apply sufficient pressure to the seal area once its cooled down. A filled jar with boiling liquid will ensure that you have a fast BWB recovery time.

The rules for HWBing tomatoes is 85 minutes for cold packed tomatoes. It doesn't matter that you cut them up in small pieces, It's cold packing and it's still 85 minutes. If you cooked the pieces and filled the jars, the time would be 45 minutes.
I would guess the lids were not tight enough if you had seeds under the lid. Head space is 1/2 inch for HWB and 1 inch for PC. You also may have boiled too vigorously.

My lids were all brand new, just purchased this year so don't think that has anything to do with it. Possibly the boiling is too fast or the bands aren't quite as tight as they should be. It's always a guesstimate for me whether I have them tight enough or not. What are Bing tomatoes?

Shirley is correct, the processing time is 85 min. for a raw packed tomato. If it is 45, then it is either with WATER added to the jars of diced tomatoes or a crushed, hot pack tomato.
Are you letting the jars sit in the canner for an additional 5 min. after processing before removing the jars ? That is a new guideline. Helps with siphonining of the liquid. That may help.
Not sure when you processed, but if you only did 45 min. they are underprocessed.

Yes I did let them sit for 5 minutes before removing them from the canner. If I processed them the 45 min. does that mean I need to re-do all 35 quarts?? I use these to make spaghetti sauce which also gets cooked for several hours.
When I sent the last post, I forgot to mention that all 34 quarts of my peaches sealed just fine so doesn't seem like the tightening of the bands would be the problem unless I wasn't consistent.

Whether or not you can reprocess for the recommended time depends on how long ago they were done. 24 hours is the limit and I would guess at least some of them are older, right? If so, then freezing until used becomes the only approved option. Also keep in mind that reprocess now means back to the pot, heated, repacked in new jars with new lids etc., not just BWB'd again. Major job with that many quarts of them but cold packed and underprocessed are risky tomatoes.

For future reference, hot pack is the preferred and safer method for just about everything. From what you describe I would suspect that rapid heating of cold packed food is what caused your sealing problems but headspace on cold-pack is 1/2" so that too may have contributed.

The link below is to the National Center for Home Food Processing - our basic guide - so you may want to review it for current guidelines. I linked the Tomato section but it covers everything if you go back to the main index on the home page.

Hope it helps.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - How to can tomato products

Dave,
Thanks for the information. Earlier today I contacted my local cooperative extension office and they referred me to the site you mentioned which I have checked out and printed out some of their directions and also sent them an email regarding my dilemma. Note, I did leave 1/2" headspace, I even had my 6" sewing ruler on hand and checked every one. Not sure if I can fit that many tomatoes in my freezer but will do what I can. Do I need to boil them up and then cool them before freezing?

I work as a Food Safety Advisor at my local county extension. What Dave told you is correct about reprocessing. You really will need to boil them a full 15 min. before you ever taste them as they are underprocessed. You can open them, and then freeze them. No need to boil them first. If you freeze sealed there will be no way for them to expand.
The reason for reprocessing within 24 hours is that after that time, in an improperly canned food, bacteria may have grown at a rate at which not all of it may be destroyed during reprocessing.
An easy way to measure headspace is just follow the threads on the jars. The bottom of the threads is half an inch. No need to measure them with a ruler.
We teach to use the threads. The top one is 1/4 inch.

Thanks Linda.

Linda Lou, not to argue the point but I don't understand how that in such a short number of years the processing time doubled for tomatoes. My Blue Book from 2001 lists 45 minutes for quarts. Did people start getting sick or what would have caused the drastic time increase? I hate the thought of dumping these quarts as we have never had a problem at 45 minutes.

Guess I need a new blue book!

There are different processing times for cold (raw) pack vs. hot pack and for those with no added liquid vs. those with added liquid. That is what causes the confusion so you meed to make sure you are using the proper recipe.

Raw pack (crushed, whole, or halves) without any added liquid has been 85 mins. since 1994 or longer - 1976 revisions if I recall correctly. The same goes for the acidification requirements. This is because it is a much more dense product and so takes much longer to heat sufficiently.

Which is why raw pack, and especially raw pack without any added liquid, is not recommended. It is allowed if you use the proper processing time, but hot pack with liquid is what is recommended.

Dave

I stand corrected...........thanks

I prefer to raw pack my tomatoes and process them for 85 minutes. Nowhere have I read that it is not recommended to process cold pack tomatoes in a BWB. I think it is the folks on this forum who prefer to pressure can their tomatoes.

If anyone is interested, here's how I can my plum tomatoes. I put about 2 quarts of prepared tomatoes in a stock pot on a back burner and cook until soft and liquidy. I prepare my jars with salt and the required lemon juice and add about 1 cup of the cooked crushed tomatoes, then add the quartered lengthwise tomatoes which are already prepared. By the time I fill tomatoes to the shoulder of the jar, the juice is already to the top. I don't have to press to exude juice. Even with the hot liquid, it is still cold packing. I wait until the canner water is at a nice boil before I set the timer 1 hour and 30 minutes. It's 5 minutes over but I'd rather be over than under.

To make sure I understand............if reprocessing after 24 hours I need to boil them for 15 minutes and then reprocess for 85 minutes?

Scrap the above, Doughlady just reminded me that I'm getting old and forgetful. We did hot pack the maters.

Getting old sucks...........

You people are nuts I have been canning for 50 years and have NEVER had anyone get sick eating my tomatoes I process them like my trusty Ball canning book told me to The only reason I looked on this site is because the generic lids I had to resort to during the pandemic have started to loosen These are 2022 tomatoes I am going to open the remaining 4 jars and reseal them with Ball lids I am just wondering if I have to reprocess them for 45 min or can do it for less I’m sure you all would just have me pitch them Good luck with your canning I’ll just continue to use my trusty Ball book

No need to call names. I want all the most recent information and to know the risks so that I can make an informed decision about the level of risk I wish to take. As new testing or information is received, the instructions are updated. That is why instructions or recipes change. There is no REQUIREMENT that you follow any rules, only "recommendations", so you certainly may do as you wish but there are no guarantees about the safety of quality of the product.

I've also had problems with cheap lids so if I were going to reprocess those tomatoes I'd do it for the entire 45 minutes to be sure everything was properly heated all the way through. I'd be concerned about quality, though, since they are already 2 years old and will have been processed twice. You are correct in that it is "not recommended" but again, you may do as you wish.

Good luck.

Annie