Home Canning Tomatoes

Tomatoes are probably the most popular food item grown in gardens. Usually there is an abundance of this crop once they begin to ripen. Home Canning Tomatoes is one way to ensure that the overstock of produce will not go to waste. By canning your own tomatoes you will also be able to enjoy the flavorful taste of you home grown tomatoes long after the season ends.

Ways to Preserve Tomatoes

There is an assortment of ways to preserve tomatoes. They may be canned, frozen or in some cases even dried. The most popular way of preserving tomatoes is to canning. This versatile method allows you to utilize the canned tomatoes in a variety of techniques that can be used later to make soups, chili or stews. Who wouldn€t want that same great fresh tasting flavor even in the cold winter months?

Preparing Tomatoes for Canning

Only a stainless steel pot or saucepan and stainless steel utensils should be used when preparing tomatoes for canning. Because the tomatoes have such a high acidic value, using any other type of pot may result in bitter tasting canned tomatoes that have a less than desirable color about them.

Canning Tomatoes Safely

It is important to remember that in order to ensure safety tomatoes must be canned correctly. Only choose disease free, fresh firm tomatoes for canning. Tomatoes tend to be a high acidic food item. Boiling Water Bath Canning or Pressure Canning methods are the recommended processing technique to be used when home canning tomatoes. According to some sources using a pressure canner may even yield higher quality flavor with more nutritious value. Either however, is an acceptable means of preserving tomatoes.
The USDA recommends that all home canned tomatoes be acidified prior to canning to ensure safety from botulism. This is achieved by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or teaspoon of citric acid per quart. Using pints, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or teaspoon of citric acid.

Processing times for hot packed crushed tomatoes in water bath canning is 35 minutes for pints and 45 minutes for quarts. If using a pressure canner the processing time is 15 minutes for both pints and quarts. You must be sure to set the dial gauges on the pressure cooker to 11lbs. of pressure and the weighted gauge should be set at 10lbs. of pressure.

Following these instructions should assure the quality of taste when Home Canning Tomatoes. Just think about how happy you and your family will be this winter when you are enjoying the same great flavor you had this summer.

Homemade Canning - The Home Canning Essential Equipment Checklist

Before beginning to can at home, it is important to have the right equipment on hand. There are two types of homemade canning: boiling water canning and high pressure canning. However, aside from the style of pans used for canning, the rest of the supplies are identical.

Essential Supplies Needed for Canning

The following are the supplies and equipment you will need to successfully can meats and produce at home:

Canning jars Boiling canner Pressure canner Or Dutch oven Large kettle to pre-boil equipment in Jar tongs Proper canning jars Canning lids Lid rims Wide mouth funnel Food mill Food sieve Colander Spoons Heat proof rubber spatulas Measuring cups Different sized bowls Towels Bakers cooling rack Knives Cutting board Filtered water (preferably also distilled) Food to can Waterproof labels and label marker

Use the Right Kind of Canner

A boiling canner is used for high-acid foods such as fruits, jams, tomatoes, pickles, relishes, preserves, and tomato based salsas and sauces. High-acid foods only need to be brought up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of boiling water, for the specific time specified in the recipe.

A high-pressure canner is used for low-acid foods such as vegetables, meats, grains, noodles, and low acid sauces. These low-acid foods need to be brought to a temperature of 240 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit for the time specified in the recipe.

With either type of canning, it is important to carefully follow the directions for the type of food being canned to ensure quality and food safety.

The Importance of the Right Jars and Lids

It is important to only use jars purchased for canning. Standard canning jars are tempered, and the mouth is specially threaded for canning at home. Do not reuse jars which originally housed store bought foods, these are not tempered for the canning process and may crack or explode when boiled or pressure canned or even while being handled.

Use flat lids with screw bands made specifically for the brand of canning jars purchased. Do not reuse the flat lid part or reused jar lids from store bought foods as these may not seal properly and will allow bacteria and spoilage of the food canned.

Carefully inspect the jars for chips or cracks, especially around the rim of the mouth and discard any cracked or chipped jars. Also, carefully inspect the lids for rust or damage and discard any lids with cracks in the rubber seal, a non-existent rubber seal, rust, dings or bends. These lids may not seal correctly and allow for food spoilage.

Other Canning Equipment Needed

When purchasing other canning equipment, use products that are made for home canning, especially when it comes to the pan inserts used to keep the jars upright and the tongs used to remove hot jars from the pans. Not having essential equipment can cause the jars to fall over during the canning process and get water in them. Not having the proper jar tongs can lead to burns or dropped and broken jars.

Other than purchasing replacement jars for broken or chipped jars and purchasing new flat-lids, the rest of the equipment is a one-time purchase and is really an investment. Once purchased, it can be reused multiple times.

Getting the proper equipment before beginning the homemade canning process is indeed a must to save time and money.

Homemade Canning - Best Foods To Can When Just Getting Started With Home Canning

Home canning is the best way to capture the fresh taste, flavor and nutrients of the local foods. Food preservation is not a complicated affair. It has a simple procedure, which is easy, and you also need not worry about the food being spoiled if stored for a long time. The advantage of enjoying the preserved foods is that you can even have it off-season and it is not expensive if canned at home.

It will help you save a lot of your money and also you will feed your family a healthy food compared to the market canned which has preservatives added to it. Home canning also makes you more self reliant in terms of any short supply in the market or bad weather conditions when you cannot drive to the store. You also retain the nutritional values of the canned products. Being a very economical and healthier option, thousands of people have picked up home preserving procedures.

If you are a beginner and doing the canning for the first time, than it is very important that you do it correctly and should know the recipes and procedures for preserving. For home canning of foods, canning tomato sauce and canning beans are great starters. Tomato sauce is used as a taste and flavor adder therefore; it is used throughout the year. Home canned tomato sauce is cheaper and as healthier as that available in the market. Most of the tomato sauce at grocery stores has lot of sugars and additives and which is why many people prefer home food preservation.

Applesauce is also a good choice especially for the beginners as it is easy to can and do not require any specific skills to get started. When canning applesauce, do not make the mistake of peeling the skin off as it contains lots of nutritional value.

Canning is the best way for preserving fruits and vegetables. Boling water method is best when preserving peaches at home. Follow the right home canning recipe and enjoy the peaches even during the off seasons. Beginners can also try canning beets. It is a simple recipe and can be easily done. Depending on your personal choice, for beet preserving you can either use the water bath method or pressure canning methods. A good surprise is that a canned beet tastes even better than the actual fresh beets. The canned beets retain their nutritional value for two years.

Jelly is the fruit spread, which contains sweetened fruits or vegetable juices. The home canned jellies are the best way of enjoying a wholesome, chemical free food throughout the year. The recipe and procedure of canning jelly at home makes it totally healthy and hygienic. Jellies can be canned and stored for many years adding good taste to your meals. During winters, soups are the most liked and popular dish.

Soup is also a very good idea, which saves you time and money in winters. It is always better to can clear soups and ingredients like thickeners, oils, noodles should be avoided. Soups should be kept in pressure containers and do not require any refrigeration for several months.

Today homemade canning has become the most essential part of our kitchen duties. It helps us stay self-reliance and is a good way of eating healthy food. Home canning of fruits and vegetables will allow us to have a chemical free healthy meal at a very low price.

Learning the Canning Process

1 The first step in learning is: Home Canning Safety:Understanding how to prevent food spoilage is the key to canning safety. We all know about the microorganisms in the air such as molds, yeast and bacteria. Many of them are beneficial to us, and others well can be deadly or make us very sick under certain conditions. All fruits and veggies and meats in their natural state, contain these microorganisms to some degree. Enzymes which change the color, texture and flavor of the foods we eat are also naturally occurring, Molds, yeasts, bacteria, and enzymes are the major causes of food spoilage. Controlling the "Spoilers" allows us to keep foods beyond their typical storage period. Washing fruits and veggies does remove some of it. Peeling or blanching fresh fruits and veggies also helps and reduces even greater numbers. The most important factor in controlling spoilers is controlling the environment which encourages their growth. This is achieved by properly heat processing the food following tested home canning guidelines. Canning interrupts the natural decaying process by heating the food contained in a jar. Closed with a two piece vacuumed sealing cap, to a specific temperature and holding it there for the time designated by a home canning recipe. The heat destroys potentially harmful microorganisms and at the same time drives air from the jar preventing other microorganisms to grow. This procedure is called Processing. When followed exactly step by step these methods of canning will destroy any microorganisms that are potentially harmful to us.

Ensuring Quality Foods:Preserving food does not improve its quality. To achieve a top quality finished product. start with top quality fresh produce. Select produce at its peak of freshness and flavor. Choose varieties suitable for canning. Controlling microorganisms, enzymes, oxygen and moisture loss helps ensure a high quality home canned product. It is best to can or freeze fruits and veggies immediately after harvesting or purchasing. Any foods that you are unable to can within a few hours must be properly stored to minimize further deterioration. When you are ready to can, carefully remove all disease areas or bruised spots. Discard diseased, moldy, insect damaged and overly ripe food. Microorganisms multiply rapidly on damaged or diseased areas and be at such high levels that the processing times developed for quality foods will not be able to destroy all the microorganisms present in lesser quality foods.

Classification of foods:

The importance of the ph, or acidity is that it determines the method of heat processing necessary for a safe canned product. For the purpose of canning, all foods are divided into two classifications determined by the amount of natural acid present in the food.

Acid Foods:These Foods have naturally high levels of acid or have a sufficient amount of acid added to them. Bottled lemon juice, citric acid or vinegar labeled 5% acidity are sometimes added to increase their acidity. Food in this category much have a ph of 4.6 or lower. The boiling water method of processing is adequate for acid foods. Generally all fruits and soft spreads are acid foods. Figs and tomatoes require the addition of an acid so they may be safely canned using the boiling water method. Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and brine pickles, and foods to which a significant amount of vinegar is added are also treated as acid foods. Some recipes may call for both acid and low acid ingredients but still be classified as an acid product; these recipes must have a ph balance of 4.6 or lower

Low acid foods:These foods have very little natural acid. Vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood's are in the low acid group. Soups, stews, meat sauces and other recipes which contain a combination of acid and low acid ingredients, yet remain with a ph level higher than 4.6, must be processed as a low acid product.

You should not be concerned with spoilage while canning because if you follow directions then there is no way that this can happen. Foods can be canned or frozen with little concern as long as you follow directions. I can my foods because I want my family to eat safely without worrying about whether or not I am poisoning them with the foods that are being contaminated and recalled every day. My Family has canned for many years. My Grandparents during the great depression sold their canned goods to make money. Canning has been around for many years and is really an art form that is sadly fading away.

Always read your recipes before canning.

What is Solar Food Dehydration?

Raisins are undoubtedly the most common examples of dehydrated food sold and consumed around the world. Other common popular dried fruits are figs, dates, prunes, apricots, bananas, papaya, mango and the crispy, savory banana chips. Even though these foods change appearance in their texture and in some cases color after dehydrating, they remain very flavorful and retain their nutritional value. The most significant change is in size and weight resulting from the removal of water from the food through the application of dry heat in the dehydration process.
In addition to the food weighing less and taking up less space, it has a much longer storage life without the need for special packaging, canning or refrigeration. For these reasons the cost of the dehydration process is offset by the savings derived from not needing to refrigerate or package the food. Thus dehydrated food is ideal for camping, hiking and backpacking; it is light, compact and lasts for extended periods of time without a cooler
It is a fact that through dehydration food can lose as much as 90 percent of its body weight in water. With this in mind ask yourself, what is the difference in cost between fresh fruit and dehydrated? The cost is definitely not 90 percent more for dried fruit. Not only do dehydrated fruits and vegetables retain most of their vitamins and minerals, they can be reconstituted with water without losing their appeal or flavor.
In exchange for less weight, volume and bulk, your meal takes a little longer to prepare from the dried state; however, on the economical side, you only cook what you need and save the rest for another meal -- something you cannot do with fresh, frozen or canned foods.
Keep in mind that dehydrated foods have a different taste or flavor just like fresh foods, organic foods, cooked foods, and canned foods all have different flavors. That does not make it bad, just different, and these differences change and vary from food to food and with the varying methods of reconstitution. Take an apricot for an example. A dehydrated or dried apricot has a more intense or concentrated flavor than a fresh apricot does, as do dried bananas and other tropical fruits. These subtleties are no different than having the same food prepared by different chefs, with each using different or varying amounts of spices or cooking techniques.
Dehydrated food is the perfect food for survival and preparedness. Since many dried foods, such as rice, beans, pasta, grain and multi-grain cereals, vegetables, meats etc., need to be cooked, another important survival item is a camp stove or cooking grill. However, both of these require fuel and fuel needs to be stored and fuel is exhaustible.
One fuel that does not run out is solar energy. During a natural or manmade disaster there is a common response by most people to do whatever it takes at the moment to survive, especially if they have made no attempt to prepare for the unexpected event. The results are a combination of panic and hoarding, resulting in a run on grocery stores for food and water and on hardware and department stores for survival supplies, kerosene, propane, flashlights, batteries etc. In no time, the inventory is spent and the panic becomes pandemonium.
Do not allow yourself to be in this situation; prepare ahead of time by storing a sufficient supply of food and water now. Keep in mind that one of the first things to become unavailable during a disaster is utilities, resulting in the spoiling of your refrigerated and frozen food. In most cases, this food makes up the bulk of many American families' food supply, leaving a few canned goods, baking supplies and junk food in the pantry.
Dehydrated foods do not need refrigeration and last for months. Rice beans and pasta will last even longer, with only one drawback: much of this food needs to be cooked, and with no utilities how will you do that?
Solar ovens reach cooking and baking temperatures of 300-375 degrees F. in a matter of minutes after being lined up with the sun. A solar sun oven will cook or bake anything a conventional oven will and in the same amount of time, the only difference being that it uses inexhaustible solar energy. Most food dehydrators or dryers operate on electricity, so consequently the dehydrated food produced costs extra to produce and during a disaster becomes another worthless appliance.
The solar sun oven will not only cook your food for free, with the aid of a solar oven dehydrator kitit will now efficiently dehydrate food that would otherwise spoil without refrigeration, saving it for future consumption.
Prepare today, store food, water and emergency supplies for tomorrow, for you know not what tomorrow may bring. Food dehydration makes good healthy, tasty common sense.