There may be some minor variations in quantity but getting only 50% of the stated yield means something is definitely awry.

We need more detail about which recipes you're using and your methods to make any suggestions as to possible explanations.

Carol

Agree. More details please. Based on info so far the main thing that comes to mind is heavily over-packed jars. If that is the case it can lead to density and safety issues.

Another common problem is measuring mistakes but that seldom leads to all that much difference.

Dave

Are you using the correct type of measuring cups ? You need liquid cups for liquid things and dry measuring cups for dry things. It really can make a difference.

Maybe I am exaggerating. Probably closer to 25%. So if it says that it will make 4 quarts, I am getting 3.
But here is a recipe.
Can you tell me more about over packing and safety, so I can figure out if I am doing that ???
Thanks Carol and Dave. You guys are so incredibly helpful to those of us who are new to canning.

In the recipe below, I weighed out 2 lbs per quart, to can 4 quarts (8 lbs.).
It was clear as I cooked that I was going to get nowhere near that amount, so I added another 4 lbs. Just barely got to the top of that 4th jar.

Heirloom Tomatoes
(1 lb. per pint, 2 lbs. per quart)
about 1 lb Roma or other variety plum tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice. (I don't like using bottled lemon juice because it tastes like wet dog dunked in Drano, BUT the argument for it is that commercial lemon juice has a set acidity level so it's more reliable for food safety.)

1 peel the tomatoes: working in small batches, blanch tomatoes in a large quantify of boiling water for 1 minute. remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to shock them. cut out the stem with the point of your paring knife and then peel away the skin.

2 now you need to work quickly: quarter enough tomatoes into a pot to cover the bottom, mash them good with a potato masher to release their juices and quickly bring them to a lively simmer.

3 while they heat, blanch and peel your next small batch of tomatoes. add them one by one to the now-simmering liquid in the pot. if you want, you can quarter each new tomato as it goes in. i like to crush each one lightly in my palm and immediately push it down into the hot juice.

4 once all your tomatoes are in the pot, return to a boil and cook steadily for 5 minutes, stirring and turning over the tomatoes periodically.

5 ladle into jars and seal. Process in a boiling-water bath for 35 MINUTES FOR PINTS and 45 MINUTES FOR QUARTS.

If any of this is unclear, please consult Ball or USDA-approved canning guidelines before attempting the"

Thanks linda lou. Yes I am using liquid measuring cups.
Right now I am simmering a tomato sauce recipe that I got from Canning USA.
Says that it will make 9 quarts.

15 lbs. of tomatoes
2 lbs of diced onion
2 cups garlic

Simmer for 2 hours until reduced to one third.

An hour in to the simmer, and I can tell by looking at it, that it will be nowhere near 9 quarts. I'd guesstimate, 2 quarts

Oh... that site has plenty of unsafe things. That guy is not even in the USA !
Please, stick with USDA tested recipes and methods. Perhaps this is why you are having problems.
The Univ. of Georgia and the BAll Blue book are your safest resources to follow.
Please, don't use those other types of sites online that can lead you astray. They have no food preservation safety training.

That is the only recipe of their's I have used.
Is there anything in those proportions that you see as unsafe?

It is simmering on the stove, I haven't added salt or lemon yet.

I can freeze it, but is it okay to can?

This is the closest I have found to my own recipe, other than the one I got from Canning USA. Is this one okay, minus the bell pepper.
I am trying to find a safe recipe with just tomato, basil, onion and garlic
(plus salt and lemon juice)

Posted by lpinkmountain (My Page) on Sun, Aug 3, 08 at 11:49
Oh brother, I was so worried about getting the ingredients right, and I completely forgot to add--5 lbs. tomatoes, peeled and cored!
Here it is again, correctly

Italian Tomato Sauce - Ball Blue Book of Canning, copyright 1990

1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 med.)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 TBLSP olive oil
5 lbs. tomatoes, peeled and cored
1 cup finely chopped green pepper (about 1 med.)
1 TBLSP each basil, oregano, and italian seasonings
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook chopped onions and garlic in oil in a large suace pot until tender. Add remining ingredients and simmer about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Press mixture through a food mill; discard seeds. Cook mixture over med. high heat until thickened, about 1 hour. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Pour into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 35 minutes in boiling water bath. Yield about 4 half pints.

I got a zillion pounds of home grown tomatoes screaming at me from the breakfast room, HELP!

I guess I will just freeze it.

But I sure would love to know what is wrong with it.
I think I will give up on sauce and just can the tomatoes.

Oh well. There is always next year.

I can't find which C-USA sauce recipe you are using as all them seem to call for olive oil (no way), BWB processing regardless of all the low-acid vegetables they contain, etc.

As Linda Lou said that site is not considered a safe source of recipes. The processing times are not accurate and neither are some of the methods. NCHFP and the BBB provides safe instructions for all forms of canning tomatoes.

If all you have in your pot is tomatoes onions and garlic and nothing else and if you acidify it and you PC it then it might be safe to can but there is no way to know for how long to process or to even know if that would make it safe for sure so I'd recommend freezing it.

As to the amount issue - much of that may be from the measurements on that site as he tries to translate European metric measurements to US non-metric and much gets lost in the process. For ex: if you want to make Crushed Tomatoes as you described in the so-called "Heirloom Tomatoes" recipe above then use: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/tomato_crushed.html Not 22 lbs. = 7 quarts; 14 lbs. = 8-9 pints. Very different from the measurements you posted. But even then the measurements are estimates. 1/2 pint or quart either way is acceptable. More of a variance usually means a problem.

Over-packed jars are where there is no room for liquid movement inside the jars. The contents are not surrounded by sufficient liquid to allow for movement of the contents and proper heat transmission. Cold pockets remain in the center of the jar so the food is under-processed.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - Canning Tomatoes

Thanks Dave- I feel like I have the NCHFP site memorized at this point.
I am going to freeze the tomato sauce I made.

Trying to decide if I can use the Blue Ball Recipe I found on this site. I found another Blue Ball recipe that might work, hopefully. But it too, has olive oil.
I am too paranoid at this point that I am going to kill my family, I may just stick with plain old canned tomatoes!

NCHFP has the one Spaghetti sauce recipe that allows for oil if that is the type of sauce you are looking for. You can also check freshpreserving.com and homecanning.com and click on the CA English link to some of the Bernardin canning recipes.

Dave

Thanks Dave!
I don't really care about the oil.
I just wanted something simple with tomato, garlic, onion and basil (lemon juice, of course)

I will check out your very kindly delivered links. Otherwise, I will just go with the one I found on the USDA website. Hopefully it won't kill us.

I can only find processing times on NCHFP, no recipes.

STANDARD TOMATO SAUCE
Quantity: For thin sauce--An average of 35 pounds is
needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 21
pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A
bushel weighs 53 pounds and yields 10 to 12 quarts of
sauce-an average of 5 pounds per quart. For thick
sauce--An average of 46 pounds is needed per canner
load of 7 quarts; an average of 28 pounds is needed per
canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 53 pounds and
yields 7 to 9 quarts of sauce-an average of 6-1/2 pounds
per quart.
Procedure: Prepare and press as for making tomato
juice. Simmer in large-diameter saucepan until sauce
reaches desired consistency Boil until volume is reduced
by about one-third for thin sauce, or by one-half for
thick sauce. Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to
jars. See acidification directions described earlier in this
section. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the jars, if
desired. Fill jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust
lids and process.

MockTurtle - The Ball Blue Book has a recipe for Garlic Basil Tomato sauce. Which is tomatoes, onion, garlic and fresh basil. I've canned up 26 pints of it so far this year. The recipe does call for olive oil - but a total of 1 Tablespoon for browning your onions. You then BWB - I think it was 35 minutes for pints.

I'm having the exact opposite problem - I'm getting way more yield than specified in recipes. I buy my tomatoes from a local orchard in 20 lb boxes. Each box of "slicing" tomatoes gave me 11 quarts of crushed tomatoes (I was expecting 7 quarts). Each box of Roma's gave me 13 pints of sauce (I was expecting 7 pints). I think I've figured out my Roma issue - mainly I didn't sieve my sauce to remove the seeds. And I may have left my sauce a bit thinner than specified.

The tomato sauce from NCHFP is just plain, no added onions, garlic, nothing but the salt and lemon juice.
If you want a seasoned one, the BAll blue book is good. It is fine to use. They sometimes call for a small amount of oil for sauteing the veggies in and that part is fine. I usually just cook mine without oil and if I need to, I just put in a bit of water to cook them down.
You need to freeze that recipe from canning USA. That is a misleading name ! I have emailed him about his meatloaf and other crazy things, but he did not remove them !

Thanks so much linda lou!
You should post a comment on his You Tube site. I would but it would be clear I have no idea what I am talking about !!!!!!

I think the NCHFP one is what I am now doing. Maybe I will try the Ball one, if I can find that darned book !!!! Somewhere in the house!

So the guidelines changed in 2009? I have a Ball recipe from 20008, posted above...

Last year I was disappointed when 35 pounds (I think I'm remembering correctly) cooked down to 5 quarts of sauce. I posted nearly the same question to the forum. I was told yeild also depends on how thick you make the sauce. More watery sauce=more yeild.

I followed the recipe in the Ball Blue Book.

Mock Turtle- you may want to try the chunky herbed basil from Ellie Topp's Small Batch. I've made about 20 quarts, adding a bit of fennel seed to each batch. It's very good.