"If you forget to add lemon juice, you’ll be in trouble."

I doubt it.

OkieHU

Tomatoes have lost acidity over time.... today's tomatoes are less acidic that the ones your mom canned. Here is a link that explains science and acidifying tomatoes. Why risk your health or the health of others? https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_intro.html

"If you forget to add lemon juice, you’ll be in trouble." Is this quote from a deleted response?

If you cook for anyone other than yourself, are they, too, dissatisfied with the taste?

Personally, citric acid is my preferred acidifier of tomato product. I also prefer to act on the current recommendation to acidify.

I used to can tomatoes years ago before the recommendation to add acid. I don't any more but if I was going to leave out the acid I would process in a pressure canner. I do make the NCHFP spaghetti sauce. It has no added acid but requires a pressure canner for processing.

I tend to be very picky about flavors and textures and really cannot tell the difference between tomatoes canned with citric acid and those without. I can tell when lemon juice or vinegar is added, but not the citric acid.

I always add it because, as mentioned above, today's tomatoes do not have the acidity levels that tomatoes used to have. Testing has shown current pH levels varying between 3.8 to 4.7. Because I have no way of testing those levels, I cannot assume that my tomatoes are at/below the safe/acceptable level of 4.6, so I add citric acid. The amount required per quart is so small (1/2 tsp per quart) that I cannot detect any difference in flavor or texture.

That said, each person must decide the level of risk they wish to take. As long as you know there is a risk, and you decide it is an acceptable level of risk, it is your choice. I don't choose to take that particular risk, because I can't tell any difference in tomatoes with or without the citric acid.

In addition, boiling for 10 minutes help to mitigate any possibility of botulism, so if you are using those tomatoes for chili or spagetti sauce or any thing that requires 10 minutes of boiling, that's a whole different argument.

Annie

How did the acidity of tomatoes change? Was it just 'bred" out...plant genetics...?

I've used lemon juice without having too much of a problem with taste. Last year I used citric acid for the 1st time , couldn't even find lemon juice around ( some Covid reason probably like with the lids). Other people didn't like it either so it's not just me. Maybe I used a little too much , can't remember.

Pressure canned tomatoes taste a little different than watered bath canned as in overcooked to me.

Also why does the USDA recommend adding acidity to pressure canned tomatoes. Green beans which are lower acid than tomatoes are pressure canned ( unless you're pickling them) and nobody adds acidity to them that I know of.

OkieHU

There is limited funding for testing, so only some methods are actually tested. Only the actual methods that were tested are recommended. I do believe there are more and stronger bacteria around than there were many years ago. This is actually something my 80 yr old grandmother told me when I started canning in the 1970s. My mother was telling me I didn't need to process my tomatoes and jams; open kettle like she did was good enough. My grandmother said I should follow the recommended guidelines, which I do.

I follow the recommendation to add citric acid and I do notice and dislike the flavor. When I open a jar, I just add some baking soda and it takes away the acidity and it tastes great!

Here's an old thread about this :

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/1944502/adding-citric-acid

The tomato "sauce" I canned last year was what was off flavored more so than the canned diced tomatoes. Should tomato "sauce" be acidified differently or not at all.

OkieHU

L, I buy citric acid at Meijer, it's right in with the rest of the canning stuff.

Maybe I don't notice a difference in taste because I don't use the tomatoes for anything except generally highly seasoned dishes, like chili, goulash, spaghetti. My Dad used to just eat macaroni and tomatoes, but I do not.

Acidity levels have changed for several reasons, including the hybridizing of tomatoes to reduce acid for those with gastric reflux or other acid issues, the lack of nutrients in soil, the climate, etc. My Rutgers would probably be just fine, but I throw in whatever I have, including Golden Jubilee, Great White, Barnes Mountain Pink, all heirloom varieties. Because so many factors, including environmental ones, affect the nutrition of the food we grow, it's just a matter of what you like and what level of risk you are willing to take.

Maybe it's just me, but some years some tomatoes grow well and others do not, although they are in the same garden with the same care. They all need varying nutrients and care and will have different, although similar, nutritional profiles whether they are red, white, yellow or dark/black. In addition, I only can what I grow, but others may/probably buy tomatoes to can and they don't know the varieties or other factors.

As I've said before, do what you are comfortable with, but understand the level of risk based on available information and then decide. I'm not averse to risk taking, but I want to be fully informed before I decide. "No one died" is not a good argument for me, because I spent my life doing things like riding to Canada in the back of a pick up, and riding on my Mother's lap as an infant. I didn't die, but others did so my kids had car seats and seat belts.

I tend to update my thinking as more information becomes available to me and not subscribe to the "they did it 100 years ago so it's the best way" theory.

L, how many is a "boat load", exactly? Does that translate into bushels and is there a conversion chart? (grin)

Happy canning, everyone and sing along!

"It's the most wonderful time of the year;

There'll be tomatoes for canning,

Strawberries for jamming,

Corn up to our ears.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Annie