Tomato canning season is here and so I’ve been getting a lot of questions from people who are canning their own tomatoes for the first time. They worry because their tomatoes are floating, their crushed tomatoes have separated or their jars have lost significant liquid in the canning process and now they’re not sure if their tomatoes are safe. Let’s take these three topics one by one and put your hearts at ease, shall we?
Tomato Float
Take a look at the jars on the left in the picture above. Those are the whole, peeled tomatoes that I canned last year. As you can see, the tomatoes are floating over a good inch of liquid and tomato sediment at the bottom of the jar. This one is absolutely no big deal.
Even the most seasoned canner is going to have some canned whole tomatoes that float. This is because there are air pockets inside those tomatoes and when you pack something with some internal trapped air in a liquid, it will float.
You can try to avoid float by using regular mouth jars (the shoulders of the jar help keep the fruit in place) and packing the jar as firmly as possible (without totally crushing the tomatoes). But really and truly, it’s no big deal.
Tomato Separation
Often, I will hear from people who are concerned because their crushed tomatoes havw separated into a layer of liquid topped by a layer of solids. What happened here is that you heated your tomatoes for more than five minutes, let them cool and then heated them up again.
By doing this, you’ve broken down the pectin inside the tomatoes. In this situation, the pectin was there holding the structure of the cells together and once it goes, there’s nothing to maintain the integrity of the tomato flesh together and so pulp separates from the water.
I never worry about this one either. Just give the jar a good shake before using.
Liquid Loss
Back to the picture up at the top. Take a look at the quart jars on the right. You might notice that several of those jars lost a TON of liquid. I canned that particular batch in my pressure canner and during the cooling process, they siphoned like mad (that’s the official canning term for when liquid escapes).
Siphoning can be prevented by better bubbling of jars and a slower cooling process. However, even when you’re careful, it still happens sometimes. However, as long as your seals are good, jars with even significant liquid loss are still safe to eat.
You may experience some reduction of quality over time and when it happens to lighter colored foods (like peaches), the product that’s not submerged will begin to discolor. Put those jars at the front of the queue of jars to use and don’t worry about it.
What other tomato questions do you guys have? Let’s hear it!
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[...] Canning 101: Tomato Float, Sauce Separation and Loss of Liquid | Food in Jars – Hint: Your tomatoes are probably just fine. [...]
Hi…sorry this is a response to such an old post but its the only way I could figure out to contact you!!
My daughter and I just put up our first batch of crushed tomatoes and I have a question….. I had a little left over and filled only half a jar so I stuck it in the fridge to use right away since I wasn’t sure if you could store half a filled jar…
SO anyway I opened it after about a week and it bubbled!
I wasn’t sure if I could use it or if something went wrong! Now I am afraid to use any of our tomatoes!!!
Any help or advice for a newbie?
Thank you
It sounds like those tomatoes that you put in the fridge started to ferment. The tomatoes that you processed should be fine, but because the tomatoes you put in the fridge didn’t get the same heat process, there was some bacteria in them that initiated the fermentation process. It’s actually not harmful and you could potentially still use them, no matter the bubbles.
[...] Canning 101: Tomato Float, Sauce Separation and Loss of Liquid, Food in Jars • Because it happens. [...]
Thanks so much for posting pictures with this blog post! I did my first tomatoes yesterday. I lost liquid and the tomatoes are floating. So, I’m not worried about that.
What my question is though, the tomatoes are floating pretty high and I think they are touching the lid, which concerns me because of the BPA in the lids, which is the whole reason I wanted to do my own in the first place….
Is there anything I can do about this? Or, should I re-process them with a tighter pack?
Thanks so much!
Oops, I just removed the jar rings and the tomatoes are not touching the top and the seal is great! So please disregard! Thanks so much!
[...] Stewed Tomatoes Tomato Float, Sauce Seperation and Loss of Liquid [...]
While working on a patch of tomato sauce in my pressure caner, I realized that the previous batch was processed for 10 minutes, not the required 15. Do I toss that batch or just use it first.
I would either put in frig and use it up or re can it in different jars/lids etc.
Very informative post, thank you so much. Could you address two questions for me when you have the time?
1. My small-batch canning kettle is aluminum. Should that pose a problem for my tomatoes? The water bath must have trace aluminum in it, and so must the jars since I boil them in there before I drain and fill them.
2. A couple of years ago I used citric acid while canning tomatoes, and they ended up tasting pretty harsh. Does adding sugar to the jar really balance the flavor? Would I be taking my family’s lives into my hands if I added a leetle bit less than the full measure?
Many thanks!
It’s okay to use an aluminum pot as your canner, so long as you’re not cooking the tomatoes in it.
I’ve not used citric acid in my own tomatoes, so I can’t speak to ways to balance its flavor. I tend to stick with bottled lemon juice for my own acidification needs.
I’ve never seen anyone explain this, and I’m finding my canning to be a very difficult, discouraging experience.
I had a bunch of tomatoes yesterday. Peeled and cooked to hot-pack.
I had my hot jars all ready, and found that it filled 7 pints just fine. That’s all my hot water bath canner would hold. Since that was going to take a Looong time to process, I had no idea what to do with the rest of the tomatos still in the pot. I didn’t know if it was safe to ladle it into jars and just wait till the first batch was done. Or just have to freeze all of that.
I just put it back in the fridge. Is it now safe to re-heat added to the next batch of cooked tomatoes and start over. I don’t want to cook them over and over, but I don’t know how long I can leave it out, or how long I can leave a full jar before I process it in a bath. I’ve found everything about canning to be exhausting and fearfilled so far, I’m afraid. I have a bunch of jars of lovely tomatoes that I’m now scared to eat for one reason or another.
I have this same frustration/fear with my jellies. If I’m going to put up food, by god, I don’t want to do 7 jars a day and that’s it.
Thanks so much for your help!
It’s totally safe to just let it sit out until you’re ready to pack the next round of jars. Just bring it back to a boil before filling the jars.
Don’t be scared of your tomatoes. As long as you’ve properly acidified them, they should be just fine.
[...] Peeled Tomatoes at Food in Jars (also check out her Canning 101 post, which has several other Canning 101 topics linked at the end of the [...]
Is it okay to use 8 oz jars for plain crushed or diced tomatoes? Most recipes I use in cooking call for less than a pint and I don’t know how much would go to waste if I opened up pint jars in these cases.
thank you! I just experienced the pectin problem, and so many sources tell you what happened and how to avoid it (duly noted), but not whether or not this batch is ok to use. I’ll shake them up and use ‘em! thank you!!
[...] tomatoes, like tomato float, that are normal. Marisa at the site, Food in Jars, wrote a great Canning 101 post on these common issues, last month. A Salami-Portabella pizza. You can't see, but under [...]
I am so frustrated. I am new to canning and am all excited about it as I come from a family of canners. I did my tomatoes this weekend and had the problem of them floating to the top and seperating(after reading your blog i know what i did wrong and am glad they will be ok) and some even bubbled out of jar and tomato was stuck under some of the lids. Even though it sealed i chose to open them and make spaghetti sauce out of them to be safe. The thing i am frustrated by is every place I look for processing times it is different. My book says 45 min for hot pack in a water canner, my sisters is 2 editions before mine and says 15 min but she does 35 min.My mom used to do 25 min. I was looking on other sites and one said 80 min and another said 50 min. I just dont understand why there is such a huge difference and how are we suppose to know which ones to go with? Also can you safely add onions and garlic and make a spaghetti sauce and process in a water canner? one site said yes and one said no you would have to use a pressure cooker because veggies are low acid.Thank you
The shorter times are old instructions. Newer research calls for the longer times. And if you’re adding onion and garlic, you need to be following a tested recipe if you’re going to can in a boiling water bath canner.
[...] compromised (which is a risk you run when it does bubble over) it’s fine. (See what Marisa and the Minnesota extension site have to say). Such are the perils of late-night [...]
I canned 8 quarts of crushed tomatoes last weekend and they siphoned, though not too much. However, when I went to take the rings off I noticed there was some tomato goop underneath the ring and between some of the lids and jars… all the lids are sealed as tight as can be – but are they safe to eat?
Totally safe, provided the seal is good. Just wash them and store them.
I would like to poach my sweet 100′s in olive oil. I can find recipes for this, however, i want to then can them in that olive oil following. I cant seem to find any recipes for doing this. Can you help?
I don’t have any information on how to do that safely! So sorry!
That photo is perfect – I was able to see the “issue” I am having with my raw packed tomatoes – and I see that the dunking process of peeling is more than likely the cause.
Hubby introduced me to canning tomatoes over 20 yrs ago but this year he has left me on my own – and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t about to have a ‘gotcha’ moment on me!
Thanks so much for a nice clear photo
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I hope you can help. I canned tomatoes in the summer for the first time. I cold packed, peeled, crushed tomatoes in pint jars with a tbsp of vinegar and processed for 45 minutes. None of the seals have broken but all of them have white sediment on the top surface of the tomatoes and/or bottom of the jars. They separated like yours did. They smell fine and look fine. Stored properly. It’s not clearly mold but I can’t tell if this is normal – I’d hate to throw them out.
I hope you have the time to reply. Thanks for your time.
Erin, did you pack them in water? If you have hard water, it could be that the mineral solids are separating out from the liquid.
I had gotten as far as pureeing tomatoes and had to put them in the refrigerator, could not return home for 3 days – can I still use those tomatoes for canning? Should I just toss them and start over? Thanks a bunch. (First year with a garden, new to canning)
Susan, if you bring them back up to a boil, you can still can them. Just know that the tomato fiber may separate from the liquid. It’s find, it’s just that the look of it sometimes throws people.
I water bathed my tomatoes last year and they are still red and beautiful, taste great! This year I obtained a pressure cooker and processed per directions. I did have a great deal of float, but not to worried about this. My question is why is the water bath tomatoes so pretty and red and the pressured ones are orangy looking. Not pretty at all. I haven’t tasted them but they don’t look so good.
I am new to canning and did my first batch of tomatoes today. I accidentally read wrong and put 1 tsp of citric acid instead of 1/2 tsp in the jar.
Do you think this will affect anything? Totally using lemon juice for the next batch!
It won’t do any harm. They may be a little bit tart, though.
Over the last two weeks, I have made and canned 7 batches (42 qts) of tomato sauce. I did not use an approved recipe… mine was tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and oregano. I cooked for about an hour and processed in hot water bath 45 mins. When I canned my whole tomatoes, I added bolttled lemon juice, but did not to the sauce. After reading that I should have pressure canned, I am very concerned. Would it be safe to re-cook the sauce (boiling for at least 10 mins) and reprocess in a pressure canner, or should I do the boiling at the time I use it? Thanks
I water bathed my tomatoes last year and they are still red and beautiful, taste great! This year I obtained a pressure cooker and processed per directions. I did have a great deal of float, but not to worried about this. My question is why is the water bath tomatoes so pretty and red and the pressured ones are orangy looking. Not pretty at all. I haven’t tasted them but they don’t look so good.
The amount of cooking pressure canned tomatoes receive is more intense than those done in a BWB. So they end up looking more cooked.
Thank you so much for posting these pictures!
I started canning in June of this year and I finally got a pressure canner last week. I tried hot packing tomatoes in the pressure canner yesterday thinking the shorter processing time for hot pack tomatoes would be a big time saver. Followed instructions carefully and added lemon juice to be safe. Unfortunately, all 14 quarts of tomatoes siphoned during the pressure cooking process.
I was up staring at my jars this morning wondering if I had ruined all those beautiful tomatoes. I’m reassured after seeing your photos and reading comments here but I think I will try to can whole / crushed tomatoes in WB and save the pressure cooking for sauces. WB tomatoes definitely look better and did not lose liquid.
I just canned 14 jars of tomato sauce (tomato, garlic, onion, chopped carrot, peppers, spices etc)…..did mostly 1 1/2 pint jars w/a few qt jars.
I processed for 30 mins and everything sealed perfectly. Used hot jars, hot lids, hot contents and then processed.
This should be fine, shouldn’t it? I don’t understand how our grandmother’s lived through canning the “old fashioned way” (everything hot, then turned the jar upside down until it sealed and then turned upright)….
Will 30 mins be sufficient?
Mary, here are the tomato sauce canning guidelines from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. I try to follow their guidelines, but I can’t tell you what to do. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_03/tomato_sauce.html
My Grandma taught me how to can last summer. She doesn’t put her stewed tomatoes in a water canner. She just boils everything, puts the tomatoes in hot, and lets them seal up on the counter. Is this not an approved method anymore? She’s been doing this for 60 years and has never had a incident. I’ve talked to many others who also do it this way.
Every recipe I find says to select whole unblemished tomatoes to preserve. My garden has produced lots of tomatoes that look like the one in your tomato post picture. There are brown cracks around the stem. The tomatoes taste great, and I’d like to cut off the brown, dice them, and can them. Is there a reason why all the recipes call for “unblemished” tomatoes? Is there bacteria etc. that could be dangerous?
Thanks!
Julie, I think that people are concerned about bacteria. However, with the amount of heat exposure that canned tomatoes receive, it’s hard to image that any bacteria survive. What’s more, perfect tomatoes are really hard to come by. I use the slightly cracked ones for preserving on a regular basis and have had no ill effects.
My tomatoes are floating all the way to the top and touching the lid. It did make a good seal but I’m guessing I used too much water. Should I open these and eat right away or will they be ok?
They are fine. It’s not the optimum result, but as long as the seals are good, they are shelf stable and safe to eat.
I appreciate all the great info here!
Yesterday, I followed the Ball instructions for canning crushed tomatoes. I used the bubble remover to push out any bubbles and processed as instructed. Now there are still pockets of air throughout every jar. The seal seems fine, but I am worried about these air bubbles!
Quick question: I decided to make spaghetti sauce really late in the day (bad idea). Now, I’m hoping when it’s done cooking I can put the pan in the fridge and bring to a boil tomorrow before putting in jars & processing. Do you think this would be okay/healthy?
Thanks for the note about the siphoning, I followed your ideas for canning whole tomatoes in their own juice, but obviously let them heat up for more than 5 minutes initially, so I ended up with both separation and the siphoning contained a good deal of tomato matter. The seals appear to be good though (upside down and held by the lid) so I’m going to call them good!
I just canned 12 quarts of tomatoes. I cold packed them adding 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 Tablespoons of bottled lemon juice. I used my Ball book and it is evidently old because it says to water bath them 45 minutes. Now I see the recommendation is for 80 minutes.
All the jars sealed fine. Should I water bath them longer? Would I have to break the seal or could I just but them in a bath again? I have some float but they look good.
Thanks
We canned 7 quarts of whole tomatoes. Did the normal steps….boil in water for a minute or less to get the skins off, cut out core and quarted the larger tomatoes, put them in quart jars and crushed them down til there was 1/4 at the top and used 2 tbs of lemon juice in each. We put in the water bath method for 85 minutes and we got the separation solids on top water on bottom. Based on what I read here I’m not concerened about the separation, but what concerns me is the tomatoes floating at the top have seemed to develop air bubbles. We’re not sure if we should be concerened with this. I’m considering turning them upside down once they cool to let the water work its way back into the tomatoes, but would prefer the advise of a seasoned canner to confirm whether or not that would be ok.
thanks for this – I just water-bath canned my first batch of crushed tomatoes and they’re floating – so bummed but now I know that I’m not alone. Thank you!
I have just prepared my tomatoes using a very different process & am worried that I certainly did something wrong. I quartered & seeded tomatoes, seasoned them with salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil & then roasted them in the oven. Once roasted & softened, I allowed the tomatoes to cool, removed the skins & pulsed chopped them in a processor. I then added a bit of water to a saucepan with the tomatoes & basil & cooked them down. I sterilized my jars, bands & lids in a hot water bath & then filled the hot jars with the hot sauce. I then placed them back in a hot water bath, allowing to boil for 40 minutes. My BIGGEST concern is that i did not add any citric acid. Should I plan to eat the tomato sauce this weekend b/c it will never last?! Also, I think i may not have left a half inch between the lid & the sauce. I guess I should have did my reading first! How safe is my process? Thanks for this informative site!
Gigi, the two biggest concerns with your tomatoes are the facts that you didn’t add any additional acid and that you added olive oil, which can can also harbor botulism growth.
Wow Marisa. Even though the garlic was slivered and roasted in the oven for about a half hour at 400 & then cooked on the stove top presents botulism as a possibility? Okay, now i am scared. I had heard about raw garlic sitting in olive oil being a problem – but never thought cooked was an issue.
Marisa, If I add a citric acid to the next batch & eliminate the olive oil (add it after I open my canned product while heating & immediately prior to eating) I will have resolved the two crucial issues, right?
Your tip / suggestion is appreciated: What kind of citric acid do you recommend that will not impact taste, and would you please provide the ratio of acid needed to ounces of cooked tomatoes? Thanks Much!
Okay – last question, for now ; ) Can i use red wine as my citric acid?
Gigi, red wine isn’t citric acid. And no matter how long you cook it, garlic is still a low acid ingredient. The rule of thumb with citric acid is that you add 1/4 teaspoon for pints of tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon for quarts. I think you need to read the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s page on canning tomatoes. http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can3_tomato.html
Canning tomatoes is new to me as well this year. I don’t have a good feeling about what I’ve canned so far. I don’t think that there isn’t enough space between the tomatoes and the lid and there are bubbles. I didn’t heat them for five minutes after I removed the skin but I process them in a waterbath for 45 mins. after I filled them and they did seal. I canned them on Thursday and Friday but now I’m afraid to eat them. Is it too late to re-can them tomorrow? The lack of space at the top under the lid and the tomato debris inside around the band are what concerns me. What should I do?
already posted, see above
[...] expert: Marisa McClellan who writes Food in Jars. She has great info on her blog and I found this post that explained that I probably did something wrong – like got it hot and cooled a bit -but [...]
Hi! I followed directions for your cold plum tomatoes packed in their own juices. I processed three jars – 1 sealed and 2 didnt. I also did 3 jars of Dilly beans – 2 sealed and 1 didnt. Any thoughts on why some sealed and some did not?? Thanks!
It could be that you didn’t simmer the lids long enough, or that your lids were old, or that there was crud on the rims of the jars, or that you didn’t sufficiently bubble the jars and some product escaped and impeded the seal. There are a number of reason why seals fail.
Marisa, Why would I want to do a hot pack with my tomatoes versus a cold pack? Both options are in my Ball book, and the cold pack just seems like one less step. Is there any difference in the finished product? Thank you!
Some people report that they get more tomatoes into the jar and have less tomato float after processing when they do the hot pack. However, I always do the cold pack, because I just want to get the tomatoes peeled and into the jars.
One of my jar of tomatoes has separated and there are tiny air bubbles in the jar. Should I be worried about the air bubbles? Someone else posted this question (number 83), but I didnt see an answer.
Also…I accidentally used iodized salt instead of pickling salt – what will happen?
Like I said in this post, the separation is normal and comes from when tomatoes are heated, cooled and heated again. The only time you should worry about air bubbles is if they are active and moving, as that can indicate that the product has begun to ferment. However, inactive trapped pockets of air are entirely benign. The iodized salt could cause some discoloration or fogginess, but it won’t cause any true harm.
Hi. Today, I water bathed whole tomatoes in tomato juice for 85 minutes. I left 1/2″ headspace while using new lids and jars. The jars didn’t seal and some of the tomato juice escaped from the jars and into the pot of boiling water. Can I reprocess these jars or are they contaminated? Should I add more citric acid to safeguard against any citric acid that might have been lost in leakage during the first process? Anything else I should be doing in regard to keeping this batch from going bad, or is it just as easy as wiping rims, heating new lids and reprocessing? Thanks in advance.
Stan, the jars aren’t contaminated, it sounds like either your lids were bad or there was some siphoning of the product that impeded the seal. You can rebubble the jars, apply fresh lids and reprocess.
Thanks, Marisa. Quick question. Today we sanitized new jars by boiling for 10 minutes; boiled and then simmered new lids for 10-plus minutes; packed warm jars with contents from the jars of yesterday’s batch; cleaned rims of jars thoroughly; and then put warm lids on and banded finger tight. We decided to pressure can the jars this time. All seven jars sealed and we heard each lid pop within 10 minutes of removing jars from canner. So all seems good. My only concern as a newbie canner is that the water in the canner has a bit of tomato floaties in it. Is this normal when canning? Does some of the product leak out, and if so do the lids still get a good seal when tomato juice has seaped over the rims of the jars during processing. Again, thanks in advance, Stan
Totally normal. There is always some liquid loss during tomato processing, particularly those done in a pressure canner. Often, little bits of tomato also sneak out during the siphoning. As long as the seals are good, it doesn’t matter.
Thank you, Marisa. I definitely feel better about this batch than I did the first batch. Hopefully, they’ll still taste good after twice having been cooked to death.
how long do you need to boil the tomatoes before canning? I have tried canning salsa many times and really didn’t know that you needed to “cook” the salsa before canning so I have not had luck with the salsa staying good. any “basic” canning information would really be helpful! I would love to start canning more! Thank you
Laura, all that information can be found in my cookbook.
Thanks so much for this post! I made my 1st batch of cold packed tomatoes last night and I had some bubbling out of the jars and now some liquid is below the level of the tomatoes… so I was worried. But not anymore! Ready to take on the rest of the box! Thanks!
Hello! I know this was an older post, but I need some canning advice. Help!
Yesterday I processed about 100 lbs. of tomatoes, some of which I turned into a seasoned paste using my oven to reduce the sauce down. (Thank God, ’cause it took like six hours!!) I followed directions I found on the internet for canning the paste. I used 1/2 pint jars and left a 1/4″ headspace as per the directions, added 1/2 tsp. lemon juice per jar, and processed them in a boiling water bath for 45 min.This morning I went to clean my jars and check the seals, and discovered that paste had leaked out of the better part of my jars-not a ton-the jars are properly full, but it left sticky paste under the rings on the outside. My seals are nice and tight-I triple checked-but now I’m freaking out. Obviously the recipe should have said 1/2″ (I think), but are they safe? And why aren’t there more recipes for canning paste out there?
[...] something has clearly gone wrong! Yikes. I’m not really sure what happened, but thanks to this blog post – conveniently by the author of the book whose recipe I just followed, it sounds like the [...]
[...] cooking them first and if it was safe that there is air in the jar after they cook down. Check here if you want to read about [...]
I was just wondering if you prefer wbc or pressure canning, for whole tomatoes? Why?