1. No - compared to NCHFP's Spaghetti Sauce without Meat, it has 5lbs less tomato but 4 times the oil (big no-no) and more than 4x the onions and peppers (I'm not sure how many cups a large pepper or onion would be, over 1C I'm sure). Then to make matters worse, it's BWB instead of PC'd.

2. No oil but still just as many low-acid veggies and again BWB'd. Nope.

Why don't you try one of the NCHFP recipes to start with. You can add sugar (I don't know about Worcestershire sauce), that's fine but if you want more veggies or oil then add them when reheating.

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP Tomato Canning page

Neither recipe has ever been tested and approved for canning safety so using either of this is strictly your choice, your risk to take. Both are personal recipes someone just made up and since no one has died yet from using them (that we know of) they decided they were safe and ok to can.

The first one, the one from Taste of Home is probably safer than the second simply because it calls for so much added bottled lemon juice. But that is just my speculation. No way is adding all that oil safe and that should be your first clue to avoid using it.

As for preferring a sweet sauce - that's fine. You can add sugar to any tested and approved spaghetti sauce recipe - and there are several of them - so why not use one of those? Then you don't have to worry if they are safe or not.

Bottom line - there is no reason to ever use canning recipes from sources that are not USDA approved and tested. But it is always your choice.

Dave

Dave - the Taste of Home recipe says 2Tbsp per quart - same as NCHFP's acidification for plain tomatoes. They just get the 1C plus 2Tbsp because recipe makes 9 quarts. They didn't add any extra acid for the peppers, onions, garlic, etc.

Good catch Sheila! I didn't read it close enough and that is an unusual way for them to write it too if it is to be divided rather than all added directly to the mix. Another indicator it should probably be avoided.

Dave

Get yourself the Ball Big Book of Canning or something similar. It's not that expensive. You can often find old canning books for cheap at garage sales and used bookstores, sales, etc. Kerr used to publish them too. There are more than enough recipes in there to keep you busy and comparing. Or just check some canning books out from the library and photo copy recipes you like. Also the National Home Canning and Preservation Web site has lots of recipes for free. Also, educate yourself on what the actual risks are in canning (low acid vs acid foods, preservation with salt, sugar and acid, boiling water bath vs. pressure canning, etc.) Learn the science behind the techniques, it's not difficult or overly technical, and then you won't have to guess.

BTW, the Ball Blue Book has a tomato sauce recipe with other added vegetables, it is called "Italian Style Tomato Sauce." I make it all the time, it is my "go to" sauce. But it is a little tangy, so add some sugar, that will not hurt. Sugar as an added ingredient does not affect the acidity of a canning recipe. Oil, peppers, celery and onions, on the other hand, do affect it. But the recipe I linked to comes from the Ball jar manufacturing company, they have tested most of the safe canning recipes out there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ball Recipe for Italian style tomato sauce.

Thanks for all the advice. I can't can the NCHFP recipe because it is for a pressure canner. I have an induction stove so no pressure canner for me.

I have a Ball Canning Book but have misplaced it (and I'm too cheap to buy another one because I know the next day my old one will turn up), hence the reason I was poking around on the web. I didn't realize they had their recipes on the web so I will have to poke around there. I'm not sure we would like the Tomato sauce one though because no likes carrots or celery.here. Peppers on the other hand are a hit, but I know I can't substitute.

I have an induction stove so no pressure canner for me.

That's too bad because it will really limit what you can can. Pretty much restricts you to plain tomato sauce with some dried herbs/spices. Just as the two you linked two should be pressure canned, (can't imagine why they think they would be safe for BWB canning) most anything with mixed vegetables has to be pressure canned. The exception being the salsa because of all the vinegar and other acids added to it.

But you can always invest in a single burner for pressure canning as many others here do. Many of them available for a whole range of prices.

Dave

Try the search engine on that Ball Web site. There are several different tomato sauce recipes, one for basil marinara which is another one I do. But if you don't like that sauce, poke around because there are other recipes on that site. Peppers are really low acid, so most recipes that include peppers are very acidic, a marinara that included peppers would probably need too much acid to taste good water bath canned. There are tomato pepper mixes for water bath canning but they are the relishes and salsas with lemon juice or vinegar added. You could freeze your peppers for adding afterwards.

Small Batch has a couple that can be BWBed - and I think they've been posted here. Multi-use Tomato Sauce has veggies in it (sorry, Dave, Ellie Topp's name, not mine), and Seasoned Tomato Sauce has some onion. I've never made either of these but I know Carol has made the Multi-use.

Note that she uses wine and vinegar to get this acidic enough to BWB.

"But you can always invest in a single burner for pressure canning as many others here do. Many of them available for a whole range of prices"

At one point I planned to do that, started researching options, got confused because one place would say they are good for canning and the next said no way. I wanted to do it right and simply got overwhelmed and gave up. I guess I should try again.

" one for basil marinara which is another one I do"

is that the chunk basil pasta sauce? I was looking at that one and thought it was possible.

"Multi-use Tomato Sauce has veggies in it "

Looking at this one too since it can be done in quarts (when you use 3 quarts a meal, it's not worth the effort to can in pints)

Questions about these

Multi Use recipe says

Sun-dried tomatoes I'm assumed they don't want the ones stored in oil. Can I use my own dehydrated tomatoes? (the store bought ones have sulfur dioxide which makes me sick) or better yet can I just add extra fresh tomatoes? I don't understand why you would use dried tomatoes when all you do is rehydrate them.

How much is a large garlic clove, a large onion (my large onions yield over 2 cups chopped each, I'm pretty sure they don't mean that large), a large zucchini (again that is pretty subjective) or even a large pepper. Is there somewhere that gives an approximate amount for these things.

How about dry red wine, can I use cooking wine (yes I know people claim it's inferior but it's what I have and I like the flavor) and adjust the salt?

Picking salt - can I use sea salt?

Thanks so much for your help. I appreciate your time to help me do this right.

Here's my notes for the Multi-Use sauce. I made it once with peppers, but we didn't like it, so it kinda fell off my radar.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Multi-Use Tomato Sauce

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
10 plum tomatoes -- (about 2 1/2 lbs./1 kg)
10 large tomatoes -- peeled and chopped (about 4 lbs./2 kg)
4 large garlic cloves -- minced [1 garlic clove minced = 1 teaspoon]
2 large stalks celery -- chopped [1 stalk celery = 1/2 cup diced per PPG (Ball's Produce Purchase Guide]
2 medium carrots -- chopped [6 medium = 1 lb. = 3 cups sliced or 2-1/2 cups shredded per PPG, so I weigh the carrots and usually average 1 scant cup chopped]
1 large onion -- chopped [3 to 4 medium onions = 1 lb. onions = 2-1/2 cups chopped per PPG. weigh the onions. 1 medium should be 3/4 cup - I use 1 cup chopped for "large"]
1 large zucchini -- chopped [3 medium = 1 lb = 3 cups sliced. 1 medium = 1 cup sliced. I use 1 "large" = 1 cup chopped]
1 large sweet green pepper -- chopped [1 large = 6 to 8 ozs. = 1-1/4 cups chopped]
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes -- (125 mL)
2/3 cup dry red wine -- (150 mL)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (5% strength or more) -- (125 mL)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon pickling salt -- (15 mL)
2 teaspoons dried oregano -- (10 mL)
2 teaspoons dried basil -- (10 mL)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar -- (5 mL) (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon -- (2 mL) (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper -- (2 mL)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley -- (50 mL)

Combine tomatoes, celery, garlic, onion, zucchini and green pepper in a very large non-reactive pan. Add 1 cup (250 mL) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, covered, for 25 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring occasionally.

Soak sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water until softened. Drain and dice. Add to sauce with wine, vinegar, bay leaves, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, cinamon and pepper. Continue to boil gently until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Discard bay leaves and stir in parsley.

Remove hot jars from canner and ladle sauce into jars to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of rim (head space). Process in a BWB 35 minutes for pint (500 mL) jars and 40 minutes for quart (1 L) jars.

Yield:
"12 cups"

Basically, it ended up with one cup of each of the vegetables.

Yes, you can use your own sun-dried tomatoes. Even though reconstituted, they add a much richer flavor and much better texture than just adding additional fresh tomatoes.

I guess you could use cooking wine. I never buy the stuff and I have no idea if the pH is significantly different than a dry red wine. You might not need any salt. Taste it BEFORE you add any.

Did you know that different salts weigh out differently?

1 cup table or pickling salt = 10 ounces
1 cup Morton's Salt = 7.5 ounces
1 cup of Diamond Crystal = 5 ounces

Plus the others on the very nice blog post I refer to. I do a lot of brining and corning of meat, and the brine % is uber important in making a safe product. That's when I learned all salt is not created equal (in weight :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Salt by Weight

You could leave out the veggies you don't like, I think. Not sure on the salt issue. I thought pickling salt was for clarity, which would not be an issue with a sauce. Very interesting info on the different weights. Thanks for posting that recipe Malna. I have the book and just did not have time to type it all out.

Yes, the chunky basil pasta sauce, that's the one I have made and really like. I sometimes give it as gifts at Christmas.

That multi-purpose tomato sauce recipe sound delish, but I can't imagine how it is safe to BWB. But I don't think anyone has died from eating it yet, the book is still in print!

I am going to be lucky if I just get some tomatoes canned and some salsa done this year. I want to do the basil marinara or the multi-purpose but I don't know if I will get it done or not. My landlady is getting bushels of tomatoes this year and she's busily doing juice with them.

Just as a side note, I am on a supposedly "low acid" diet and many of the "no no" foods don't bother me, but red wine absolutely does, which is too bad because I love it. So I think red wine is actually quite acidic. I know I have to avoid all grape products, including raisins, etc.

Maina, thanks for posting those conversions for me that helped a lot.

So I made the NCHFP, sauce (I figured if that was a hit I could go to my sister's house and can there), I made the multi-use sauce, the Chunky Basil pasta sauce and the Roasted Vegetable pasta sauce. We then had a taste tasting among the kids. While there was no clear cut winner and no obvious loser, overall the Chunky Basil was the best received so I will be canning that one.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help.