What to do with swollen cans of tomatoes and how to save the leaves

Many inexperienced housewives often have the question of what to do if jars of tomatoes are swollen. In this case, you should not make hasty decisions and immediately throw away the exploding jar - with the right approach, conservation can be saved. In order to avoid such a situation, it is necessary to follow the technology for preparing canned food, sealing it and storing it.

Causes of bloating cans

The main reasons why canned tomatoes swell are the following violations in the process of preparing this seal:

1. Ingress of spoiled fruits damaged by late blight into canning.
2. Use for preservation of poorly washed and sterilized containers.
3. The presence of small chips and cracks on the necks of the cans, due to which air enters the canned food, leading to its deterioration.
4. The presence of dirt particles on the surface of insufficiently thoroughly washed preservation components - tomatoes, spices (dill, horseradish leaves, bay leaves, allspice).
5. Failure to comply with the proportions of sugar, salt, vinegar (citric acid) used when preparing the marinade for pouring tomatoes.
6. Insufficient temperature and duration of sterilization of filled jars.
7. Poor sterilization of rolling (screw) caps.
8. Insufficient sealing of cans after sealing.

How to save cans from exploding when they swell?

To protect a bulging container of tomatoes from exploding, you should know the following:

1. The sooner such a jar is discovered, the easier it is to save it. The storage area for canned goods is usually equipped with racks and shelves. In such rooms, each can is clearly visible. Their condition should be periodically examined, especially in the first weeks.
2. As soon as a slight cloudiness of the brine and swelling of the lid appears in one of them, it is immediately placed in a cooler place, for example, in a refrigerator for several days.

On a note. A sign of an exploded canned food is a characteristic loud bang made by the lid losing its seal.

What to do if a can of tomatoes exploded?

If the fermentation process in a jar of tomatoes could not be stopped and it exploded, then the product will have to be re-preserved again as follows:

1. The brine is drained from the jar.
2. Fruits removed from the container are inspected for the presence of rot and mold. If signs of spoilage are detected, the jar is not re-preserved, but its contents are thrown away.
3. If the fruits do not show signs of spoilage, they are washed with a 5% solution of ordinary table salt.
4. The brine drained from the jar is filtered through dry and clean medical gauze, poured into a container of suitable volume and brought to a boil.
5. The container, freed from preservation, is thoroughly washed with a warm aqueous solution of baking soda, and rinsed under cold running water.
6. The jar is sterilized in an oven of suitable size and volume at a temperature of 120 ⁰ From or above the neck of a boiling kettle.
7. Sterilize a new rolling or screw cap in boiling water for 3 minutes.
8. The prepared fruits are placed in a sterilized container and filled with hot brine.
9. Roll up the jar, turn it upside down and allow it to cool to room temperature.

After cooling, the container with preservation is placed for long-term storage on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. During the cold season, it is stored in cellars or undergrounds. Cans re-rolled using this technology, subject to storage conditions, no longer explode, and their contents can be safely consumed.

How to avoid the problem?

In order to avoid swelling of cans of preserved food, you must adhere to such simple rules as:

1. For preservation, fruits and spices that are not damaged by diseases and pests are harvested.
2. Sealing containers are preliminarily inspected for cracks and chips.
3. Preservation jars are thoroughly washed - first with a warm soda solution, and then rinsed under cold running water.
4. The collected fruits and spices are thoroughly washed under running cold water.
5. Sealing containers are thoroughly sterilized over the steam of a boiling kettle or in a spacious hot oven.
6. Roll-in lids, like jars, are sterilized in boiling water for 3 minutes.
7. The brine (marinade) for pouring tomatoes is prepared in accordance with the chosen recipe, strictly observing the proportions of water, sugar, salt, vinegar (citric acid).
8. Cans are seamed only with a working seaming wrench (machine).
9. To check that there are no brine leaks from under the lid, each of the rolled up containers is slightly tilted for a while - if the lid is not tightly rolled up, brine will begin to ooze out from under it.
10. The rolled up jars are turned upside down, placed on a horizontal surface and covered with a warm blanket or blanket. This is necessary so that the process of sterilization of its contents is completed inside the preservation.
11. Sealings are stored in a cool and dark place - cellar, pantry, underground.

The condition of preserved food placed in storage is periodically checked - in the warm season, jars are inspected once a week, from late autumn to early spring - once a month.