Also, I have only a hot water bath canner, no pressure canner. Just the plain old black speckled cheap kind.

Not sure what washing the kids in the sink has to do with canning though! LOL

Lol! I meant lids!!

How important is it to trim off all of the yellow parts? They are not all perfectly ripe, but I'd eat them all.

Like on this one should I trim off all of the non-completely bright red bits?

I use them all, just cut out any bad parts, like insect damage, rot, etc.

Itrim it off as it can give a bitter taste. But do it aftet you peel them as under the skin you'll find less needs to be removed.

Dave

Well, the first batc has 20 minutes left to process. I'm going to wait until tomorrow to to process the second batch, since it will be midnight by the time I finally get to bed.

I accidentally filled and tightened the lid on (and salted/added citric acid to) one more jar than would fit in the canner. I just stuck it in the fridge. Can I process it with the next match tomorrow or do we need to eat it?

thanks for all your help everyone!!

Oh no, was just browsing the forum and read the thread about cracked tomatoes. I had a few of those and proceeded to boil brielfy, peel, core and process anyway. Should I just empty all my jars and make some freezer sauce tomorrow? It really wouldn't be the end of the world--I usually put up gobs of stuff in the freezer, but don't consider myself a true putter-upper since I am not doing anything shelf-stable. (My husband calls me a food hoarder--I am even lobbying for a second freezer!!)

Finally, meant to post last night but fell asleep, does this look right? Didn't look like much in each jar.

hi ... hope your tomatoes came out great ... they look awesome ... i've been canning tomatoes for about 30 years ... i use a book called, *putting food by* and have followed the directions in it for fruit, tomatoes, processing times, and pressure-canning fresh chicken breasts ... i do not wash the lids; i put them in a small pot and heat the water till boiling, then with the tip of a spoon or knife i lift them out and place on jars, then add to the canner ... i only put in seven b/c i don't want the lid sealing stuff to become over-boiled ... also, i use white vinegar rather than lemon juice or citric acid {2 TBS white vinegar -- heinz brand, always / 1 tsp salt -- not sea salt / process quarts for 50 mins from start of the hard, rolling boil} execept for a jar or two not sealing, i try to fill 6 boxes of 12 jars ... this year i'll have less b/c my crop was paltry .. i'll buy some in yakima to can ... maybe better next year ...

i just read your post; i hope you didn't empty your jars and make sauce ... your tomatoes look exactly as they should ... you did a great job with them ...

Thanks djones! As I explained though, I didn't cut off the split open areas and I also realize I wasn't very careful in wiping the edges of the jars. I can see that now in a few places. So we are just going to eat these ASAP. ☹️ Maybe I will buy more this weekend but school is starting and I teach so I don't think canning will be in my future until next summer. Although I do put freezer stuff away all year, as it is just part of weeknight survival for me!! (This weekend--massive quantities of spinach muffins for my toddler's daycare lunches!)

@purrus ... you have to be scrupulously clean when canning, especially tomatoes, other veggies and food you pressure can ... on tomatoes, when canning, you must cut off the blossom end {the end at the bottom, sometimes it has what is known as blossom end rot - the black part - b/c it's a fungus ... } clean means no bacteria in your canning ... make tomato sauce you boil with what you are not sure of .... enjoy what you have and take notes for next year ... get a great canning book and do reading here and on other sites ... except for an *introductory* lesson on canning apricots from a friend, i'm self-taught, too ... i love *putting food by* <http://tinyurl.com/h8ehvxk>; ... there is a new edition, but most of the reviewers wish they had kept their older edition ... both are not a bad thing, but i love my older edition ... it's a fabulous book ....

take care and don't, certainly and surely DON'T GIVE UP ....

darlene

i should add that if you get that book, or any other that you use constantly, take it to kinkos or office depot or one of those stores and have it spiral bound ... i did that, finally, and it's much easier to use and the pages do not crack out of the middle ...

purrus, it looks fine, just like mine does sometimes. Sometimes I gently swirl the jar when I get that separation, so it blends back together and is "prettier" , but if you hot pack your tomatoes they won't separate as much. As for wiping the edges of the jars, if they are all sealed, they're fine. Wiping the top sealing surface is the real issue, so that nothing gets between the glass and the lid to interfere with sealing. I use citric acid as my mother is allergic to lemon and I can taste the vinegar. The citric acid leaves no discernible taste for me.

My freezer space is taken up with my grass fed beef and free range chicken, plus rhubarb and berries, corn and eggs, so the tomatoes have to be canned. The thing with canning tomatoes, though, is that it's a "gateway" for other things. Next thing you know it's chili sauce and catsup and tomato soup and spaghetti sauce and then you're hooked.... (grin)

Happy canning!

Annie