On Thu, 12 May 2011 08:49:31 -0500, Derald wrote:


Sue wrote:


I was pretty sure I'd get some objections when I posted about Lowe's
or Home Depot. At least I didn't say Wal*Mart. We have no local
nursery.
Well, take those objections with a grain of salt. All of that rhapsodic
prose about local nurseries simply "ain't necessarily so". Many of them sell
plants that come in on the back of a truck just like the "big box" boys; they
just don't tell you. There is nothing magical about unusual, oddball varieties
or heirlooms. I say experiment until you find a variety that suits your palate
and your garden and stick with it. You might try to find out what other folks in
your area grow and use that as a starting point. Grow what you eat the most of
(because, at the end of the year, that's what you will have spent the most money
on) and save the cash for the relatively expensive treats, says I; anything else
is false economy.
You must really have specific tastes, if you're willing to can your own
stewed tomatoes. Or, maybe, you're having a domesticity attack ;-)! It happens,
sometimes, LOL. I can offer no specific suggestions because, to my taste, there
isn't a dime's worth of difference among them, although, I'm certain some tomato
varieties are better suited to specific uses than are others. My garden grows
determinate (Celebrity) because they're reliable and early AWA indeterminate
(Big Boy) because they're reliable and everbearing (at least until Jul-Aug) and
easily rejuvenate for a second crop in the fall. This morning, they all (four of
each) are loaded with fruit, much of it frying sized. I only grow a few tomatoes
and most of those don't make it to ripeness because we eat more of them green.
I'm not much of a fruit eater and ripe tomatoes are "okay" as long as they're
not sweet. Ripe tomatoes are "for" hamburgers; end of story. LOL We always let a
few ripen, though, because DW likes the occasional fresh tomato with meals and I
eat them, if they're there.
As you know from your own experiece, BWB is perfectly fine for acidic foods
like (most) tomatoes and the percentage of peppers present is not likely to be a
problem. If you're unsure, add a bit of ascorbic and/or citric acid to the
finished product; that's what commercial canners do and it is undetectable.
Citric acid also helps retain color. See the "****" footnote on the citation
further down. USDA used to have a web site that addressed food safety at home,
including home canning. Probably still does; I didn't look. The Ball "blue book"
remains the standard reference. Warning: Many of the suzy home-maker variety
private web sites are dessiminating inaccurate or misleading information that
may prove hazardous to your health or, at the very least, will produce an
unsatisfactory product!
Some years back, unbeknownst to me, my wife ordered the blue book directly
from Ball. Within a couple of days, I bought a copy at a discount chain
bookstore, Booksamillion or some such. When the book arrived from Ball, we
discovered the off-the-rack copy was a later edition. Life is funny that way
sometimes....
You may find the information here to be redundant but I hope some of it is
helpful:
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/348/348-594/348-594_pdf.pdf

Thanks so much! Yes, it's excessive domesticity. As I said in
another post to someone else, I really don't see that my canned
tomatoes are any better. It's just the challenge and satisfaction of
doing it. I was not raised by a stay-at-home-mom (rare for the 50's)
so this canning business is new to me.
I grow green beans, too, but I freeze those. Except for last year
when I went on vacation leaving instructions to my adult daughter to
water the garden. She managed to water the tomatoes and bell peppers
(I had excellent ones last year) but completely ignored the bean which
were in an adjacent plot. Hmph.
I tried corn one year but it was completely overwhelmed by ants. yuck.
Also, it fell over and I had to stake it up. All I can think is that
I over watered it. I never tried again.
I appreciate your dash of humor.
Sue