Does this look ok to use for spaghetti? My SIL canned it. I trust her, but im always nervous about canned food. Should I boil it first before adding to spaghetti?

by TitleDisastrous4709

5 Comments

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  2. Mimi_Gardens

    It looks ok to me. Do you know if she adds an acidifier? Lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid? If yes, then you should be okay.

    She added basil leaves that I can see. I know my old Ball Blue Book said it was okay to add one to a jar of tomatoes. I don’t do that so I haven’t looked to see whether that’s still an accepted practice.

    However, if she added anything else (onions, peppers, celery, etc) that would be a no-no if it was water bathed. Those non-acidic additions need to be pressure canned.

  3. Chance-Work4911

    Ask her what recipe she used. Until you know that (or if she says she altered/veered) you won’t know for sure. Boiling after opening an improperly canned product does not eliminate all risks.

    Edit: that also doesn’t look like sauce to me. Every safe recipe for sauce runs it through a mill or sieve but that looks like whole or halved tomatoes that haven’t been mashed or strained. It could just be the pics, but that’s also why you need to ask her.

  4. TitleDisastrous4709

    Ok, I’m throwing it out i think. I never trust home canning. You just never know. I’ll eat my spaghetti dry

  5. Looks fine to me, if the seal is fine it’s probably good to go. A little age may just have some deterioration in color, taste, and texture while still being edible. I don’t think you see serious time related issues until you’re into the 5+ year range.