Forgot to add Acid while canning tomato

14 years ago

I just processed my first 4 jars of tomatoes and I realized I forgot to add citric acid or lemon juice. :(

I have pure tomatoes in there (all Paulina Plum/Romas) I peeled them, and then crushed them while cooking, then added a little salt and hit it with the boat motor...then I cooked it down until it was the right consitency...then processed in a water bath. (40 minutes for 1 quart jars).

Now what? Do I have to do the whole thing over?

Featured Answer

digdirt2

14 years ago

Less than 24 hours right? If so, open the jars and add the citric acid to them then re-process for 45 mins.

Dave

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Comments (17)

jmwolff
Original Author
14 years ago
yes...only about 15 minutes after lol
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readinglady
14 years ago
The really good news is it's only 4 jars rather than 3 or 4 batches.

Carol
jmwolff
Original Author
14 years ago
oh Carol...it feels like a million to me LOL...holy mackeral that was a lot of work for 4 jars LOL. I am sure it gets easier with time. 2 were saved tonight, I will fix the other two in the morning with the rest of the tomoatos.
digdirt2
14 years ago
Yeah it does get easier with practice. But I find that purple or orange post-it notes that say things like "ADD CITRIC ACID" still come in handy. ;)

Dave
sue_ct
14 years ago
Well, I only did slightly better. I only made 5 quarts and let my mind wander while I worked, so for two of them when I went to put the covers on I had forgotten if I had put the citric acid in or not. I added some at the end. I may end up with two jars that are fine or two with double the amt of citric acid. Oh well, if they taste sour, I will know why, but at least they are safe. :)

Sue
ksrogers
14 years ago
I always add the citric and salt at the time of filling each jar. They all get the same measured amount and its easily seen in the empty glass jars before they get filled.
readinglady
14 years ago
I know all about losing focus and forgetting. I also add citric acid before filling jars with product and then do a visual check. It's really easy to "space out" in the pressure of canning.

Carol
sue_ct
14 years ago
I was doing a hot pack into hot jars and the instructions said to remove the jar from the boiling water, add citric acid, then tomatoes, cover and return to water before removing the next jar. Although I had thought of removing and adding the acid to the jars all at the beginning, I thought instructions said to do it the other way was so the jars would not cool off. Now I think it probably wouldn't have mattered and would have been easier to keep track of.

Sue
Manns 4 season Lawn service
2 years ago
hey world of canning, i made a meat soup and a meatless soup and forgot to add canning salt, i water bath my jars just got done with 12 jars should i be worried about anything....
annie1992
2 years ago
I wouldn't be worried about the salt, at the level called for in soup it is flavoring rather than preservative, but I'd be worried about waterbath processing meat and low acid vegetables.

Everyone gets to choose their own level of risk, of course, but other than pickles, low acid foods should be pressure canned to assure safety. This is not new, pressure canning has been the recommended method for meat and vegetables since before 1940, the earliest recommendation I can find fore pressure canning meats and vegetables is 1924, so nearly 100 years.

Annie
Manns 4 season Lawn service
2 years ago
Mrs Annie thank you so much for the response I feel a whole lot better about what I thought I didn't do right I just got through canning more soups I pressure can instead of water bath this time came out perfect.
annie1992
2 years ago
You are most welcome. Enjoy your soup!

Annie
HU-290708933
last year
I made tomato sauce and forgot the citric acid. Can I open the jars, add the citric acid, stir and reprocess?
kevin9408
last year
Yes you can, just dump the sauce into a pan to reheat it and process as usual. Just this week I ran 3 jars over again that didn't seal by opening the jars to clean and replace the lids but they were still hot.
HU-455743049
8 months ago
i did the same thing 9 jars…. when i was all done i relized i never put the citic in😡 do i just reheat the sauce and clean the jars in boiling water and put back in the water bath for 40 mins? i put the jars in the frigs for the night.
bragu_DSM 5
8 months ago
yes ... but don't forget the acid and the salt. 45 minutes is the Rx these days.

new flats, of course ...

Forgot to add Acid while canning tomato

digdirt2

Comments (17)

jmwolff
Original Author

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Forgot to add Acid while canning tomato

Comments (17)

jmwolffOriginal Author

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jmwolffOriginal Author

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jmwolff
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