Splurting jar in pressure canner

16 years ago

I just spent nearly 12 hours in my kitchen preparing bucket upon bucket of apples to convert into various goodies we can enjoy when the snow flies. I have one of those tabletop hand-crank apple-peeler/corer jobs so that's what took up most of the time! Regardless of my tired feet, arm and back, I enjoyed every minute ;oP

For my birthday, I got a Presto 16qt pressure canner so I could expand my horizons beyond pickling and freezing. One of the variations on the apples was three quart jars of prepared apple pie filling. As far as I know, I did do everything correctly, however........

The recipe said to pack the apples into the hot sterilized jars, then pour the syrup over them, completely covering them. This brought the apple/syrup right to the bottom of the neck of the jar. I had assumed that I had enough headspace, and I know apples tend to 'float' or rise so I thought I was safe.

Apparently I DID do something wrong, for when the pressure dropped to zero and I removed the lid, at least one of the jars was splurting a little bit of syrup from under the screw band, and another had just a tiny showing of syrup on the side of the jar. I left the jars in the canner for about 5 minutes with the lid off so the splurts would end up in the water and not on my counter, and as a precaution in case they decided to go 'boom!' I removed them with the jar lifter onto a towel, and 3 hours later they appear to be properly sealed.

If by some unfortunate chance the lids actually aren't sealed, is it possible to rework the batch with more headspace or would this just prove to make the apples all mushy?

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Comments (8)

readinglady
16 years ago
Can you clarify a few things? Did you thicken your pie filling with ClearJel as directed? I've found it's a good idea to use less than the directions call for as the mixture tends to expand and you can end up with spurting jars. It also is thicker than I care for in a pie. You do need a full 1-inch headspace.

My second question is why were you pressure-canning apple pie filling? I've only seen instructions for BWB for apple pie filling. Did you use 10 pounds pressure? It definitely isn't necessary for a high-acid product like this.

Finally, if you are using a pressure canner, let the jars rest in the canner in full 10 minutes after the pressure has returned to zero and you've removed the weight. After 10 minutes, remove the lid.

If the jars didn't seal, you can certainly re-process. I doubt you'd see much difference in quality and it's better than the alternative. However, I've seen a lot of jars with this kind of seepage that do seal anyway. It's kind of surprising how often they do.

I hope this helps.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Apple Pie Filling - Boiling Water Bath
shirleywny5
16 years ago
I would never pressure can anything with apples. Also, I always leave 1 inch headspace when doing applesauce because it expands so much when canning in a HWB.
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How long are we talking about? If less than 24 hours, fine. Longer than that and they fall outside the safe-to-do guidelines. It not only becomes very risky but also leads to a notable decllne in quality. You'd do better to remove them from the jars and freeze them now. Since green beans is one of the vegetables most at risk for botulism issues, trying to re-do them poses a greater risk than with some other vegetables. What really concerns me is "after years of babying this thing along ". That would seem to indicate a long-standing problem that could easily have affected the safety of the foods done in the past as well. For example, pronounced gasket leaking usually results in under-processed foods Could you clarify exactly what the problems with the canner are? Dave
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>> It sounds like you are relying upon an out-of-date >> manual that does not correspond to current standards. >> Generally canner manuals are re-printed year after >> year and are seldom updated. No, as mentioned above, I am using the current NCHFP guidelines, NOT the table in the old outdated manual which says I should use 5 lbs. for 10 minutes. >> Are you sure you were looking at the correct section >> of the NCHFP chart? For a weighted-gauge canner >> processing is not recommended above 1000 feet. Actually, I don't think that you are interpreting the chart correctly. As I understand Table 3 it says that over 1000 feet one should use 10 lbs. of pressure for 20 minutes or 15 lbs. for 15 minutes but NOT X lbs. for 10 minutes. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_03/tomato_juice.html ------ I believe I'm now starting to understand the scientific explanation for my original question. Normally when you remove a small boiling pot from it's heat source it will stop boiling almost immediately because the temperature of the contents will quickly drop back below 212 degrees and since the atmospheric pressure stays the same it stops boiling quickly. As I am using the higher recommended pressure of 15 lbs, the temperature of the tomato juice is reaching 250 degrees. When I remove my pressure canner from the heat it's temperature drops quickly because it is a relatively small canner which doesn't need much water (1.5 qt) for pressure canning and there is much more air (~7 qt of air) than water. So the pressure canner cools and unlocks and I remove the jars. In the jar there is only a tiny, tiny amount of air which cools quickly and contracts creating the necessary vacuum to seal the lid. But the liquid is still very hot and now the pressure (vacuum) inside the jar is well below atmospheric pressure so the jar continues to boil even though the temperature of the liquid may drop below 212 degrees. - Steve
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There are plenty of tomato recipes you can water-bath too, however. Some of us who have only water-bath canners manage to put up quite a few tomatoes! But the good news is you can use your pressure canner as a BWB canner if you decide you want to can some recipes that can be done that way. The resources you mentioned (BBB and the NCHP) are great ones, with up-to-date safety guidelines. They'll tell you for each recipe whether it should be pressure canned or BWB canned or whether you have a choice. BWB is used for high-acid things: fruit in syrup, jams and jellies, pickles, some tomato and other recipes that have appropriate acid amounts. Pressure canners allow you to do low acid things like beans, other vegetables, prepared soups and stews, even with meat in them, and a wider range of tomato recipes. Try both approaches! See what you like! Z
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ninasmom
Original Author
16 years ago
I only did the pressure canner because I was getting short on time and it only takes 8 minutes at 5# as opposed to filling a BWB, waiting forever for it to boil, then waiting another 30 minutes for it to process.

I did use cornstarch as the recipe called for, cooked within the syrup I poured over the apples. Next time I will increase the headspace well over what I had this time.

The jars still have a strong seal this morning, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
readinglady
16 years ago
I'm not sure of the source for your recipe, but cornstarch is not an approved thickener for heat-processed products. It and flour interfere with safe heat penetration, leading to a higher potential for spoilage. They also are more likely to break down and separate. The only approved thickener is ClearJel.

I've provided a link to the approved safe-tested filling recipe. The processing time is 25 minutes BWB. The time is greater, but there's less likelihood of spurting if the filling isn't under pressure.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Apple Pie Filling
shirleywny5
16 years ago
I can my apples for pie the same as I do my elderberries. Can them in light syrup and thicken the syrup in a saucepan using 2 Tbls. corn starch. After it thickens, add the apples into the pan and stir. No need to heat the apples. My pie filling is ready. I used Honey Crisp apples so the light syrup was perfect.
ninasmom
Original Author
16 years ago
Geez, I work with numbers all day, you'd think I'd get this right. I meant 3 quarts at 5# for 10 minutes. Gotta make notes for myeself!

My mom has canned for decades and never had a problem, three kids and one husband of 48 years and we're all still pretty much alive after eating the apple pie filling.

Regardless, thanks for the info and taking the time to answer.
readinglady
16 years ago
With apples it's not so much a safety hazard, since apples are high-acid, as it is a quality and spoilage issue (though I doubt spoilage is likely to be a problem with pressure-canning).

However, the fact that one family has not had a problem with a particular recipe or method is not statistically significant. A family could open-kettle can beans for thirty years and not have a problem. It doesn't mean it's a wise practice.

Carol
ksrogers
16 years ago
Instead of regular corn starch, the use of the modified version is much safer and stable. This is called Clear Jel, and has been the home canning preference for many years now.

Splurting jar in pressure canner

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Splurting jar in pressure canner

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readinglady

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