Holy Crap - Explosion in the Kitchen

W

wordwiz

WTF? WTF? WTF?
WTH? WTH? WTH?

Riddle me this and win a Kupee Doll.

I preserve all my tomato juice in two-liter pop bottles. Been doing this for years without any incidents. I bring the juice to a full boil before pouring it in it and seal immediately. These containers do seal perfectly - I have some ketchup that I fixed eight years ago that is still perfectloy preserved.

A few days ago, I don't remember the exact day, I canned a couple of bottles of yellow tomato juice. I'm careful to fill the bottles completely. But today, when I was getting ready to move them, I noticed this one was only about half full and had a significant layer of what I can best describe as foam. I shook the bottle up and set it aside.

While I was typing the post about the different types of toms I grew, I heard what sounded like a 30.06 gun go off in the kitchen. That bottle of yellow tomato juice exploded, blowing out the side of the bottle and the lid. Juice all over the kitchen, including on the ceiling 8 feet away and six feet above the bottle.

I'm at a loss trying to figure out why. The juice and pulp was obviously devouring itself, no other explanation for a full bottle becoming half empty. The only thing added to the juice was four teaspoons of salt - no sugar or anything that would react with any acid in the juice.

Until someone gives me a better explanation, I'm blaming IGGY for this - he IS from Cleveland.

Mike
 
Jeebus..good thing ya weren't in there at the time!

And..that it wasn't some Naga sauce..talk about a crowd-control device...:shocked:

IMO, if anythign I preserve has a change like that, it gets tossed.
Can't belive ya shook it up though..yikes. Perhaps they are low-acid tomatoes and thus fermented?

GL with the clean-up mate.
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-QS
 
I had this happen to me as well....although, I was distilling Absenth at the time......

Your problem however, is due to a contaminated batch of salsa, the bacteria (or fungus....you might be able to blame that on me if you were using grain jars that I had in my posestion....). They created extra gasses that expand and cracked the jar. You shacking it furthur spread and agitated the bacteria and they produced more gas....boom....

Now where the hell is my Kupee Doll?
 
Sorry, Iggy. I wasn't making salsa. I canned salsa and it has turned out great. But explain this: what caused the juice to consume itself? Remember, a two liter bottle that was filled to the brim suddenly was half full.

Mike
 
That is pretty amazing....I'd be interested to know where it went as well. You didn't have David Blaine helping you bottle it did ya?:lol:
 
Same thing as IGGY said with your juice the one that was half full and enough air in the bottle to crate an enviroment that bacteria enjoyed -- good thing you didnt drink any first then you have heard that same noise but it would be in the back of your pants :lol:
 
wordwiz said:
Sorry, Iggy. I wasn't making salsa. I canned salsa and it has turned out great. But explain this: what caused the juice to consume itself? Remember, a two liter bottle that was filled to the brim suddenly was half full.

Mike
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That's the bacteria that was in the canned, uh, can. It broke down the food into gas (read: rot). Seen it happen before.
 
Did you check the Ph of your juice. I always add some lemon juice to my tomato juices/sauces that are being canned.
 
I didn't check the ph. Last year, I added vinegar to the juices (red and yellow) and everyone complained. Mom said she never added vinegar so I didn't this year. I'm wondering if I ought to re-can all the yellow juice? Some of it has been sealed for nearly two weeks and doesn't seem to be behaving the same.

IGG - there was nothing in the bottle - I had rinsed it several times, including twice just before adding the hot juice (boiling). The bottle was filled to the top so there was very, very little air left in it.

Someone in another forum suggested it could have been anaerobic decay but it had to have had some super catalyst to react that quickly. Plus, how it changed nearly a quart of juice and pulp into gas I still do not comprehend.

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
Mom said she never added vinegar so I didn't this year.
Mike
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Assuming you didn't use the pressure canning method and your mom did not make yellow tomato juice.

If you want to make sure...use quart mason jars and the pressure canning method...I am new to canning myself but watched my grandmother do it for years...

Matter of fact....I threw out 19 quarts of "pickled" peppers because they were not pressure canned and have been on the shelf for two or three years.

Unless I am going to eat it within a couple of weeks all will be pressure canned....I sure don't want food poisoning or to give any food poisoning...

I have been reading extensively on canning methods over the past 3 months and have decided that checking the pH and using the pressure canning method is the safest way to go...JMO....
 
wordwiz said:
IGG - there was nothing in the bottle - I had rinsed it several times, including twice just before adding the hot juice (boiling). The bottle was filled to the top so there was very, very little air left in it.
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Doesn't matter, if it's one thing that I learned from growing mushrooms it's that even the slightest breaze can carry some nasty stuff into your containers.
 
I have a couple of quarts of peppers I canned with the Hot water Bath method that have been sitting for almost 6wks so.... if I dont sign on next week after I try one you'll all know why ....
 
LD...doesn't it say that the hot water canning method is fine for high acid foods but not for low acid foods?....either way, it is a pain in the A** to pressure can but it is sooooo much safer....again JMO
 
I showed this thread to a friend of mine who has an advanced degree in Botany, among other things, and this is his response.

"Yellow tomatoes are much less acidic than red ones and would support decomposition far better.

Decomp would reduce the solids, and produce gas, and any gasses and liquids when shaken make more pressure, even water...

Give this a go, get a soda bottle and fill it up with warm water, put in a little soap and put your thumb over the hole, and shake it. When you let your thumb off, soap will shoot out. Small bubbles create pressure, more than big bubbles.

Anyway, the dissolved gasses and big bubbles were disturbed, and more pressure was produced."
 
One problem with all the theories - they don't apply to most of the juice and that is what I am trying to discern. I have probably 20-22 quarts of yellow tomato juice. All treated the same way: squeeze the juice out of the toms, boil it in a huge pot, pour it into cleaned bottles, put a cap on and seal them. I have to suspect that it is specific type of tom that is involved, as I have another bottle that has foam at the top, a layer of water, then pulp. I have not shook it up - I'm waiting to find someone I don't like so I can give them a present!

J/K! But hey Iggy, you wanna bet on the Bengals/Browns game? If the Bengals lose, I'll send you 2 liters of yellow tomato juice!

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
J/K! But hey Iggy, you wanna bet on the Bengals/Browns game? If the Bengals lose, I'll send you 2 liters of yellow tomato juice!

Mike
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No way, you would totally win that bet. Rule #1, never bet Brown ;)
 
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