Air bubbles in canned tomatoes
I've always been told that if you see air bubbles in canned food, you should treat it like toxic waste. Today I opened a can of tomatoes and saw a few air bubbles form along the edges of the can. Is this what I was warned about? Or are they talking about food that looks like it's fizzing or oozing out of the can?
Here's a picture. There were ~2-3x that many bubbles when I first opened the can.
Notes:
- I didn't notice whether there was a sound of air escaping when I opened the can. It was noisy in the room.
- The can hadn't been extensively shaken or agitated before opening.
- If it's hard to tell from the picture, that's enough of an answer for me. I just want to know whether this even remotely resembles what the "air bubbles" warning is talking about, or if it's totally unrelated.
Best Answer
Octern,
It's a realative thing. What you're trying to determine is: where these gas bubbles generated out of something inside liquid portion of the can?
The reason that can be hard to determine is that many cans have a little air trapped in them. If the can has been agitated at all (doesn't need to be extensively), then you can get what look like bubbles coming from the tomatoes themselves, and it can be pretty hard to tell.
I generally look at it from a quantity/location standpoint: are the bubbles throughout the liquid, or are there only a few along one edge? In the end though, with tomatoes, I'd do what SAJ said. While they're probably OK, the penalty if they're not is pretty darned severe, and canned tomatoes are cheap.
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Quick Answer about "Air bubbles in canned tomatoes"
After processing, tiny air bubbles may be noticed in the product. If these bubbles are inactive, they are benign or harmless. If the bubbles are actively moving or fizzing up to the top of the jar when opened, the product may be fermenting or contaminated.Why are my canning jars bubbling?
If too little headspace is allowed the food may expand and bubble out when air is being forced out from under the lid during processing. The bubbling food may leave a deposit on the rim of the jar or the seal of the lid and prevent the jar from sealing properly.Are air bubbles OK when canning?
It is just fine. What is this? The only time you need to be concerned about the presence of tiny bubbles in your product is when they are active, start moving or fizzy up to the top of the jar when you open it. If that occurs, your product may be fermenting or contaminated.How do you tell if canned tomatoes are spoiled?
Look at the contents for rising air bubbles and unnatural color. While opening the jar, smell for unnatural odors and look for spurting liquid and cotton-like mold growth (white, blue, black, or green) on the top food surface and underside of lid.What happens if you forgot to remove air bubbles when canning?
"When air bubbles are not removed, the air trapped by the food will essentially add to the headspace. Too much headspace can lead to seal failures." Opt for wooden or plastic tools (like Ball's official "bubble freer," shown here) when shifting the contents to remove headspace.Easy Way to Remove Air Bubbles from Jars - Preserving Quick Tip
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Answer 2
I don't think many of us have actually seen bad canned tomatoes. It is exceedingly rare.
The risk versus reward ratio to save a bit of tomato which is not very expensive just isn't worth it.
Discard.
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