Home canned tomatoes floated to top of jar. Water at bottom

I swear I cut my tomatoes up into quarters, after I blanch them. Put them in the jar, push em down, lid them, ring them, and can them. They seal after sitting, but the tomatoes rise to the top 3/4 of the jar and have just water at the bottom. How do i fix this?

Marilyn/UofAGirl

Don't worry about it, they're ok, just funny looking like mine. When you use them in spaghetti sauce or soup they'll look and taste normal.

Yes, they will float to the top and may even come down after your jars and goodies inside have completely cooled down. Nothing to worry about. Your tomatoes are more or less compacted at the top right now. Sounds like you did things right :) Kathy

Thanks so much everyone... My mother used to can and she said they shouldn't rise to the top like that, but she doesn't know how to fix them. I used all the ones I canned last year that looked like that and they were good. I personally think they look fine and taste great! Oh well, but thanks again.

Marilyn

Mine always do that. Not sure why they do, but I've never worried about it.

It's from the water that comes out of the tomatoes during processing. You know that if you take fresh tomatoes and put them on the stove that lots of water will cook out of them.

Same thing has happened during processing.Your tomatoes have shrunk a little,and the resulting water is now in the jar.

Like everyone has said...no big deal.

Wow, I'm glad I saw this thread. Canned for the first time this year. My tomatoes floated too. Glad to hear they're okay!

If you want to reduce the water in the jars, just cook the tomatoes on the stove until most of the water is gone...Pack jars and finish in Hot Water Bath....This will reduce the amount of water in the jar but not all... :o)

Yep,WW is right. Cook for just a little bit before packing in jars. Mom would just tip the pot and pour off the extra water.

We'd get a head start on tomato sauce that way too.Cook down for awhile without stirring on low heat.The water will come to the top.Pour it off and then put your tomatoes through the mill to grind them up.Less time cooking it down.

Yes, thats how my grandma taught me to cann tomatos. We use to put up a 100 jars or more every year....back in those days there wasn't extra money to buy much so we put up all we could...
When I was a kid I use to fuss about all the work done and time lost playing due to canning chores...as well as garden chores so we would have stuff to cann....isn't it funny how things change...what I would give today for a garden full of fresh vegetables.......and would gladly can or freeze them....But a least I still have the knowledge past on by that generation.... :o)

You all have been so wonderful and supportive. I'll let my mom know about cooking down and pouring off the liquid...She'll probably say, "Oh yeah, I remember NOW!"...How funny! Next year, I'll have my first batch of asparagus that I planted with my tomatoes to can in the early summer. I read that they were complimentary plants to each other after I put them together this year. Which worked out great! I'll have to use you all again if I have trouble with them too. Thanks again,

Marilyn/Uofagirl

I save and use the water I pour off the tomatoes to make minestrone soup. Sometimes this is my favorite part.

A bit less water might result if you mix a roma type with your others since it is a paste tomato and has less water.

Another solution is to squeeze some of the juice out before placing the tomatoes in the jar (I always cold-pack mine rather than pre-cook). Some years and some varieties have more liquid. I agree though that the extra juice doesn't really hurt anything.

My Mom canned tomatoes and tomatoe juice for 20 years
and I never saw a batch it didn't separate like that

Now if you make sauce then you boil the water out.

Caution! Someone posted above to use use a water-bath to can tomatoes. Our Extension Agent says DO NOT CAN IN A WATER BATH! Even the newer Ball book says pressure-can tomatoes.

Years ago, water-bath canning was okay, but tomatoes today have a lower acid content and need pressure canning to assure there will be no spoilage. Even being scrupulous about clean jars, lids, and esp. the jar top-edge... and pressure canning (including lemon juice in the jars)... I've had a few jars of tomatoes spoil near the end of a year on the shelf.

Sorry to sound off... I'd rather err on the side of caution and have my friends alive.

1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice per quart and water bath away!

The way I understand it,the only low acid tomato out there is Jet Star.Everything else,heirloom and hybrid alike has pretty much the same acid content. It's the amount of sugar that masks the acid taste the way I understand it.

The Extension offices are reccomending the pressure canning to keep their butts out of a sling if something goes wrong. Most do not know much about the makeup of tomatoes and feel the need to 'explain' why the change in canning reccomendations.Thus,the story about how tomatoes are now low acid.

There was some research done several years ago and a few low acid varieties were developed,but were quickly removed from the market.The only one remaining from this study is Jet Star.

Maybe Carolyn will come along and fill us in on more details.Mine are sketchy at best.

BTW what is the date of the last confirmed death from eating home canned tomatoes in the US???

Hah..good question, Kikisdad. Probably yrs ago.

I've always water bathed maters...and still have cans of them from right many yrs ago, and well still use them.

I do put in a teaspoon or so (never measure it) of lemon juice in each jar. The floaters that I've had in past yrs were due to the juice level in the maters. Nowadays I only can the paste types and very seldom get a floating jar, if ever. (Rutgers is not a paste type but is a GREAT canning tomato...if they look juicy in a give yr, I'll heat them up slightly, then pull them out of the sauce pan with a slotted spoon...use the juice to top off the jars with.)

Only time I pressure can something is if it is a salsa, or beans. Other items I tend to blanch and freeze. (except okra, I don't even blanch it!)

Is there a new Ball Blue Book? I have the Volume 1 Copyright 1995 - 2001 that I purchased in early 2002. This volume says to water bath.
I tried both methods in 2002. With the pressure canner, I had a blown batch and then a successful batch. Both the water bath and pressure canned had water at the bottom. I found water bath to be much easier and I was successful every time. This season I am only doing the water bath. Darius I appreciate your heads up about this. Does anyone else only pressure can tomatoes? This always tends to 'freak' me out! (lol)

:-D Sue

I have read with interest the posts that refute my comments about personally pressure-canning tomatoes. However, one thing that hasn't been addressed is how altitude affects the temperature. At high altitudes, water boils at a lower temp., causing me some concern about killing pathogens. Yet, there are people locally who only use a water bath for tomatoes, and they seem to do well. I tend to err on the side of caution.

Even with scrupulous canning techniques, I have had several quart jars lose their seal over a 2 year period. I seldom keep canned goods after 2 years anyway even though I have storage cabinets that protect them from too much light (which affects the nutritional value over time).

Even though my altitude isn't very high, I notice it affects most of what I cook, especially baked goods. Friends from off the mountain who visit, and help in meal prep., are always amazed that it takes longer to bake potatoes, for example. Cakes take a deft touch to bake thououghly without drying out the exterior, adjusting both time and oven temperature.

(And, no it's not the oven. I learned a long time ago to always use a thermometer!)

darius writes "I have read with interest the posts that refute my comments about personally pressure-canning tomatoes". That was not the purpose of MY post. I was Simply offering an alternative method (adding lemon juice to raise the acidity). PERSONALLY I pressure can everything including tomatoes. I own 2 Mirro 22 quart pressure canners and use the ten lb. weight for the recommended times in the Blue Book. We discard anything uneaten that has been canned more than 5 years which is not much!
Being too safe is like being too rich.

FWIW, I use an open kettle bath for tomatoes and salsa. I add a bit of lemon juice for good measure to the 'maters, and quite a bit to the salsa. Nothing stays around long enough to lose its seal, and I've never had any problems with a bad jar (knock on wood...)

I'm absolutely scrupulous about having every surface in my kitchen clean and sanitized before I begin canning, and the jars are sterilized then filled with boiling water until the moment I empty them to hot-pack the contents. I don't like (or own) a pressure canner (or pressure cooker, for that matter) - the durn things have always made me nervous. Obviously that limits the types of vegetable I can, which is okay; I just freeze the corn, beans and okra when there's enough surplus to put up.

Hmmm...I open-kettle (water bath) all my maters, but have never done salsa that way (I put onions, peppers and such in it).

However, once I was visiting on of my older friends (86 yrs young at the time) and he had a big pot of butter beans on the stove, canning them! It was so warm and cozy in that kitchen, the music of the bubbling pot mixing in with his easy-going ways.

When I asked him if he was worried about NOT pressure canning those beans he (of course) said "not in the least!" Said he'd done it that way all his life, no problems. It took about 3 hrs (or so) to properly can his beans that way, and he said he has had a few "failed glasses" over time. (And on those times he was elated that he got to make an extra batch of cornbread and eat his beans for breakfast AND lunch/supper!)

I tried it folks. It works. I didn't have any "failed glasses" but understand the possibility of it happening. Beans, salsa, maters...can be canned using water bath method. Perhaps the thing to be aware of tho is that the potential for 'bad news' is there. As for me, I'm particular in the kitchen...someone who isn't could end up with a variable of problems, and not just from canning.

At this point, I'll not hesitate to water bath maters, pickles and such. And, in memory of a friend, I bet I will water bath some butter beans from time to time!