Ok, heres the deal. Canned a boatload of maters last year. Some were stewed maters. On a few of the jars, during the processing stage, some of the liquid boiled out leaving the product about 2 inches from the top. There is also a glob of stewed maters that are sitting above the liquid line, BUT still moist. My question is, is it still safe to use even though the headspace is below what is recommended in the canning directions. This only happened of a few jars, the ones that are tapered which created a "bottleneck" when the stuff was processing.
http://i634.photobucket.com/albums/uu65/montec125/DSC04670.jpg

if they are sealed I dont think theres a problem, unless the product contaminated the seal...I guess I'm not the guy to answer. I do think the head space is recomended just for that reason so they don't boil over.:noidea:

My Book; "So Easy To Preserve" says that loss of liquid from the glasss garsd during processing is not a sign of spoilage.
It says sediment in jars is not necessarily a sign of spoilage.
It goes on to say what cause may be and if there is a prevention. But in a nutshell I think you are ok.

My Book; "So Easy To Preserve" says that loss of liquid from the glasss garsd during processing is not a sign of spoilage.
It says sediment in jars is not necessarily a sign of spoilage.
It goes on to say what cause may be and if there is a prevention. But in a nutshell I think you are ok.

I think his 'maters is okay, butt MH? I'm not so sure... :whistle: :bounce:

butt MH? I'm not so sure... :whistle: :bounce:

Now you sound like my wife LOL.


Thanks for the input guys and gals. Between me and my brother, there is nothing on this planet we don't know. Unfortunately, this was a question he knows but is not here right now so I had to ask you all :lol:Makin some Chili. Northern white boy chili, not the real Texas red:whistle:

Now you sound like my wife LOL.


Thanks for the input guys and gals. Between me and my brother, there is nothing on this planet we don't know. Unfortunately, this was a question he knows but is not here right now so I had to ask you all :lol:Makin some Chili. Northern white boy chili, not the real Texas red:whistle:

What time should I be there, and can I bring a date?

Makin some Chili. Northern white boy chili, not the real Texas red:whistle:

Make sure you put in plenty of them cotton-pickin beans now.:whistle:

What time should I be there, and can I bring a date?Come on over. But be warned, my chili burns at both ends :whistle::lol:

Make sure you put in plenty of them cotton-pickin beans now.:whistle:
Yeah yeah yeah, I know. Damm Yankees. :lol:
I do make a tried and true Texas red though, but this is a "warm your bones cuz it's -6 outside chili" :bounce:

General rule, leave 1/2in. headspace for high-acid foods such tomatoes, fruits.

I just checked are stewed tomatoes and there's tomatoes poking above the juice in some, even the salsa, And the headspace on some sure aint even close to a 1/2in.

You should be alright, as long as the jars maintained a seal.

Come on over. But be warned, my chili burns at both ends :whistle::lol:

Sounds like a challenge to me...a very small challenge .........:lol:

Yall should be fine long as they sealed, whey ya open em, give em a sniff, look on top, if it smells like maters, looks like maters an taste like maters, ya got spaghetti sauce!:lol:

That'll happen from time ta time, so what I do is use them up first.