Tomato canning question

[PotterWatch]

I canned a couple quarts of tomatoes today for the first time. I followed the directions from a preserving book on raw packing them. Everything went fine and I liked how quick and easy it was. My concern now is that while they were in the water bath, they cooked down quite a bit and there is a lot of air at the top of the jar. Is this ok or should I plan on putting these jars in the fridge and using them soon?

 

[Kim_NC]

As long as they sealed, they'll be fine. Foods that stand above the liquid line in jars like that will often oxidize and darken - that's only unattractive, you can remove the dark pieces and it's still safe to eat.

The most common causes of 'air space' at the top of jars are:
- too much/too little headspace when filing jars
- not releasing all air bubbles before applying lids
- varying heat in canner (up/down, up/down, minor adjustments are not a problem)

 

[ducks4you]

I agree--too much headspace. EAT those, and measure from the lip down, 1/2 inch, ALMOST full to the brim.
I agree with previous posts about being careful with using spoons in your jars that could scatch the glass.
I just LLOOOVVEE canning from my garden!!!

 

[PotterWatch]

I did measure the headspace before I put the lids on. I think I just didn't squish them down enough so it left too much air in between. I think I'll use these soon and try again with some more maters.

 

[hoodat]

I see your problem. When water bathing tomatos they have to be hot packed, otherwise they will often absob liquid. It is also not safe to raw pack and then water bath. If you raw pack you should use a pressure canner or the tomatos will not reach the proper temperature.

 

[PotterWatch]

Wow, I'm surprised to hear that since I was following directions from a book called Preserving the Fruits of the Earth and it gave directions on how to process tomatoes using raw pack and hot pack methods. I didn't add any extra liquid as it specifically said not to in the directions so it wasn't that they absorbed liquid, they released it as they cooked down during the water bath.