A cooking and baking journal

Ah, the Love Apple Once Again!

9/28/09: Canning and Freezing Tomato Puree

On the Monday after I made my torte my family and I did our final batch of tomato puree using the Squeezo machine. See my previous post to learn more about how we make puree. After the puree had simmered for a couple hours it was time to can. Instead of using the hot water bath method we decided to go with pressure canning because it is faster. It takes only 10 minutes at 10 pounds. Here are some detailed facts for myself so the next pressure canning job will be quick and easy:

1. Check pressure gauge on green canner for any defects before starting. Add about 1 1/2" of water to the canner, insert rubber gasket in lid, make sure safety valve is correctly positioned, place lid on canner, and seal. (Tip: look at arrow on edge of lid for easy placement.) When canner is sealed, put the 1-piece pressure regulator on vent pipe. Wait until dial gauge reads 10 pounds (which usually takes five minutes), turn off heat and wait until arrow goes down to zero. If arrow doesn't reach this point I have to replace the gauge.

2. The jars do not have to be piping hot when being filled.

3. When filling jars, leave about 1 1/2" head space. I did the first batch with 1" head space and some overflowed. They sealed, though.

4. To maintain it at 10 pounds, I hovered around 200 and 300 degrees F.

5. It takes about 20 minutes to do one batch: five minutes to reach 10 pounds, 10 minutes at 10 pounds, and another five minutes for cooling.

6. Do not have the washing machine or dryer going when canning, or you would overload the circuit. I had four burners going, the oven, the washer, and dryer. Oops!

So in the end I canned 28 quarts and froze 4. Whew! What a job!







And the best part... They all sealed!

1 comment:

  1. Looks beautiful, all those lovely jars of Tomato puree, there is something very satisfying about preserving I think :)

    ReplyDelete