Tomatoes Romas verses Regular when canning

12 years ago

So I'm going to try a couple of the recipes in Small Batch Processing that were recommended in my other thread. Some recipes specifically call for plum type and others just say tomatoes. If they say tomatoes can I use Romas for some of the amount (I'm assuming I can't use all that or it would likely be too dense) or can I only use round tomatoes? I'm thinking a meaty beefsteak isn't really any juicier than a plum tomato but wanted to check first.

Also are all the canning recipes in Small-Batch Processing for BWB? I only looked at the section for sauces and it seemed that way but wasn't sure if that was the case for the entire book (minus the stuff for freezing)

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Comments (4)

digdirt2
12 years ago
Also are all the canning recipes in Small-Batch Processing for BWB?

Yes. They are acidic or acidified food recipes.

As for the tomatoes, from a safety point of view, you can use any kind in most any recipe. Even those that call for plum types. You just have adhere to the amounts given be it in numbers, weights or cups.

But it will have some effect on the density depending on the recipe. So you could end up with an overly thick, overly dry product if you used all paste types when they weren't specified or a thinner product if you use reg in place of paste types. Tested and approved recipes allow, in their margin of safety, for those differences within reason. Thinner is always safer than thick when it comes to heat penetration. So just don't go over board. :)

In most recipes, since paste types are not noted for their flavor nearly as much as non-paste types are, a mix of both types results in the ideal flavored and textured product.

Dave
lpinkmountain
12 years ago
I actually prefer romas for canning, due to them having less water content. They don't taste like much raw but do taste pretty good, IMHO, cooked. Does depend on your romas though, mine are pretty good this year but I've had some awful bitter ones in the past.
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booberry85
12 years ago
I use whatever grows in the garden! I do skin tomatoes before canning. I do try and get out the majority of seeds and goo too. The advantage of Romas is that they have fewer seeds and less liquid, so it takes less time to cook them down to the consistence you want.

I'm very fond of Small Bath Preserving's recipe for "Chunky Tomato Basil Sauce". I just canned some this weekend. I did use a mix of romas, yellow, black and pink tomatoes.
cjzimmer
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the help. I tried 4 different sauce recipes to see what my kids liked best and some specifically said romas others specifically called for an amount of romas and an amount of regular so then I wasn't sure if I could swap them at will or if their would be density issues. Glad I can use romas with the Chunky Basil Sauce because that's the one the kids picked and I have about 20 pounds of Romas that I'm not sure how I would use up otherwise (I have 60 pounds of regulars coming tonight so I will mix them all together).