I wouldn't worry about the lids assuming they all seal. Not ideal but the processing will take care of it.

The extra jar if it is filled and sitting waiting and cooling on the counter is more of a problem. That is a no-go. It will be too cool going into the canner for full processing. Supposed to be hot going into the canner so you will need to reheat it first and be sure the lid didn't seal from the heat so that you'd need a new one.

For future ref when there is more than a canner load you leave the rest in the cooking pot and reheat it to boil and then fill the jar after the first load is done. If I know I am going to have more than a canner load I leave enough in the pot for at least 2-3 jars and split the load into 2 batches for processing.

Yes you can fill jars with water and process them with it.

Dave

I am processing raw not hot fruit. I have the jar sitting in a container of 190 degree water while the BWB comes back to a boil so I can put it in. I was mostly heating it up to prevent breakage.

That is a good idea to split the jars next time. I am not accurate enough to judge the amt of fruit I will need exactly. For the last jar I removed the original lid, heated a new one and applied it, then put it in with the rest of the empty jars. I can always toss it if this is a really bad thing to do, but I get up for work at 5 am tomorrow so I am running out of time to process it tonight. The Canner was already ready and hot so I figured what the heck. I gave it a try. Let me know if I should toss it for some reason. Thanks Dave!

So you are doing whole or halves with no added liquid? All the other methods are hot even with raw pack. If you are processing it for the full 85 mins then it is all right.

Have you tired of the other methods? Whole or halves with no added liquid is the least popular, least used method because of the extraordinary long processing time. But whichever you prefer.

Dave

I am not tired of the other methods because I have not tried them. The whole or halfs with no added liquid was what I tried first and I liked it and it worked well so I keep doing it. Another large pot on the stove and to wash does not appeal, neither does adding water to my already juicy tomatoes. It just seems the simplest. I have had no problems with seal failures or spoilage. I tried pressure canning and don't want to put in the time to learn to do that correctly. I usually only have enough tomatoes to do 1 or in a very good year, 2 loads of 1 1/2 pint jars. Maybe if I get enough to do multiple loads I will decide to try the hot pack method.

Been waiting to see the answers to your questions, and was glad to see the unwashed lids shouldn't be a worry (I accidentally forgot to wash some too).

I haven't encountered the problem of processing 1 jar--yet. So, do you have to add additional jars filled with water?

I did 7 quarts of these tomatoes for the first time this year--haven't tried any of the other methods either. I chose this recipe because the cookbook says this way has the best flavor. You said you've done tomatoes this way before; how are they?

Sorry what I meant to type was tried, not tired. :) As in "have you tried the other methods"? But you answered that question anyway.

The lids issue is similar to the old "only use pre-sterilized jars" rule that used to exist. Until they figured out that anything that is processed more than 10 mins. is sterilized in the process.

But ideally you do want them clean and lint free and thus the recommendation for the pre-washing. So while one wouldn't intentionally skip that step, if you forget it once in awhile the food is still safe.

Processing 1 jar - no you don't have to add other jars but it is recommended just to prevent the one jar from tipping over in there all alone in rapidly boiling water. Depends on what type of a rack you have in the canner. Plus some canners will only hold 4-5 quarts rather than 7 so it is just easier to end up with more than 1 quart left over to process.

sherm - what "cookbook" claims that? The most popular method for best quality is the Crushed Tomatoes with no added liquid. And NCHFP claims that pressure canning tomatoes regardless of the method used results in the best quality. But it all depends on how you plan to use them after opening the jars but it is your choice.

Since the majority of the time they are used in cooking the uses for wholes and halfs are limited. With that method it can be difficult to get all the air out of the jars, they tend to float more because of all the air left in the fruit, and they often have too much headspace issues after cooling, and the processing time for that method is astronomical. You can lose a lot of water over 85 mins. and often, if the water level isn't monitored carefully and water added as needed, it drops too low during the long processing, lids are exposed, and that results in unsafe foods. So for all those reasons it is the least popular method.

My personal preference other than the crushed is the whole or halves canned in tomato juice.

Dave

Dave, of the methods available for hot water bath canning that the Ball Complete Guide to Canning offers, they state: "Packing tomatoes raw with no added liquid produces the most concentrated flavor". So, I guess my statement was a little off, but to me concentrated flavor would be desirable?

Maybe I should try canning them in tomato juice. I really have no idea. I'm just canning a ton of stuff without knowing which recipes are good/better/best. Guess I'll be able to test the quality in a few months.

I love the taste of these in mid winter, they still taste like garden tomatoes to me. I also prefer having the whole tomatoes because I don't just use them for sauce. My chili recipe calls for whole and crushed tomatoes, for texture. I also like a chunkier texture in some other things. I can always crush them but I can't put them back together again. :) Now, pour a jar of your favorite garden tomatoes in a sauce pan with a little garlic and fresh basil in winter and you have a quick margarita style pasta sauce that tastes like fresh sauce. It tends to be thin because of the natural water in the tomatoes but tastes delicious! Since I think tomato juice often has a slight "tinny" flavor when purchased in cans. I don't want to add it to my tomatoes. I don't have enough tomatoes to make my own juice AND can the tomatoes, lol. I did try pressure canning some once and had leakage. I did not want to take the time to do practice runs with food coloring, etc. to perfect my technique. Plus this works for me. I did have one seal failure this time and I think it was my second or third in 3 seasons of canning. I am not super experienced but I am happy with my track record. :)

By the way, I use 1 1/2 pint jars, not quarts, which is why I can do a little more at one time. I find I often don't need a full quart at one time, so the smaller jars work well for me. They also go further. I find even substituting 50% of the tomatoes in a recipe with home canned ones can improve the taste.

I forgot to ask about reprocessing with seal failures using the raw pack method. Is it still within 24 hours? I will just use the ones I have instead of reprocessing the one jar, but I wondered for future reference.

That's exactly what I was thinking, Sue, when I decided to do the whole tomatoes instead of the crushed. But I think I will try that out too. I just finished 7 quarts of the basic tomato sauce today. That's a lot more time consuming. So many tomatoes this year!

I haven't seen the 1 1/2 pints, but seems like a good idea. You're one season more experienced than I am, so sorry I can't help with the reprocessing. I haven't tackled that problem yet either.

Beth