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I'd like to pressure can tomatoes without adding acid as recommended by the USDA (and outlined here). The reason being is, imo, the additional acid ruins the flavor.

My understanding of the official recommendation is that it specifically relates to food safety for water bath canning. This is further supported by statements like this:

High acid foods can be safely canned in a water bath canner. Low acid foods may need the addition of acids like lemon juice or vinegar to acidify them enough to be canned in a water bath canner. Non acidic foods require the pressure canner.

There are many recipes for safely canning low acid foods using a pressure canner but despite the above statement and a large volume of research to support it, I've been unable to find a single authoritative recipe outlining a safe procedure for pressure canning tomatoes without acid. I did however find a plethora of other threads about this very topic with nothing conclusive and no strong consensus, e.g.:

How can I safely can tomatoes using a pressure cooker without adding any acid? Can I simply follow the procedure for canning another low acid vegetable like carrots or green beans? Like 10 lbs pressure / 25 minutes? Or maybe err on the side of safety and increase time and/or pressure?

You Old Fool
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According to Putting Foods By, 25th ed. (1982), you can fill tomato jars with just hot boiled tomato juice rather than requiring additional acid, and then pressure-can them:

  • 10lbs pressure / 40 minutes for skinned whole tomatoes
  • 10lbs pressure / 15 minutes for sliced or diced tomatoes

... with some adjustments depending on jar size.

However, their extensive (11 large pages) section on tomatoes notes that whether or not acid should be added when pressure canning is controversial.

FuzzyChef
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I have been canning tomatoes for 30 years with no acid of any kind. I have never had a problem with any jar. I do not use anything in the tomatoes as a preservative. I pressure can my sauce as in the book Putting Foods By.

Sherry Ruggiero
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There is a recipe from the USDA for canning zucchini with tomatoes that is not acidified. It is 11lbs pressure for 35 minutes. If that is sufficient for tomatoes with zucchini, I cannot imagine why it wouldn’t be for tomatoes alone.

Angie
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Y'all are speaking my language. I've called my extension office with this same question and basically was told we add acid because that is the tested approved way. Sigh. When I hit them with the logic that we don't add acid to low acid foods when pressure canning or to the approved spaghetti sauce why do we need to add plain tomatoes...it literally makes no sense. They told me it's because tomatoes can lose acidity over time when canned...which I asked again...then why don't we add acid to other low acid foods. They didn't have an answer beyond that is what is approved. I'm convinced it's overkill.

Mutteringmom
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