Help, please, canning tomato question....

[plummygirl]

Hi, I am wondering if anyone can help me with an answer to this. Just found that my husband while attempting to can tomato salsa last night got tired and left the salsa sitting in the pot. He woke up wanting to pour that salsa that sat all night into jars to seal it? Is that safe or can that salsa even be used now?
Thanks for the help
Shawna

[cynthia_h]

First, I hope you weren't making salsa in an aluminum pot. Tomatoes are acidic and can react and give a nasty taste with aluminum pots.

Second, the official and safest practice is to throw it out.

However, I personally have health problems and often cannot do my canning in one straight shot. This means I leave a pot full of X on my kitchen counter overnight and pick up where I left off the night before.

I BRING THE FOOD BACK TO A BOIL ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS. Bring the water in the canner to a boil, too, re-sterilize the jars, re-sterilize the lids, the screw-on bands, I do all of this so that everything is just as it would have been without the interruption caused by my leg/knee pain the night before.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[plummygirl]

Hi, just wanted to thank you for that information! My husband told me that he had put some in jars with lids but had not put them in the water bath yet so they sat a few hours on the counter that way and I was not sure if they are safe now. Plus he left some salsa in the pot as I mentioned, he wants to reheat it and use it still.....and no it was a cast iron pot.
Thanks again for your help!!