A Canning Question

nothing, you end up with a watery mess.

I've only used the Kerr Ball Jars...

It was a kind of long process but...

the premise is (well, it's been a few years since I've had time or place to do this) that you sterilize the jars and lids, drain, (the residual steam from the hot water drys them pretty quickly, while still hot fill to about a half inch from the top, place lid back on loose finger "tight" but loose enough so that heat can get out, (this is important) placed back in bath with the water line at the top of the filling, process in the hot water with a lid on the pot TIGHT (making certain that you have a rack keeping the bottom of the jars off of the bottom of the canning pot) for however long the recipe states, remove the jars, tighten the lids securely and the seals that come with the lids will automatically tighten as the jar cools (slowly please!). I would not recommend doing this in the middle of winter when the ambient temperature in the room is 150 degrees less than your canning pot.

If you're doing wax seals as in certain preserves, it's a little different.

You have to have a serious lack of nerve endings, be totally masochistic or have a great set of tongs and those wonderful kevlar heat resistant mits for this.

Years ago I dropped a whole pot of apricot preserves on my legs once. Yeah...it was special...

I've never heard of completely submerging a jar of anything unless it's canning, as in real cans. (which I don't know anything about)

April

I love canning - I can everything from pickled asparagus to my own BBQ sauce.

When you're canning with the product fully submerged, it's called the boiling water bath method. Not tightening the bands all the way allows the air to escape the jars so when they cool, the vacuum pulls the lid in causing the little button to invert.

When you can properly and the jars are all sitting fresh from the water bath on a clean dish towel, you should hear a series of "pops." This is the vacuum being completed. To "test" whether or not your canning was successful, run your finger over the top of the lid and if the button is NOT pointed down, you need to re-process.

Several great resources: The Joy Of Cooking before the newest revision; an out of print book I highly recommend you seek out, Putting Food By is like an encyclopaedia of canning (try www.half.com or other used book website); and anything published by the Ball Jar people - the manufacturer is called Jarden. Here's their website.

For T-Giving - try canning a jam of Cranberry and Orange Relish. It's a no-brainer because no pectin is used - a good novice canning product.

Hi Jock,
yesterday morning at the ferry plaza farmer's market the folks from Happy Girl Kitchen (http://happygirlkitchen.com/Home.html) did a hands on demo. they are a really nice couple (Todd and Jordan) running a small family owned business in the santa cruz mountians. i was surprised at how simple it was. we each canned one pint tomatoes and one pint of sweet peppers. just finger-tighten the bands on the jars before you place them in the water bath. that's all it takes to keep the water out but still allow air out as the contents heat up and expand.

if you have any questions, they are at the market every saturday on the sidewalk side of the building. i'm sure they would be more than happy to provide you all the info you need.

Actually, the theories work!
When canning the first time I was afraid of ending with a watery mess, too. When i tried I could watch the airbubbles coming from the jars when boiling.When i took the jars out after cooling them a bit they were safely closed, with no additional water in. this works even when the jar is totally submerged.
Wish you fun and a good recipe.

We've been canning for over 35 years. We started with the water bath process, but quickly opted for the much safer pressure canner.

I've never heard of tightening the lids "after" taking them out of the pressure cooker. You hand tighten the rings on the lids after boiling them for 10 minutes and placing them on very clean dry jars that have about 1/2 - 3/4" air space. Make sure the jar lid surface is smooth (rub your finger over it before cleaning it with a nice dry dishcloth).

Then apply your hot lids. Screw on finger tight the rings. Place in the pressure cooker. We bring the water level up to about 2/3 of the height of the jar. Water can and will get in if the water level is too high.

I always add an extra 5 minutes to whatever the recipe/canning book says just for added sterility and reliability.

When the pressure cooker is safe to take the lid off, use a jar remover gripper to place the jars on a rack (we use the grill on the cooktop).

You will hear the pops if you listen for them. Occasionally one will not pop. That one goes into the refridgerator and used first. I always mark that jar, so when its empty I do a thorough visual and finger sensory exam of the sealing surface. Almost always there is a minute chip in the glass that prevented a good vacuum from forming.

Pressure canning (as opposed to water bath) is much more versatile and allows you to can meats, etc. that I would never do with the water bath.

doc

There is another method called the hot pack method. I find it simpler as it requires no water bath. It works well for preserves and tomatoes, but I've never used it for pickles. Sterilize your jars and lids as normal. Heat whatever you are canning until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil. Fill the jars with the tomatoes, apple sauce, etc. Cap immediately with lids and rings. Jars will seal as contents cool. I especially like this method for tomatoes because they don't cook to a mush and keep their color better. Make sure there are no chunks on the jar lip to prevent sealing. You can add 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice per quart of tomatoes either in the open bath or to each jar before capping.