Properly prepared canned vegetables can be stored in a cool place for more than one year. If you allow violations in the technology of pickling and canning tomatoes, the product will be spoiled. As a rule, in this case, the vegetables lose their shape and the marinade becomes cloudy. The taste of such tomatoes is fermented and sour. 6 common mistakes can ruin a canned product.
Poorly washed vegetables and herbs
In addition to tomatoes, pieces of hot pepper, garlic, and herbs are usually placed in the jar. The ingredients must be thoroughly washed before cooking. The slightest particle of dirt on vegetables and herbs can cause canned food to spoil. It is better to wash tomatoes not in a colander, but in a large saucepan or basin, changing the water several times. At the final stage, the ingredients are washed under running water.
Poor quality sterilization
For the winter, tomatoes are rolled into glass jars, sealed with tin lids. The container must be sterilized. It doesn't matter how it's done. You can sterilize in a microwave, oven, or water bath.
The lids are boiled in a saucepan over low heat. The time to sterilize jars depends on their volume. It is enough to warm up half-liter jars for 10 minutes; for 3-liter bottles this time can be extended to half an hour.The containers for the workpieces are first washed with baking soda, laundry soap or mustard powder. Boiling time for lids is 8-10 minutes.
Not enough vinegar
Sometimes housewives neglect the recommendations given in the recipe regarding the amount of vinegar in the preparation, considering this product to be harmful. You can't do that. Vinegar is a preservative.
Thanks to acetic acid, pickled and canned tomatoes can be stored for a long time. The product is added at the very end directly to the jar, otherwise part of it will evaporate during boiling. Add 60 ml of 9% vinegar or 0.5 tsp to a 1 liter container. vinegar essence 70% strength.
Water is not brought to a boil
The preparation of tomatoes should be carried out according to the technology described in the recipe. It is usually suggested to pour boiling water over the tomatoes and heat for 8-10 minutes, then fill the jar with marinade and roll up the lid. The water does not need to be heated, but rather boiled so that the microbes in it die. The marinade needs to be simmered over low heat for 3-4 minutes.
After the fire is turned off, vinegar is poured into the marinade. If these rules are not followed, the fermentation process may begin later in the jar. By the way, it is advisable to use filtered or bottled water. The liquid from the tap is not pure and contains various impurities, which can also spoil canned food.
The greens were not scalded
Greens in jars with tomatoes are usually placed on top. Horseradish leaves, currants, cherries and herbs such as dill, parsley, tarragon are often used as additives.Despite the fact that the greens were pre-washed, they must be scalded with boiling water before placing them in a jar.
It is convenient to do this by placing the leaves and herbs in a colander to avoid getting burned. Scalding will serve as a kind of sterilization. Otherwise, bacteria may remain on the greens. Later, pathogenic microorganisms will begin to multiply in the jar, and such a product will be spoiled.
The marinade was not strained
Sometimes the brine in a jar of tomatoes becomes cloudy for no apparent reason. This can be affected by sediment present in the marinade. Every housewife knows that finely ground “Extra” salt and salt with additives, such as iodine, are not suitable for canned vegetables.
For winter preparations, ordinary rock salt is used. Due to the nature of processing, such a product contains a certain amount of foreign impurities in the form of small pebbles, sand and other inclusions. In order not to encounter trouble later in the form of spoilage of canned food, the marinade should be strained after cooking, and then brought to a boil again.
You should not immediately throw away tomatoes if the marinade becomes cloudy shortly after the product was put into storage. If you immediately remake canned food, its taste will not be affected. You need to drain the cloudy liquid, rinse the jar with soda, put the tomatoes back in it and fill it with freshly prepared marinade. It is advisable to store the workpieces in a cool room - cellar, basement.
