Since I don't care for the taste of the lemon juice or vinegar in my canned tomato products, I use citric acid instead. No aftertaste, and if it's too tart when I open it up, I can just add the sweetener of my choice.
As an Italian it's so sweet to see you getting excited by this stuff, Pam - tomatoes are serious business for us 😂 What you've made would be a great base for a meat ragu, too
I noticed one commenter dislked the taste of lemon juice acid when added to the pizza sauce recipe. One remedy to that is to add a TINY pinch of baking soda to the sauce AFTER opening the jar, before using. Amazingly, it raises the pH and sweetens the acid taste.
This is an exciting discovery. Let me share one trick I use when making marinara or pizza sauce when I do have an abundance of tomatoes. I rarely have enough ripe at once to do a batch size that I feel is of economy. To solve 2 problems- sufficient tomatoes and excess water that needs to be cooked off, I skin my tomatoes as normal, then I quarter them and then fill a 1 gallon ziplock bag full and place it in the freezer and allow to fully freeze. When i have enough bags to make a batch of sauce, i remove the bags from the freezer and allow them to thaw over night. The freeze/thaw process will remove a large portion of the water that can simply be poured out of the bag leaving a fairly dry tomato which can then be crushed or ground up which results in a thick sauce very quickly. I haven't ever bothered doing a weight comparison but the water transfer is significant. This is a not a perfect scenario for everyone due to time or freezer constraints, but this option has worked well for me. The other nice thing is if you have too many frozen tomatoes you can simply leave them frozen until you have a need for them for other recipes. After thawing you can always grind the tomatoes and water together to reconstitute them. The water is also useful for other things as well. You should give it a try and let us know your results. Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge. Eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to share!
Just read this the other day: "The public has been told repeatedly that light-colored and small tomato cultivars are low in acid but it is a myth …. The small and light-colored varieties tend to be higher in acid (lower pH) than other tomato types”. This was the knowledge in 1977 and it is still the accepted knowledge. It is hard to believe that this myth is still very common today. If we define a low acid tomato as one with an average pH over 4.6, then they do exist, but only if grown in areas that produce low acid tomatoes. Since all tomatoes are at the higher (less acidic) end of the pH spectrum for acidic foods for home canning, adding 1/4 of lemon juice to each batch does still make sense. But if you forget to add it for a batch, there is no need for panic, and if you did everything else properly, they will be fine.The range of pH variation is actually very small and the data says that there really are no "low acid" varieties of tomatoes. The sweeter ones simply taste less acidic. "
I debated commenting on this but decided to go ahead. Pam, your new hairstyle wonderfully shapes your face. You look years younger! I just love your new look.
I fell down a rabbit hole and then my brain said, “Go to Rose Red.” My stress level is now down. Thank you for educating me and not selling me something.
Vulgare' oregano is the oregano that Pam is talking about. you can grow from seed, available from Baker Creek seed. Chef Jean-Peirre has a wonderful recipe for marinara sauce, on his utube channel. He said Lavale tomatoes are just as good as San Marsano tomatoes and are a third of the cost. found at Italian markets.
I Love those silicone measuring cup set!! I bought it after you first showed it a long while back. They come in so handy for measuring so many things! Love, love them! After watching your Micro Moment Monday, I found the Cento tomatoes in a local chain discount store near me and I bought 3 cans at $2.99 a can. When my food stamps card refills tomorrow, I'm going back on Monday to buy more since on Monday's they have a senior discount of 20%. Now I can afford to stock my pantry with Cento tomatoes D:).
We love homemade pizza and I usually freeze my pre-made sauce. I use my homegrown tomatoes and don’t bother with peeling & de-seeding since I’m freezing it. I whirl it up in my Vitamix and it pulverizes it very well. So easy. But canning it with the purée is a great option and next time I’ll give it a try. I’ll probably use some 1/2 pint jars because that’s just enough for one pizza. I love the Cento brand…it’s my favorite! I usually get it at Costco.
Pam...I'm confused. Why would lemon juice amount be different than other tomatoes in a jar?? Amount of acid added to tomatoes is based on size of jar, no?yes?
I have noticed that many newer varieties of tomatoes have a sweet taste. It used to be that all tomatoes were tart. I grew one variety last summer which was high in acid, and all of the others were not. I have a pH meter, and it’s really handy to make sure that the pH is low enough before water bath canning anything. With new varieties of fruit being introduced all the time, we can’t be 100 percent sure of the acidity unless we test. Also, we used to take for granted that the acidity of our vinegars were adequate for our canning recipes. Lately, some brands have cut the acidity of their vinegar. So now I test the acidity of my pickling solutions, too. Adding some citric acid generally solves the problem.
Just a thought….if the purée you used was already canned professionally wouldn’t that have already killed off any possible botulism therefore eliminating the need for acidification?
Clostridium botulinum bacteria are not killed by acidification or water bath canning. The acidification prevents it from growing / multiplying and producing the Botox toxin. You shouldn't expect to have no botulinum bacteria in your water bath canned products. That's not realistically achievable. That's why acidification is so important.
Thanks for the heads up on the oregano. I'm adding it to my Amazon list. If you want to use your sauce on something besides pizza, try Pizza Pasta. A friend sent me the recipe years ago and it is so good. It's basically pasta (I use spaghetti), sauce and any "toppings" that you like ... pepperoni, sausage (cooked), mushrooms, onions, peppers, black olives ... well, you get the idea 😊 Mix it all together, put it in a casserole dish and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake until bubbly. It's a nice change from pizza 🍕 or spaghetti 🍝 for dinner.
I love your content, thank you! I think (being married to an Italian), pizza sauce is so easy to make so I don't can it plus no need for lemon juice. Just pop open a can of Cento and add your ingredients, simmer for an hour. Leftovers can be put in the freezer or used in another recipe. I never liked lemon juice or other acidifiers in my sauces.
I've been so hesitant to purchase a steam canner because I read the directions to say you can't boil more than 35 minutes. Due to our altitude, I've got to add 10 minutes to every recipe. However, in this Pizze Sauce video, you said you steam canned for 45 minutes! YAY! It'll go in my Amazon cart to watch the price now! Thank you from Arizona
My mother raised 14 children and home canned everything even tomatoes and I'm almost 73 year's old and still living, and everything was canned in water bath canners and I have done the same and still kicking. YOU have to be extra clean and sterilize everything YES and remove the skin's from the tomatoes in hot water.
Pam! You need to try Mexican Oregano - it is INSANELY good. It is so good that it is the only one I use anymore. I turned my sister on to it as well, she will never use anything else. YUMMMY!
I use Mrs Wages pizza sauce mix with my tomatoes. There are instructions for canning on those mixes. We had a good quantity of tomatoes this year, but in the future now I can rely on Cento tomatoes if the yield is not good.
Pam, Would the extra amount of sauce be due to the 1/2c of vinegar that was added? Thanks for all the great videos. I’m hoping to get a canner for Christmas, can’t wait to try a few of things you’ve been teaching me!
Hi GREAT VIDEO.. Just thought I would introduce you to an Italian brand of tomato called sanmarzano..This brand of tomato and sauce is used by the world famous restaurant in London UK... The river café.. On u tube... Many cook books have hit the market place from this establishment.. Cook books are of the same name.. Living where you do and with the consistency of hot weather you may be able to grow this verity of tomato.. This tomato is insanely expensive in the UK coming in at EIGHT DOLLARS FOR 500 GRAMS in glass jars.. This also comes in as passata as a food product.. I am going to try and grow this variety next year because of its quality.. Looks like a tear drop if it is Italian in orogen from my understanding of it.. Kindness your way Lochness Scottish Highlands..
I love San Marzano tomatoes and i buy them canned when I can find them. I tried to grow them one year but they didn't do well. But you have encouraged me to try them again! Thank you.
I love to make tomato puree in the Instapot and then use a metal fine mesh strainer to get the skins and seeds. It's so quick and easy! I had been cooking them down in pots and using a mechanical tomato press but the strainer is much easier.
@marli269 here you go! Add tomatoes and water to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Close the lid, vent sealed. Turn ON Instant Pot MANUAL / PRESSURE COOK (high) for 10 minutes. Followed by 10 minutes of natural pressure release. Open the IP lid, using a handheld blender, and blend the mixture to a smooth puree. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the puree. Return the strained puree into the pot.
Thanks Pam. Love Cento and purchase at my Costco. Pizza sauce looks amazing. I don't make pizza at home. We have a local family owned pizza that sells by the slice. It is so amazing we go every three or four months for a big slice of Jimmy's everything. Yummy.
Would adding onion powder be okay, or does that still count as a low acid addition, which will affect the safety? (I always add basil, but I know that's okay.)
Yes! I have the same question and have been trying to research…. From what I can tell, It SEEMS that dehydrated herbs don’t “count” against acidity in canning…. so one would ass-u-me dehydrated veg would be safe…. But I can’t find what the science says on this… & don’t want to be a dead ass 😉
Thank you so much for this shortcut way! I've never thought of that wonderful idea! I like Cento brand too so when my home canned tomato sauce is scarce for the pizza sauce making I'll be copying you! Thanks!
I agree, fresher oregano is so much better! The little grocery store jars do not compare. And I find oregano quite easy to grow. It’s a tough perennial here in zone 8 Texas, surviving both heat and cold with little attention. It also does well in a windowsill pot. I use a dehydrator now but it can be air dried in thin layers on a cookie sheet. If you have any interest in growing fresh herbs, oregano is a good one to try.
I have been using the same brand Italian Oregano as you for years. I agree there is not comparison in flavor. Just fabulous :) I have tried the Cento brand and many others that I don't care for and have found some very delicious store brand Crushed tomatoes being my favorite. I have been makeing pizzas in my wood fired oven and home oven for years. I have used Peter Reinhard's suggested recipe's in his book (American Pie) of not 'cooking' my pizza sauce...just mix and spread on the pizza. So easy and taste fantastic and is cooked when then pizza is cooking. No canning, pre cooking required.
Hi Pam, I'm just wondering, could this be dehydrated? If so, would I still need to add the lemon juice? I like dehydrating, because it saves so much space.
Thank you Pam. I found a bunch of tomatoes. Liquidised them, seeds, skins an all, then boiled it down to get rid of all the water until it was thick. The pH level was great. Thank you for the video. If the sauce is heated and brought to boil after opening the jar for 10mins then is the botulism spores killed?
Ive been wondering for some time now on the levels of different foods when canning todays food verses food from years ago. Im glad you mentioned this in regards to the "mators" as i didnt know. As you mentioned, tomatoes was one of thos vegs that had its own high acid level so i never messed with checking it. I am curious about something though.... If tomatoes no longer have high acid levels as they did yrs ago, what about the lemons? Have they been checked or tested lately? Also, if im using precanned sauce that has citic acid, should i still use lemon juice?
Pam you are saying the 15 pints of chili I just processed in my pressure canner may not be safe due to canned tomatoes not having high enough acid content?
Are the hot liquid to hot jar reasons to prevent cracking and breaking of the product? Then you would also put them in the hot water for the canning. oh bake some fresh cheesy garlic bread sticks and have a pizza sauce dip! and some wings! num
I appreciate this video greatly! Thank you. I would like to help you with the pronunciation of Calabrian. Cal-ahh-bree-an. My grandmother was born in Calabria! Hope that helps 😊
I know that sodium bicarbonate neutralizes pesticides and I know you mixed it with vinager to create bubbles, but doing it in one step doesn't causes the vinager to neutralize part of the bicarbonate? Shouldn't it be done in 2 steps?
Do companies, like Cento, not have to follow the USDA guidelines of acidifying? If they can sell their products without acidifying, how are they considered safe? I have a digital pH tester, and all my tomato recipes using fresh tomatoes have tested around 3.9 w/out acidifying. I don't see the purpose in acidifying, if the pH of the product is well within the safe zone??
Very informative video and easy to listen to. Top marks! However, I am not sure about your ph testing. If the tomato sauce is red and your test strip is yellowish, and the ph colour youre aiming for on the strip dipped in red tomato sauce, is orangey red... Does the redness of the tomato sauce impied the test results due to the effect it will have on the test strip because of its redness? You get a yellow or white piece of paper and dip in red tomato.puree, to check its ph level, and with the red tomato puree soaked paper you then put it against a colour graph and you hold it up and it matches orangey red? I couldnt believe that the piece of paper could match anything close to pure green. Or am i missing something?
Thank you for this valuable information. So Happy I haven't canned my tomato puree yet. I will be using this method for my sauce. Could you use onion powder in it with the other seasonings? Take care.
Pam, I am a fairly new canner (5 yrs) and my first few yrs I didn't use anything but tomatoes and salt and pressured canned the product. Then I tried lemon juice in a batch and the flavor was HORRIBLE. My question is why is it ok to pressure can carrots and potatoes without acid but have to use it for tomatoes? thank you
Does the added lemon juice affect the final flavor? Why is lemon juice needed if you pressure can this? Why is acid level iportant in pressure canning?
Last one I promise. I suppose if you're making two or more pizzas at the same time, a pint jars what you need. But my household is usually only doing one pizza at a time and a point jar sauce is way too much. So for a half pint as processing time change since there's nothing in it but acid and tomatoes?
Tested recipe times are based on pints and quarts ( unless otherwise specified). So if the time for pints is 10 minutes and quarts 20 minutes, for example, anything smaller than a pint would process for 10 minutes (the pint recommendation). Anything larger than a pint but smaller than a quart would process for 20 minutes (the quart recommendation).
This article may help. You don't want to pressure can tomatoes for very long or they will be too mushy. This article explains that. www.clemson.edu/extension/food/canning/canning-tips/27tomato-products-acidify.html#:~:text=Acidifying%20all%20tomatoes%20now%20is,pressure%20canning%20options%20for%20tomatoes.
I'm finding even my heirloom tomatoes(when I toss them all together) are not acidic enough by ph paper testing. I too had never heard of using lemon juice or vinegar unless I was going to waterbath tomatoes. But now with pressure canning I am starting to do so. That you for up to date info! So...do I reprocess any older jars and add vinegar or citic acid...or just use it up...?!?
Per the USDA Complete Guide To Home Canning, guide 3 page 5, under the paragraph titled "Acidification", 5% vinegar (apple cider) may be used instead of lemon juice or citric acid. The ratio is 4 tablespoons vinegar per quart. Personally, I much prefer a/c vinegar instead of lemon juice for tomato products. Hope this helps!
“Mathematically”…what is the % of people that have died or gotten ill from home canning vs the % of people that have died or gotten ill from commercial production?
The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (on page 3-15) has a "Mexican Tomato Sauce" that is somewhat similar to this pizza sauce only it has peppers and onions added and apple cider vinegar is used in place of lemon juice. It is pressure canned. And it is very good! Please check it out to see if it would work for you.
I would love to know the answer to that, but sadly, the only info I have been able to find is to use passata as described on the Healthy Canning website, which they interpret to be pureed tomatoes from Italy.
Not sure if this will help, but I have used the Pizza Sauce recipe in the book "Preserving by the Pint" by Marisa McClellan, page 109. I used my own crushed, home grown, organic canned tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes. I checked the ph and all was well. I also checked with one of the local master canners who affirmed that it was good to can. Hope this helps.
Anyone know how long a store bought glass jar of tomato sauce lasts beyond expiration date? Wouldn't they last as long as home canning jars? Thank you.
I see some are confused about the reasons why you add lemon juice to bring up the acidity of your tomatoe sauce. Especially if using already canned puree. If you pressure can the end result of turning it into a pizza sauce or any other kind of sauce, then no you don't need to add more acidity to it, before canning. With pressure canning the heat in the process is high enough to kill any spores. With either steam or waterbath canning, the temperature isn't hot enough to kill them. So we add more acidic to the sauce. Which kills any botulism that may be present. Its a precaution . If I've learned anything about canning. Its to understand the difference between waterbath/steam canning and pressure canning. And when to use one or the other. To many people who make these canning tutorials are giving out unsafe canning practice advice. This is one site that gives you safe advice and she practices what she preaches . She researches and test things before she post them. I find that very comforting knowing that what I make using her tutorials, won't cause me or my family any illnesses. If I follow it as she made it. Anything else, is on me. 😊
We have several videos on the subject that will help plus we have explained it in many of our canning videos. Also, any canning book will explain the topic and there are many articles about it on the Internet. No one needs to be helpless when they hear something they don't quite understand but wish to. One of the 3 areas we focus on is self reliance!
I hope somebody could answer this question for me. Factually. If pressure canning tomatoes, I don't understand why an acid would have to be introduced. And I wonder because there are so many foods that we pressure can that is totally without acid such as meat, carrots, beans, etc. What makes tomato and a different when pressure canning?. Is this the say that I have been wasting my time and financial contribution to pressure canned tomatoes so that I could have a clean tomato taste??
Great question and many people also want to know this. Pressure canning acidified tomatoes allows for a much shorter processing time--10-15 minutes--than processing acidified tomatoes in a water bath canner. There is now no recommended processing time for pressure canning tomatoes that are not acidified. This article may help: www.clemson.edu/extension/food/canning/canning-tips/27tomato-products-acidify.html#:~:text=Acidifying%20all%20tomatoes%20now%20is,pressure%20canning%20options%20for%20tomatoes.
I noticed the #10 can of my GFS canned tomato purée had citric acid already added to it. I tested with a pH strip and found it at 4.5 and water bathed it for 25 minutes. After it sat overnight, in the morning I was surprised to see that it had thickened to the point that I could turn the jar upside down and it never dropped. Maybe as it cooled it thickened? The brand was Full Red and it said “extra heavy” purée on the can. It was definitely a purée but I am almost expecting it to now be more like a paste!
Going to be extra careful in the future. I have used a blender and juicer that use all parts of the tomato. No loss of nutrition. Did not consider bacteria on the skins. I always try a little extra effort or patience in processing. I learned on my own and am not taking chances. I have also learned that some varieties are just as acidic as the past but have extra sugar that masks the acidity in tasting. I am not a food scientist so am not sure how all the spices work in the recipe. [The difference of Italian Seasoning and individual herbs.] Ratios are beyond me. Just hope for the best. 7 or more tastes are difficult to account for. Earthiness I found strange until one of my stores came up with 10 or 11 more types of mushrooms besides white button. Spicy another taste similarly. Burning heat to me is not a culinary taste but can accompany spicy distinction. Pizza sauce IS different from spaghetti sauce!!! That marinara, pesto, etc. is beyond me. If sure of a good recipe a trip to restaurant supply for a #10 can is a thought. If any thoughts how to explain the process of throwing together herbs and spices would be appreciated. You buy oregano?!! Surprise given your spirit of independence and self-sufficiency. Sage for poultry seasoning an easy almost self-maintaining plant. Just rub across a screen to process. Definitely going to be extra careful in the future. Thanks.
I am rather dismayed at your insistence. If the pH is low enough to kill botchellism, it's low enough to kill botchellism. Your puree is coming out of a, what is it, a CAN! It's canned. You are not adding sufficient ingredients to alter the pH as far as I can tell, and testing can prove or disprove that. I have a I can skin, seeds and all. I also reduce the liquid, so that alone will kill anything in it because it's a 12 or so hour process. Regardless, I have an electronic pH tester, and my pH is always lower than the recommended maximum pH. Why then would I add anything unless I want to modify the flavor. I generally love your caution, and while an over abundance of caution is fine, it seems to me that this is overkill. Anyway, thanks for all the videos and aids which you sell.
I have a question for the lady with a scientific mind. If you are going to raise the acidity level of tomatoes so they can be water bath canned, that's fine. If you're going to pressure can tomatoes, I've been told by Liza at Sutton's Daze, that I still need to acidify the tomatoes. WHY? Pressure canning is for low acid foods. If the tomatoes are too low for water bath canning, then just pressure can them, the same way you would can green beans for example. For pressure canning if I need to acidify tomatoes, why don't I also have to acidify green beans? It makes sense to acidify tomatoes if you want to water bath can them (or dehydrate the puree for flakes or powder). But if you're going to pressure can them - because they're low acid - then the tomatoes don't need to be acidified, just like the green beans don't need it in the pressure canner. But Liza disagrees. So for water bath canning or dehydrating I will acidify the tomatoes. That makes sense. But for pressure canning, I don't think I need to, just like I don't acidify my green beans. Liza said I still need to and I asked her why? She wouldn't answer. Can you look into this? If anyone can get an actual REAL answer, you can. Thanks Pam.
If this is true that Commercially canned foods are much less likely to be a source of botulism "because modern commercial canning processes kill C. botulinum spores." And Pam, you're using a product that's already sufficient and it's acid level. I'm not understanding why more has to be added. Even if just for this particular product? Well I'm older. I remember the dreaded days of burning my hands peeling tomatoes. So I see and understand there's a difference. But how I detest the taste of lemon juice and my homegrown canned tomatoes, So I cross over two pressure canning them and you're saying that's not good enough. Jeez I'm just really going to have a real breakdown over this one my goodness
Have you yried just citric acid? It is not too bad. Get yourself so.e ph paper or electronic ph reader and test your tomato puree after you have cooked it a bit...you might be In range. Hard to accept change...I too am struggling thinking, dang, now do I need to recan all my pressure canned tomato products nut add an appropriate amount of vinegar or citric acid or just play Russian roulette with them and go forward doing it new way.
Oh my goodness! I'm so distressed and upset now.. Now after all these years I am struggling with this information and don't do this and don't do that. We can can spaghetti with meat sauce but we can't can sauce for pizza with the extras? We can can soup with vegetables, etc etc. But not a pizza sauce but not with ingredients that we can and everything and anything else?? I really want to pull out my d. . . hair. This is making no sense to me. 😪