Can ascorbic acid powder be substituted for citric acid in canning tomatoes? The Ball canning book mentions that bottled lemon juice is to be used and not fresh lemon juice. Would the lemon juice packed in those little plastic lemons be considered "bottled lemon juice" too?

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), October 31, 2001

Answers

I don't know about the abscorpic acid, but he lemon juice in the little containers should be the same. You can also use vinegar, that is what I use, about 2 tsp per quart. It is a lot cheaper, as I can buy a gallon of white vinegar for 99 cents, or cider vinegar for about$2.49.

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), October 31, 2001.

Ascorbic acid should be alright. Lemon juice, fresh or squeezed, and vinegar all do the same thing. I'd like to know why they recommended against the fresh juice.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 31, 2001.

Maybe fresh lemons vary in their ph or acidity, depending on their ripeness or something, whereas the processed juice is consistent .

Possibly, I don't know this for sure, processed lemon juice is heated during the processing thereby making it safer to use than fresh in canning. Lemon juice may have a longer processing time than tomatoes if it is fresh. Just a thought.

Ascorbic acid is vitamin C and maybe it isn't acidic enough for your uses.

Talk to you later.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), November 01, 2001.