The Ball Complete recipe calls for starting with two cups peeled and quartered in the pot, bring to a boil, then add the rest in small batches as you get them peeled. No it says you add them as you quarter them. All the tomatoes are already peeled and cored before you start heating any. In fact you can have them all already quartered too and sitting in a bowl by the stove. It's all just a matter of experience. But in some ways crushed tomatoes and stewed tomatoes are pretty much the same thing although normally "stewed" tomatoes also include peppers, onions, and celery and they are pressure canned. Again just a matter of experience and semantics. Your tomatoes are fine and are safe assuming you added the required acid. The bit of separation is normal and would have been even more if they hadn't been cooked so long. But it resolves itself with time and they settle. You can even gently shake the jars to hurry it along if you wish once they are 24 hours old. Dave

Hilde was a busy bee with my canner... Sunday she brought it back with V8 juice, ketchup, chili con carne, pizza sauce, etc! It even came back cleaner than when she took it! I still have a gallon of puree frozen at a friend's house, plus everything in the basement freezer still. Plus plants are still producing. Maybe next up will be the tomato garlic soup. I asked the puree volume question (also see this thread: Is this pizza sauce recipe for canning safe? to 2 different places, one was that edu canning site (Elizabeth Andress/National Center for HFP) and the other was Ball/Jarden. Since the one has a Confidentially Disclaimer, I'll post Ball's reply below; basically, I asked this: > question -> I processed in an electric tomato strainer (Spremy) an unknown amount of homegrown heirloom tomatoes. The Spremy removes the skin & seeds and delivers a puree-like juice.... I have 8 gallons of this, fresh and uncooked in any way, some refrigerated and some frozen. How would I adapt volume (gallons, quarts, etc) to your recipes which are often based on pounds or cups of tomatoes? I would like to make pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, V8 type juice, etc, but don't know how much of this puree/juice to use when your recipes call for pounds or bushels or cups of tomatoes. Ball's reply, to me, sounds like you prep/measure the puree based on the final yield. Here's their reply: Thank you for your message. For pizza and spaghetti sauce: puree tomatoes, cook pulp (puree) until it is reduced by one-half. Measure 7 quarts (or volume equal to recipe yield) and add other ingredients as instructed in recipe, process according to recipe. For juice: puree tomatoes, measure 7 quarts (or volume equal to recipe yield) and add other ingredients as instructed in recipe, process according to recipe. We hope this is helpful and appreciate you contacting us. Sincerely, Consumer Affairs Jarden Home Brands

Make scones-- use Ann T's recipe-- just sub the cranberries for the raspberries-- be sure to add the white choc if you want a tasty, tasty treat. Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: Biscuits & Scones Raspberry Scones ================ 2-1/4 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons cold butter 1 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup fresh raspberries extra cream and sugar . Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into mixture with pastry blender until it resembles a course meal. Add cream and raspberries to dry ingredients. Mix lightly with fork until mixture forms a stiff dough. Knead on floured board just to incorporate all flour; try not to damage berries. Roll into 7-inch round and cut into 6 or 8 wedges. Place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet; brush tops with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Note: When adding fruit to the scone mixture, make sure the raspberries or blueberries are frozen. Otherwise you end up with crushed fruit. Still tastes as good, but not as pretty. I usually add the cream and when the dough has almost come together I add the frozen fruit. If you are adding white Chocolate chunks or chips you can add them along with the cream Posted by Ann T. Exported from Home Cookin 5.5 (www.mountain-software.com)

The most probable cause of the discolored tomatoes was due to too much headspace in the jar since you didn't have this problem with other jars from the same batch. Discolored food doesn't always mean it's spoiled or unsafe to eat, but unfortunately it CAN indicate bacteria growth just as well. Sometimes there are chemical reactions with the minerals in hard water that can cause discoloration. I've seen the seeds in tomatoes turn dark because of the enzymes in the seeds reacting with high iron content in the tap water. So if you decide to use it, be sure to inspect it carefully as you open the jar. Unfortunately, the food can look, smell, and taste normal and STILL be contaminated with bacteria. Here are some things to look for. (Source: http://canninginfowarehouse.com/Canner-Problems.html) How Do I Recognize if My Food Has Spoiled? You will want to examine each jar very carefully prior to using it. First check to see that the vacuum seal is present. Do not use any food product that shows signs of having spoiled or if the lid is unsealed. Spoilage produces gasses that cause the lids to swell and/or break the seal. Canned food that is sealed with a lid that does not require a can opener to pry it off must not be used. Also, visually examine your jars for other signs of spoilage which could be present. Signs of possible Spoiled Food: *Broken Seals *Seepage *Mold *Yeast Growth *Gassiness *Fermentation *Cloudiness *Slime *Spurting Liquid *Disagreeable Odors Your home canned foods that are showing signs of being spoiled need to be disposed of in a way that no person or animal will come into contact with the food. Canning jars that are suspected of containing spoiled low-acid or tomato products have to be handled very carefully. Spoiled vegetables, meats, poultry, seafoods, and tomato products must be detoxified to prevent any possible contamination from botulism that could be present. To detoxify the food, jar, lid, and band, place all of the items into a deep pot. It is not necessary to remove the food from the jar. Carefully cover all items with 1 to 2 inches of water. Cover the pot. Bring the water to a boil and boil for 30 minutes. Be careful not to splash water or food outside of the pot. Allow the contents of the pot to cool. Discard all of the contents of the pot. To clean the surfaces that came into contact with the suspect food you will need to use a solution of chlorine bleach and water (1 part chlorine bleach to 5 parts water). Allow the cleaning solution to stand for 5 minutes before rinsing. Dispose of sponges, hand towels, and dishcloths that were used in the detoxifying process.