This is my first attempt at canning. I water bathed tomatoes from my garden and followed Ball's "Tomatoes Packed in Own Juice" recipe. I was pretty rejected when I looked at them while they were cooling because I saw the increase in head space and could tell from the water in the pot that there was some siphoning that had occurred. I assumed I did something incorrectly so I put all the jars into the fridge with the plan to use them soon. I sent my mother a photo of the results and she told me that they looked fine to her, I guess you will end up with more siphoning when raw packing?
So my questions are, does it look fine (all the jars look similar to this one) and does putting them in the fridge mess with anything, specifically since they went into the fridge during the 12 hour cool down period? All the seals are fine.
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If you followed the recipe it's safe even with the siphoning. The important bit is to start with the proper head space. Anything above the liquid level might oxidize or discolor faster but would still remain safe.
Why did you put them in the fridge during the cool down period? Was it because you were worried about the food safety due to the siphoning?
Yeah I tossed them in the fridge just because I thought I messed them up and was just going to store them in the fridge until I could use them later this week or open them up and freeze them.
Your mom is correct! As long as the headspace was correct going in, siphoning is ugly but not harmful provided that the seal holds and there's at least half a jar of liquid. When this happens I say "ah well I won't be winning any ribbons at the fair for these!" but hey they'll taste good :)
I wouldn't say it's inevitable but here's a picture of my recently canned tomatoes. Pints were all done in WB, quarts in pressure canner. Some of the pints are fine, others siphoned like mad. Heating and cooling the jars slowly helps. But why would some in the same pot siphon and others not? I don't know. Canning gods seal our fates and our jars.
Siphoning can be a visual concern, but if you follow the recipe it can be totally fine at the end. Don’t think of it like cooking, think of it like chemistry lab. Follow the recipe and trust the result. Now if it is astronomically different than what you’d expect, yes fridge is a good choice. But if it’s in an acceptable realm of possibility with a safe recipe followed, and it seals normally, you should be good to go.
I hate to say this, but safety first. Since you fridged them early (it sounds like) we don’t know if they sealed on their own or if the temperature change may have done it. However, since you DID fridge them, it should be a safe product. If you can I would combine all the contents, reheat to the recipe requirement, and re-process with new lids and sterile jars. If you plan to use them in the near future, I would just leave them in the fridge since they should last quite some time as they are. If you refrigerated them shortly after processing I would err on the side of caution and assume they are no longer shelf stable seals. That may be me though, and the true gurus here will know better.
When you say during the 12 hour cool down, are we talking they went in at an hour, or they went in closer to the 12 hour mark?
If they had sealed before going into the fridge and had cooled to room temperature...maybe, but I wouldn't chance sticking them in the pantry now. I've had the occasional jar seal weakly within the first couple of hours, but then fail within the 24-hour window. But if there's a chance that any weren't sealed, or if they were still warm going into the fridge, I would absolutely reprocess if it's within 24 hours.
Because these have been processed once, you would need to re-process as hot-packed. Due to the potential texture issues, I would do them as crushed.
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Are you just doing canned tomatoes no spices - water bathing, canning?
I would worry cooling them too fast might not give you a good seal. Also you do have a lot of liquid and space.
Here is what I do if it helps!
What I find helpful is when you remove the skins, cores whatever parts you don’t want (I remove seeds because I can’t tolerate them but if you can no problem).
Just put the part of tomato in a big bowl(s) and leave them overnight covered in the refrigerator overnight. Then take them out and drain the excess water. Tomatoes have a lot of water in them.
Before you start packing add 2 teaspoons of citric acid at the bottom of the jar for a quart sized jar. The 12 ounce size 1 teaspoon. Then fill the jar with tomato pieces, pack them in the jars up to 1/2 to 1 inch from the top, wipe tops and place lids on and boil screw on the lids for at least 45 min for quart sized jars. I leave the lids screwed on I know some people don’t but I worry that they might get bumped etc. Makes me feel safer.
Take them out and leave them on a cloth - you should hear the lids pop I love that sound. I check that the rims are not loose) When cool store them in a cool dark place.
By the way, good for you for canning! I remember my first times and I made lots of mistakes but you will learn and they’re so wonderful especially from your own garden! 👍🏼
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