When preserving tomatoes, a nuisance arises - during sterilization, they become covered with cracks. The reason why this happens is unknown. They can be of the same variety, picked at the same time, and approximately the same size. Therefore, it is not surprising that many housewives ask: how to salt tomatoes so that they don’t burst afterwards? Let's look at some basic tips.
Why do tomatoes burst when canned?
There are several reasons for this:
- Non-salting varieties are used. Vegetables intended for twisting have thick skin.It does not crack when salted.
- Overripe fruits were taken. You need to choose solid ones with a smooth surface. It is advisable to take Cream. They are more meaty. Practically do not crack.
- Sudden temperature change. Therefore, hot brine must be poured slowly.
Tomatoes crack if they are kept under a warm blanket after preservation.
Do I need to pierce tomatoes when canning?
This is not necessary, but if you want to protect yourself, you should pierce the base, where the stalk is. Use a fork, needle or toothpick. This reduces the film tension.
Pierce should be done until the middle of the vegetable. Then they practically do not crack. In the jar you can only find a couple of pieces with cracks. When the puncture depth is small, 70% of the tomatoes burst.
If you don’t want to pierce it, you should roll up the vegetables in a 75°C marinade. So the temperature difference will not be large, they will remain intact.
How to properly salt and marinate tomatoes so that they don’t burst?
When pickling tomatoes in a jar, pour a little hot marinade into the bottom of the jar. After it fogs up, pour in the rest of the liquid. This will protect the vegetables and the jar from cracking.
When marinating, cover the fruits with horseradish leaves. This way, hot liquid will fall onto the sheets. If tomatoes are canned in half with cucumbers, then the latter are laid on top. They will not crack if they come into contact with boiling water. You need to fill it at intervals of a few seconds. This way the jar and vegetables will warm up gradually.
There are two ways to salt tomatoes: cold, hot. If the skin is thin, you need to make punctures in it. With the cold method, it is better to take elastic fruits. During salting, they are poured with brine and pressure is placed on top. The soft ones will be completely crushed.
