First, let me address the option of boiling the canned tomato sauce that is now sitting on the DR table at my SIL's where we put it to cool after BWB last week. I am not at all comfortable with doing anything with that sauce in an effort to save it. My jar contents are going into the trash. Sad, since I hate the waste of any food, but there's no way I am taking any chances. Unfortunately, I have seen the medical records of someone that contracted botulism (not in any way related to home canning), and it isn't pretty to put it mildly. Even the most remote possibility of that becoming a result from the ingestion of something I created by being a novice, and not having done my homework insofar as the safety precautions necessary with canning, makes me more than uncomfortable, seriously embarassed and feeling very fortunate that my intuition led me here to ask questions about some things done that didn't seem to be 100% okay with what we canned. Thanks to the great advice I've received here, I've enlightened my partner in crime in this endeavor, and I believe she's on the fence about it being okay to eat. I can't make her discard it, but I sure wish I could. I've given the information gleaned here, and from what I can tell, she believes I am over-reacting or over-thinking the whole issue altogether. Don't misunderstand, she's not ignorant, she's a college educated, MBA, just not a chemist, lol. I wanted to clarify something I posted above that I think might be interpreted in a way that I did not intend. The canning/preserving of foods in a plain manner is fabulous if done safely, and can be part and parcel of all sorts of fabulous recipes. My point about not preserving plain things was phrased poorly, and I sincerely apologize to all of you who preserve your harvest, feeding your families wholesome foods through the hard work associated with growing food and with canning. Yes, the crafty part of cooking is one of my big hobbies. If I were fortunate enough to tend a huge garden that yielded me lots of healthy fruits and/or vegetables, I would certainly be more than thrilled to preserve all of what wasn't eaten throughout the growing season. That said, I've wanted to "can" for years, but had no idea of the amount of built-in safeguards when you are knowledgable about what you're doing rather than what I tried to do. Yes, "The Art of Preserving" by WS is a beautiful book to look at, has all sorts of delicious recipes, unfortunately, it isn't at all reliable for a novice, or anyone for that matter, to use as their only source of information on preserving foods safely. Since I've now learned a hugely valuable lesson (~thank you to each and every person who took the time to respond to my post ~), that lesson being that I need to read and absorb as much as I can about the science of canning, why certain foods can be canned safely, following vetted recipes from reputable master canners in a strict manner, and basically learning as much as I can about this craft. In speaking with a cousin who is an actual chemist about this whole issue, I now realize that playing it fast and loose, as someone on the HDF characterized the WS "The Art of Preserving", isn't an option. Education is foremost on my agenda prior to even filling my new BWB with water to process anything other than the Peach Jam recipe that has been pretty much ok'd by those in the know here on the Harvest forum. I am saddened to read that the NCHFP isn't updating any longer. For a good portion of the past few days, I've been reading the loads of information provided there. The funding loss is a political issue, and not going to go there. One of the reasons that I am a "cook", and don't do much baking, isn't only that I'm not really a sweets lover, but more that I really enjoy cooking which isn't an exact science. Baking is. Canning makes baking look like child's play when you compare it to learning to can, and adhering to strict methods to produce not only great tasting food, but food that is for-sure safe to eat or gift. The difference being, I am very interested in learning to can, and learning to can safely. Once again, many thanks to all of you who took the time to respond to my question!

I left about 1/2" (maybe slightly more, but not below the bottom thread) for Annie's Salsa, and I forget what Ellie Topp's Tomato Basil sauce was but I followed the recipe on that. It's just a shock to take rings off jelly jars or pickles and find the liquid just above the bottom lip, or even lower, just barely hidden by the ring, when I know I filled them to somewhere in between that and the top thread (1/4" plus or minus 1/8")! Applesauce seems not to have increased (or that much) headspace, but the headspace isn't clear, you can see where it's boiled up. I'd have to really look at apple butter I have left - I don't remember off the top of my head how much headspace is left, but both apple products and tomato products boil up and leave residue in the headspace. Pickling spices get left up there too, and pickling liquid is reduced so headspace is almost doubled. Since even the jars I have measured dead-on have increased headspace (not quite double, for example I leave 1/4" for jelly and then later it ends up just at the bottom thread which is almost 1/2") after processing, and I'm careful about the rings and such, the only thing I can think of is that the pressure/temperature is varying? Is this a problem with glass-top ranges? I've only had 1 jar (apple butter) come unsealed (within a week) so it seems vacuum is OK, but I don't really like having pickles sticking up above the brine, residue in the headspace area on apple & tomato products, and just lots of empty space at the tops of jelly jars.

mecdave - are you putting water in a pan and setting oven to 180? Jars are not meant to withstand dry heat - could shatter. And to truly sterilize (not just warm before putting hot food in), you must boil for 10 minutes, lower heat won't do. But no need to sterilize unless processing for less than 10 minutes (as for a delicate jelly, 5 minutes). I just put the jars in the pot I'm BWBing in, fill to the rims, you have to preheat the water and jars anyway before processing. I pour the hot (simmer or so if not sterilizing) water over the lids in a Pyrex bowl, Ball says you don't even have to do that but I like to let them soak/soften while I fill the first jar. If when I take last empty jar out of canner the water is already over tops of filled jars, and I'm afraid pot will boil over, I dump the last jar (and the bowl) in the sink, else I dump them back into the canner. So no extra pot/burner required. Lemon juice is more acidic than vinegar, OJ varies and can be over 4.0 so I wouldn't rely on it to acidify peppers, pineapple juice (if that's what's in the can, as mecdave said, check it!) is more acidic though not as acidic as lemon - remember, pH is logarithmic so 1.0 decrease in pH (say from 3.6 pineapple juice to 2.6 lemon juice) is 10 times more acidic. The lemon pulp in the NMSU recipe also helps to acidify the marmalade. That table is from USDA, so safe to use (provided no typos), I don't generally rely on the pickyourown site. Here's the original (with some humorous misspellings but hopefully no typos in the numbers): Here is a link that might be useful: Official pH values

Hi Laurie, Welcome to the Cooking Forum. Your first name is the same as mine, same spelling too! I agree with Annie, jams and jellies are good to start with. Learn the low acid fruits and use acid adjusted/approved recipes for those. High acid fruits are more forgiving, the worst thing you'll get there is mold, which is what happens with lower sugar jams too. I hate the pectin jams, the sugar content ruins the flavor for me, so I've done quite a bit of experimenting with lower sugar jams. A good book I recommend (out of print but available thru used bookstores online) is "Summer in a Jar" by Andrea Chessman. She has a lot of great low sugar recipes in there she developed. Also, the Ball COMPLETE Book of Home Canning has a whole chapter on lower sugar jams. The reason for the sugar is it is needed to get a set with commercial pectin. Alternatives are a longer cooking jam which is thickened in the process, and also adding a chopped apple to some low pectin fruit jams, for the pectin since apples are high in pectin. Also making "old fashioned" preserves, in which you make a syrup from sugar and the juice from the fruit which macerates overnight. You then strain out the fruit, cook the syrup down and thicken that and add the fruit back in at the end. Kind of a pain to do, but tasty! Don't get discouraged, it takes a lot of experimenting until you find the ideal recipes you like. I made pear vanilla bean jam, and frankly, to me it was "meh." As was pear cardamom jam. But I liked vanilla bean marmelade, go figure. However, all of these recipes were easy peasy so you should get something enjoyable no matter what. Somewhere on Harvest, there's a "Best Of" recipe thread, but I'm not sure how to access it anymore. I printed it out a while back. Be forwarned, the Harvest Forum is not for the shrinking violets! But don't get discouraged by the pedantry. Folks there would much rather err on the side of safety when giving advice, and that is admirable at its heart. It just makes it a little confusing at times! Your best bet is to do what the folks here suggest, take the home course from the National Home Food Preservation Web site or just read up tons in books like the Ball Complete Book of Home Canning, or another one I like, (also out of print but available) called "Keeping the Harvest" by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead. Here's one of my favorite low sugar recipes that is perfect for this time of year. It's not a firm set jam, it's one you have to cook down to thicken. Also, can in small jars, as these low sugar jams mold faster than you might expect after opening, even in the fridge. This one has delicate flavor, so only make enough for this year, it doesn't keep well for two years like some high sugar jams. This is a recipe I found online. It was very, very good. I might add that I also added 1 TBLSP frangelico to the jam. It is not a firm set jam. Raspberry Peach Jam Recipe - Confettura di Lamponi e Pesche By Kyle Phillips, About.com When peaches are at their best and the raspberries are ripening up in the mountains, they're a perfect pair to set aside for the winter! What better way to do so than make raspberry peach jam? Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) peaches (ideally, white) 3/4 pound (300 g) raspberries 1 4/5 cup (800 g) sugar The juice of a lemon Preparation: Blanch the peaches for a second or two in boiling water, then chill them in cool water, peel them, quarter them, and discard the pits. Rinse the raspberries, discarding any that are blemished, and gently pat them dry. Interlayer the fruit and sugar in a bowl and let it all sit for 12 hours. Transfer everything to a heavy-bottomed pot, and bring it to a boil over a moderate flame, stirring it occasionally. Skim the froth off the surface and cook with a slotted spoon over a lively flame, skimming and stirring, for about 15 minutes, or until it begins to thicken. A drop placed on a cool slanted plate will flow some, but not much, when it's ready. The yield will be about 1 1/2 pints (1.5 l). Transfer the jam to jars, cover them, and boil them for 20 minutes to sterilize them. Yield: several jars raspberry peach jam. This assumes you know how to prepare jars for canning. Can add 1 TBLSP of Amaretto or Frangelico at the end. That's elegant and yum.