# If you do not add citric acid/lemon/vinegar to tomatoes ...



## FarmerKat (Jul 3, 2014)

... do you increase your canning time? If so, by how much?

It seems I am the only person around who has been adding lemon juice to tomatoes. Everyone I talk to who cans does not. I have read that heirloom tomatoes tend to be more acidic than modern varieties. My USDA canning guide says:


> Although tomatoes usually are considered an acid food, some are now known to have pH values sightly above 4.6.


 This seems to support the argument of modern tomatoes being less acidic. 

I pressure can my tomatoes using the pressure canner & processing times recommended by the USDA. So I am wondering if increasing the processing time should take care of the potential low acidity levels. FWIF, I have grown all heirloom tomatoes this year.


----------



## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

Ball recommends you add it regardless of method of canning. I know people who dont but I tend to lean towards the side of caution when I can especially when knowing I am feeding it to family members and friends. I use citric acid instead of lemon juice. It calls for either one.


----------



## NEfarmgirl (Jan 27, 2009)

I raise heirloom tomatoes and don't add anything extra for acid. If you pressure can your tomatoes you are treating them as a low acid food, so you don't need to worry about adding time. Adding acid to tomatos is for the boiling water bath method and increasing the processing time will not help. Bacteria survive up until a certain temperature and the boiling water bath will not reach it; a pressure canner used properly will reach temperatures greater than the boiling point and kill everything off. 

I did receive a bucket of tomatoes from a friend last week and since I did not know what variety they were added citric acid to them to be safe. I prefer using citric acid over lemon juice because it doesn't affect the flavor;that is our opinion though.


----------



## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

I have never added acid and have always pressure canned for no longer than stated in the instructions and never have had a problem.


----------



## pmondo (Oct 6, 2007)

BlackFeather said:


> I have never added acid and have always pressure canned for no longer than stated in the instructions and never have had a problem.


tomatoes do not need to be pressure canned just water bath them


----------



## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

pmondo said:


> tomatoes do not need to be pressure canned just water bath them


Don't have a pan deep enough for water bathing quarts and pressure canning works fine. I pressure can everything. Plus I only have the stove on for a short time rather than running boiling water for the longer time needed for water bath. I pressure can jams and jellies as well as pickles and kraut. I just use 5 pounds pressure for pickles and jams that normally needs water bath and about 1/2 the time of a water bath. Quicker (in the sense of less electricity), easier, better seal, and messing with less water, in my opinion.


----------



## pmondo (Oct 6, 2007)

BlackFeather said:


> I have never added acid and have always pressure canned for no longer than stated in the instructions and never have had a problem.


in over 40 years canning tomatoes never added acid never had a problem


----------



## Oontry4 (Feb 25, 2013)

I have canned for about 40 years..ALWAYS added lemon juice/always will.....just CANNOT imagine the staggering cost(about 1/377th of a PENNY, and the ardous labor and TIME,about 14 additional SECONDS per batch)......being prohibitive. BUT, each to their own.....REMEMBER, ALL rattlesnakes are not killers...but


----------



## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

you are adding acid because a lot of newer varieties of tomatoes are not high enough acid to Guarantee botulism toxins can not form.

And remember, you can't see, smell or taste them, so it's not like other spoiling methods. And - if you don't have the spores to begin with, toxins won't form no matter what. So it's all about deciding for yourself what risk YOU want to take, and because someone else says they've never had a problem - well, you aren't growing where they grow or processing with their equipment. 

Now, while you can pressure can to a higher temp to deal with this issue, unfortunately, I have yet to find a pressure cannner time that is for low acid tomatoes - so that means that they ARE NOT making sure to get the internal temp up to 242 deg, only up to 210 deg like BWB. 

My husband has a sulfite allergy, so I can not use most bottle Lemon juice as it has that as a preservative. I've gone to using citric acid powder.


----------



## FarmerKat (Jul 3, 2014)

Macybaby said:


> Now, while you can pressure can to a higher temp to deal with this issue, unfortunately, I have yet to find a pressure cannner time that is for low acid tomatoes - so that means that they ARE NOT making sure to get the internal temp up to 242 deg, only up to 210 deg like BWB.
> 
> My husband has a sulfite allergy, so I can not use most bottle Lemon juice as it has that as a preservative. I've gone to using citric acid powder.


My pressure canner gauge says that the temperature is 250 degrees F when canned at 15 PSI. Why would they put the temperature on the gauge? I realize it is only for information as it is a weighted gauge type canner, but when I set the weight at 15 PSI, the gauge shows 15 PSI consistently as well. Do you use another method to determine the actual temperature that led you to the conclusion that it will not reach more than 210 degrees F?

If you would prefer to use lemon juice, I have never had trouble finding Santa Cruz organic lemon juice in any grocery store - it has nothing but lemon juice (not from concentrate). I use it in my tomatoes.


----------



## arrocks (Oct 26, 2011)

Oontry4 said:


> I have canned for about 40 years..ALWAYS added lemon juice/always will.....just CANNOT imagine the staggering cost(about 1/377th of a PENNY, and the ardous labor and TIME,about 14 additional SECONDS per batch)......being prohibitive. BUT, each to their own.....REMEMBER, ALL rattlesnakes are not killers...but


Great points! Love it!! Acidification was first recommended in the 1940's and there is no valid excuse for not doing it.

Heirlooms vs. hybrids? Makes no difference.
BWB vs. pressure canning? Makes no difference


----------



## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

Our extension agent just addressed this. Adding an acid is a safety factor, necessary even with heritage/heirloom tomatoes; as one poster has said, they're just not as acid as they used to be. And it's not a big deal and doesn't alter the flavor of the product.

Adding salt however, is optional. It's just for taste, as there isn't enough added to act as a preservative.


----------

