Question
We canned some tomato product (pizza sauce) using a combination of roma tomatoes and regular tomatoes. Some of the tomatoes had blossom rot, which I cut off. We did not do anything to increase acidity and canned them in a steam canner. Now, I'm reading things online about botulism and canning and low acidity and I'm freaked out. Should I discard my sause? If any botulism toxin exists, will boiling the sause for 10 minutes before use be sufficient to salvage it?
Answer(s)
The good news is all Roma tomato varieties I am aware of are high acid. The bad news is that some regular tomato varieties may be low acid and you should have added some lemon juice to be safe. Secondly, we do not recommend steam canning. There is no science-based times for processing.
The most important issue is whether your tomatoes were acidic to prevent botulism. We would be happy to measure them if you can get a sample to Logan. The other alternative is to discard them. In the future, add lemon juice and use a boiling water canner following research-based, safe processing times. These can be found at http://www.homefoodpreservatio
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