Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Living Well

After a long day (and possibly half the night) of home canning, it's gratifying to view the results of rows of perfectly sealed jars that we're almost sure will keep well for a later day.

Good results in home canning require more than many hours of hard labor. Good results also depend on method. Unfortunately, we don't always realize that we haven't used the best method until something goes wrong. Then we need help.

Up-to-date instructions for home canning come with new pressure canners, freezers and even in fruit jar boxes. If you're not buying these items new this year, reliable information on food processing is almost as near to you as your telephone just call my office at 887-2818 for recommendations on canning, freezing, pickling or jelly making.

The most easily recognized home canning problem is an unsealed jar. Unfortunately, this may happen occasionally no matter how perfectly the home canner follows instructions. The first rule for assuring a seal is to prepare the lids exactly according to instructions listed on the box in which lids are purchased. Don't assume that one reliable manufacturer's lid should be prepared just like that of another.

Another good idea to follow when possible: match the brand lid to the same brand jar. While any standard canning lid should fit any standard canning jar, there are some tiny differences.

A third fact of life: mayonnaise jars and other jars in which commercially canned foods are purchased were not manufactured for home canning. Standard home canning lids do not fit them as well as they fit standard canning jars. They also break in processing more readily than standard canning jars.

How can you know if a jar is sealed?

Usually, as the jar cools, you hear a click for each jar removed from the processor. In addition, the lids of cooled sealed jars are slightly indented and will not move when you press their centers.

What can a home canner do if a lid does not seal?

Reprocess, if the problem is found within a day after canning. The same is true when one discovers that the original processing was not long enough or temperature used was not high enough.

To reprocess, remove used lids, clean jar tops and place on new lids. Reprocess the same length of time at the same temperature that the first processing should have been done.