On 8/22/2012 2:06 PM, Bunny McElwee wrote:
> I just recently canned my first batch of homemade Salsa and Spaghetti
> Sauce. I was wondering, how long can i keep these items and should they be
> kept on the shelf or would I prolong the life of them if I keep them
> refrigerated? The recipe I used for the salsa was from Taste of Home
> http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Spicy-Chunky-Salsa and I BWB canned it as
> stated in the recipe.
>
> The Spaghetti Sauce was kind of a combination of many recipes cooked for
> 3 hours, canned and then BWB canned for 40 minutes. Ingredients in the sauce
> are as follows: 8 lbs. on the vine Tomatoes, 1 each gr. & red pepper, 2
> Jalapeno pepper, onion, garlic, can tomato sauce, 2 can tomato paste, 2 bay
> leaf, black pepper, oregano, Italian seasoning (all dried) celery salt, a
> few splashes of red wine vinegar (maybe a tbsp or two), garlic powder, sugar
> (about 2/3-3/4 cup for what ended up being 5 pints of sauce) salt, and I did
> cook the veggies sans tomatoes in about 1/4 c olive oil and added it in when
> I added the veggies in. Oh, and the veggies and tomatoes were pureed, if it
> makes a difference. I cooked it all down, simmered for 3 hours then BWB for
> 40 and let sit on the counter overnight.
>
> All jars from both items are sealed. This is my first time canning
> something not veggie or jelly related so I am just wondering what to expect
> from these jars and how much I can make to keep until the next time I can
> make some. Thanks in advance to all of you!
>
>
I think you will be safe with your salsa, the recipe seems to contain
enough 5% vinegar for true acidity and your processing time is what the
U of GA recommends at their food safety site. Go here for further info:
http://nchfp.uga.edu/

I'm not sure about your spaghetti sauce though, modern tomatoes are not
as acidic as the old time ones and I don't see any lemon juice, citric
acid nor vinegar added to the recipe. Not sure I would trust a boiling
water bath for that. I've never seen a BWB recipe that called for 40
minutes time. If you brought your sauce to a rollin boil for at least
ten minutes that should kill any botulism spores that might be on the
vegetables but will not ensure your sauce is truly safe. I do recommend
you go to the U of GA site and read up on the safety rules for BWB and
pressure canning.

Every time I have made spaghetti sauce I pressure canned it, and it
lasted a good while and was safe. I will repeat that modern tomatoes are
generally not considered acidic enough to boiling water can in any form
without added acid of some kind. Primarily 5% vinegar, lemon juice, or
citric acid. Hope this helps.

George