She forgot the lemon juice... - Page 3

**coronabarb** · July 22, 2018

Any sauce, etc needs to have lemon or lime juice (bottled) added to the recipe for safety if it calls for it. Doesn't matter if it is water bath canned or pressure canned. The approved recipe is developed WITH that acid included and leaving it out changes the recipe. Then, it is no longer the same tested recipe.

There are several variables in canning such as pH, density of ingredients, size of jar (which can affect how the heat transfers in the jar during processing), altitude and more. If you want the guarantee of safety for you and your family, don't divert from the recipe. I would recommend reprocessing with the added lemon juice. It might be okay without if the tomatoes were acid enough, but you really don't know.

edited - just saw your post, Greg.

**coronabarb** · July 22, 2018

Bottled lemon and bottled lime juice are interchangeable in canning recipes. Vinegar cannot be used in place of the juices.

zipcode · July 23, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by gssgarden

When she made her sauce. Quarts and pints and they have been given a long bath already.

She only put onion, garlic, herbs, a little sugar, s&p.

What do you think the shelf life will be?

Without the herbs etc, the shelf life is about 2 years for a mixture of tomatoes. With all those in, hard to say, I guess it depends how much it is but it's difficult to predict.

**coronabarb** · July 23, 2018

You can get away with that for jams, except for greater chance of molding (and some people are allergic to molds). For tomato sauce, that is a recipe for botulism. Getting the jar to seal is not the only goal. Killing microorganisms and spores is the goal. Even starting with boiling sauce, there are contaminants all around the kitchen and jars/lids, etc. To each their own. As we learn more, hopefully we do better. I don't particularly like foodborne illness myself. ;-)

NarnianGarden · July 23, 2018

No one does. In all the years I have cooked jam, I have never had any mold (even after from jars stored for a few years)
The method is fully approved even by our health officials, I don't see any problem or potential danger. The key is in sufficient cooking - and pectin sugar also helps (if no lemon is used).

July 22, 2018	#1
coronabarb Tomatoville® Recipe Keeper Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseburg, Oregon - zone 7 Posts: 2,821	Any sauce, etc needs to have lemon or lime juice (bottled) added to the recipe for safety if it calls for it. Doesn't matter if it is water bath canned or pressure canned. The approved recipe is developed WITH that acid included and leaving it out changes the recipe. Then, it is no longer the same tested recipe. There are several variables in canning such as pH, density of ingredients, size of jar (which can affect how the heat transfers in the jar during processing), altitude and more. If you want the guarantee of safety for you and your family, don't divert from the recipe. I would recommend reprocessing with the added lemon juice. It might be okay without if the tomatoes were acid enough, but you really don't know. edited - just saw your post, Greg. __________________ Corona~Barb Now an Oregon gal

July 22, 2018	#2
coronabarb Tomatoville® Recipe Keeper Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseburg, Oregon - zone 7 Posts: 2,821	Bottled lemon and bottled lime juice are interchangeable in canning recipes. Vinegar cannot be used in place of the juices. __________________ Corona~Barb Now an Oregon gal

July 23, 2018	#4
coronabarb Tomatoville® Recipe Keeper Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseburg, Oregon - zone 7 Posts: 2,821	You can get away with that for jams, except for greater chance of molding (and some people are allergic to molds). For tomato sauce, that is a recipe for botulism. Getting the jar to seal is not the only goal. Killing microorganisms and spores is the goal. Even starting with boiling sauce, there are contaminants all around the kitchen and jars/lids, etc. To each their own. As we learn more, hopefully we do better. I don't particularly like foodborne illness myself. ;-) __________________ Corona~Barb Now an Oregon gal

July 23, 2018	#5
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	No one does. In all the years I have cooked jam, I have never had any mold (even after from jars stored for a few years) The method is fully approved even by our health officials, I don't see any problem or potential danger. The key is in sufficient cooking - and pectin sugar also helps (if no lemon is used).