So you are doing sauce rather than juice as in your title right? Thicker. Except where raw packing instructions are given, the processing times are calculated based on hot ingredients and hot jars going into the PC to begin with. So the processing time wouldn't be long enough if you don't first heat the sauce as recommended. How much additional time would be required is approx. 5-10 mins. Dave

I'm looking for either bell peppers or sweet peppers. I never really liked them but a friend of mine bought a package from costco and told me to try them raw. I was like really? So I tried it and they tasted great. Sweet and with the bell pepper taste so I want to try my hand at growing some :) I bought 2 sweet peppers from Home depot. Does anyone know if I can save seeds from those plants? Email me at splitsec002@hotmail.com so we can do a trade or if you don't have what I'm looking for I can still send you some seeds.

Not "normal" but not all that rare either. Link below to a previous discussion about this with a good explanation of the whys and wherefors. ;) Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Seeds sprouting inside tomato...

Yes I/ve saved seed from a fresh tomato , it became known as the variety Sara's Galapagos. I removed no gel, I did nothing with those seeds and there was 100% germination. No fermentation is needed nor any of the oxidative methods such as Oxiclean Comet, etc. We already had a discussion here about the fact that while we know what fermentation can accomplish in terms ridding the seed exterior of pathogens, bad guys, and all the other plusses from fermentation, but while folks looked high and low there is no data to date to indicate the efficacy of the oxidative methods. So go for it. Just take the seeds out, don't bother to take the gel off, b'c the purpose of the gel is to prevent seed germination when conditions are NOT favorable for germination, like over the winter from dropped fruits, and it's part of the larger life cycle of tomatoes, and nothing more. It's the germination inhibitor that the gel has that affords that protection, but you'd be sowing the seed under favorable conditions for germination. Carolyn