Canning Etc. Season 2018

It’s probably already been covered, but I’m too lazy to read all the past responses right now.

Are you all canning using pressure cookers or hot water baths (or both)?

We do everything but meat in a hot water bath

I don’t know, it just seems like they sound different, I guess they’re alright. We have canned about 80 jars (pints and quarts, regular size mouths), and I think maybe 2 or 3 didn’t seal properly.

To answer @smsmith, we do both hot water baths and pressure canning. If it’s high acid foods, like fruits, pickled veggies, tomatoes, salsa, etc, we do the water bath, that is, cover the jars with water, and boil the water for a certain amount of time, with the canner covered with the lid, but not sealed. All low acid foods, like beans, corn, meats and the like are pressure canned at 10lb pressure for anywhere from 25 minutes (beans) to 90 minutes (corn, meats).

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No, but I’ve heard of them. You are right about the ‘ping’. It is the sound of a good seal. I also tap to hear if they have sealed. Do these new kind give you some indication that a good seal has formed?

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It’s kind of like wine bottles, return to who blessed you with the gift .

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Amen!

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This was a good canning season. I ran out of canning jars :open_mouth: except a few regular mouth quarts. Still need to do one more batch of dilly beans and then I’m pretty much done.

If I’m canning a veggie, I plant so many feet of row to produce the amount pints or quarts that I want til next season. Some things I don’t can and for those I sow small amounts every 6 weeks or so - actually, it depends on the maturity of the last sowing, and how much we consume…like cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots, salad onions (scallions), salad turnips, etc.,

I pressure can potatoes, beets, beans, celery, soup broth and meats.
I water bath can dilly beans, tomatoes, roasted red bell peppers, pickles
I hot pack onion pepper relish.

Curious…do they look the same? Wondering if this is an advertising gimmick.

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I think a lot of the off brand lids are made a bit different. Instead of a little “pooch dome” in the center it’s more like the whole lid is slightly domed. I’ve given pause to them but I have been buying more of them lately and they seem to work just as well as the name brands. I think the “ping” varies to what is canned, how it is canned, amount of head space, and how fast—or slowly—it cools.

Katy

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Sometimes my jars ping all at once orher times they will ping within an hour or so.

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I like it when they all pop - pop as I take them out of the canner

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Well, they are silver, as opposed to gold, but don’t remember if the older lids were gold or silver. They have “Ball” and a “__ / __ /__” stamped on them so you can write in the date. The difference, according to their site, is that the lids are now BPA free, and the thickness is different, I think. They recommend that you don’t boil the lids in a pot before use, just clean them off and set them aside until ready to use.

Well, they do ping, but it’s not as pronounced as the other lids. We always check the lids before they go into the cellar- we check to see if the center tab is pulled down, then take off the ring and give the lid a light tug, or turn the jar upside down to see if it sealed.

Are bell peppers acidic enough for water bathing? Or do you give them a big dose of citric acid or lemon juice?

Hmmmm. This is standard operating procedure for me for water bath canning and esp hot packing.

Yes. You add a diluted vinegar salt solution after you pack the charred and peeled peppers into a jar. We like these on sandwiches and put them in many dishes - even salads.

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I’m gonna put mine in hot water I don’t care what it says!!!

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I recall that they’ve always said not to boil the lids, only hot water

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Your not following directions - that is cheating! :wink:

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I think I read that too. Boiling only takes the lids to 212F but pressure canning at 10# is about 240F. The issue is that the bottom of the pot for heating the lids that is next to the burner can get hotter than 212 and hotter 240 esp if you are one of these people that puts the burner on high. I can see where that can potentially damage some of the sealant.

That’s what I do. Boil the water, then take it off the burner, then put my lids in and cover for about 5-10 minutes. This softens the sealant which is very helpful in hot packing.

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I put my lids and rings in a vegetable steamer (like a double boiler with 2 pots, but the top one has holes in the bottom) and steam lids and rings. I keep it covered and grab a lid and ring with the magnet as I pack the jars. This way none of them are in direct contact with the hot bottom of the bottom pot.

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I’ve actually been known for that a time or two…:astonished:

Katy

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Since we have so many peppers this year, we decided to make some jelly out of some of the red bell’s and Habanero’s.

Here is some red bell pepper jelly, made 6 half-pints-

And a particularly interesting recipe, 3 half-pints of Habanero Gold, which has the peppers, red onions, plus red bell’s and dried apricots (from the store). It is warm, but not as hot as you’d think. I guess it’s the sugar and gelatin that tamps down the heat a bit.

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Yum!!!

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To each their own!