Hi lpinkmountain, don't beat yourself up, you're a good, experienced canner.

First the pot...would 3 quarts fit in an asparagus pot? Those are the tall thin pots. A pot that is no bigger than the burner will boil faster than a giant canner that sticks out. What about making 6 pints instead? That would fit in a smallish stock pot. That's the pot I prefer for pints and smaller.

Next the brine...since it's only one jar, could you make room for it in the back of the fridge? That's what I would do, and leave it there until winter. Of course the other ones are fine, if you used a tested recipe. Maybe someone else can weigh in on vinegar:water ratios in similar recipes. I do know that the ratio is different for different vegetables, e.g. I think garlic needs more vinegar than cucumbers. Or, since they've been in the fridge, you could remake the brine for that jar and reprocess it. You could reprocess it as two pints or four half-pints to fit itin a smaller canning pot.

Lastly, the rising or floating vegetables...as long as you followed a tested recipe and the jars are sealed (lids give a clear tone when dinged with a spoon, or use gardenlad's method of shaking them upside down), that is ok. The vegetables may have taken on some liquid as they partially cooked. The part above the liquid might turn brown but they are safe.

Sounds delicious, I hope you enjoy your pasta salad! Autumn is finally starting here but I'm holding out on turning on the heat yet.

Melissa

Thanks for the help Melissa!

Last night I dreamed I was visiting an old family friend and she was going senile. She could remember who I was and the things we had done together, but had to be constantly reminded of my name. So I apologize for anyone coping with actual senility! What I have is chronic stress. I really do not have time to can, but I just can't give it up, I like it so much. Plus my stove is broken, and due to being without full time work right now, I can't afford to get a replacement. The burners do not work very well, they "sputter." Half the time they don't heat up all the way, which is why I can get slowed down during the canning process. Or they go on, and then suddenly go off and I don't realize it.

I like to can this jardinaire in quart jars because that is about how much it takes to make a batch of pasta salad. I could do it in pint jars though, and just use two for the salad. I only made it this year because I had such a great crop of basil that I hate to see go to waste. I've already frozen three batches of pesto.

The only other thing I've ever done up in quarts was spiced peaches and pears. Mostly for gift giving.

I have the jardinaire in the fridge, it joins my slightly questionable chili sauce. My fridge is getting filled up with canning rejects!

I had the same problem with the BWB 7 qt canner, it took hours to come to a boil on an electric stove. Forum folks recommended an outside propane burner, heavy duty coils, as well as other suggestions.

I usually use a 12 qt stockpot, the model linked below. I can bring that, all loaded up, to a boil on an electric stove in less than 10 minutes. Anything of a similar diameter and height will hold 4 qt jars. I think, all in all, for me it would be easier to have two of these, with a capacity of 8 qts at a go.

Here is a link that might be useful: Revereware stockpot

Usually if I am sort on a brine, I only add vinegar. Its safer that way, as you could reduce acidty in that last jar. As to your stove, you may have a burner that is failing due to several problems. First off it could have a bad connection to the socket its plugged into. Think of it this way, if it has a poor electrical connection, the area heats up, which causes oxidation of the metal, when oxidation happens the conection can reduce its conductivity and create even more heat and oxidation. The solution is simple, replace not only the plug in electric burner, but also its socket which is usually held in with one screw at the edge of the burner basin. I had to do this after only two years on a new stove, and I must tell you it helped a lot. Not only that, I use a small wire brush (toothbrush size) to clean the metal contacts on the burner. This also helps to give you the best heat possible. Of course I also use a steam canner for my pickles as I don't feel that they are unsafe to can with all the vinegar I use. The steam caner is only used with high acid foods. Even though its been stated numerous times that a steam canner is unsafe, it IS in fact safe provided its used properly, and with ingredients that are high in acid. I did many tests about 2 years ago, and concluded that it not only reached boiling temperatures very fast compared to a water bath, it also offers more safety when handling a large pot on a hot stove. If I can shatter a jar in my steam canner due to heat, Its a sure sign that there is enough heat in there to get glass to break. Commerical processing involves super heated steam and the jars are exposed to this very rapidly.

Thanks so much guys for the tips! I am going to try and fix my stove, I think that will improve my canning and my cooking. It does seems like I need to replace both the elements and the socket. The two large burners are on the fritz. Now when I replace the sockets, do I have to turn off the electricity to the stove? I know zero about eletric stuff. Also, is there a coil count issue? My coils are four in a row. I have a Kennmore stove.

I'm also going to look for one of those asparagus steamers. I love that Revereware one, it is just gorgeous! But I'm going to maybe have to find an enameled steel one if I can, less expensive. I have a wonderful stainless steel with aluminum core bottom stockpot that I use for pints.

The jardinaire veggies seem to be continuing to absorb liquid, because now all of the jars have veggies floating above the brine.

As to the stove elements, I suggest that you either shut off the circut breaker, or unplug the range before working on the sockets. They can still have some live wires there even though the heat control is turned off. Some GE (or is it Hotpoint) stoves have a non removable element, while others have an odd metal fin at the tips. The burners you have (its a Whirlpool product?) are easy to remove by just lifting the element away from the bowl, OPPOSITE where its plugged into the socket. If the bowls are bad, they too can be easily replaced. All the items (elements, sockets, bowls, etc.) can be bought at Home Depot, Lowes, or many of the larger hardware chains. Once the bowl is lifted out, you should see s small screw holding the socket in place at the edge of the hole of the stove surface. Once the screw is removed the socket can easily be lifted out through the opening of the stove and is wired to two wires using wirenuts. These wirenuts just simply screw on to the socket wires. Unscrew them, and then you can untwist the two connected wires and seperate the socket. Obviously, the power is OFF at the main before you mess with the sockets!! Some replacement brands of elements have more turns in the coils compared to others. Avoid the 'economy' burners as they are just not as efficient to use. There is also a raised canning element that I use if I am doing a lot of continous canning. These have more coils and are rasied up about an inch or more from the surface of the stove. They also have thicker support struts and an outside heat shield. My regular elements get so hot that the metal struts holding them flat will start to sag downwards and the burner will eventually sink into the stove top, which is NOT good. Look at the photo in the link, and if your burner connection tips are similar (little round ¿ shapes), then its a good chance you will find replacements for everything needed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Heavy duty CANNING burner

Ken, good detail on fixing the stove, I bet that will help several people.

As an engineer with safety drilled into my head, let me add that unplugging the stove is the best choice. Pull it out from the wall and make sure there's only one plug. If you must turn off the breaker instead, you need to make absolutely sure you have the right one by trying to turn on the stove and oven after the breaker is off. Or work during the day and turn off all the breakers if you're not sure. This sounds like overkill but it's better to lose a second of your life for safety than to lose your life in a second.

Lpinkmountain I'm sure you'll be successful and back to boiling full-blast in no time.

Melissa

At one job, I worked at a resarch company, and we had 480 volts 800 amp service, which required the power company to hook up a special transformer on a pole outside. The lab was being browken down and I was not aware that the breaker was left on, and was unscrewing each of the 3 wires from a very large terminal block. After removing each wire from its terminal, I pulled the wire out through a large metal clamp. POW! I was blinded by a bright flash and a shower of sparks and hot metal. I stood there motionless, yelling for help and finally someone heard me and pulled the breaker. The wires had all been blown off at the ends, no trace of the metal clamp, and my cloths had small burn holes everywhere. Luckily I didn't come in direct contact or I would have been gone. The short was so powerful, that a building next door had a sudden power loss for a split second, and our offices had also been affected. Needless to say, that yes, the breaker and the plug should be pulled before fixing the socket part.

Ken, THANK YOU so much for those directions! I am getting a replacement set of coils, etc. soon. This week has been insane for me at work, which is why I didn't respond sooner. Those directions are so great. And not to be morbid, but I am very paranoid about electricity, having experienced two people I knew being electrocuted in my life. I'm glad you mentioned about replacing the sockets too, I wouldn't have known about that.

I am making a rain garden this weekend with some student volunteers at my school. I think I must have been mad to sign up for this gig!! :)
Stove may have to wait til the semester is over. I'll report back when it's done.

Thanks again Ken.

With the materials in hand, the whole job can take less tan an hour. You probably wouldn't have to replace all the burners and sockets, only the one(s) that you use for high heat for the canning, and maybe the one used for heating the product your canning. Here, my smaller two burners are not used as much, so they get little attention. All four of the chrome bowls are now rusty though, even though I put in those aluminium foil 'burner bibs'. The stove is just three years old (Frigidaire). The chrome plating on objects today is very poor and thin. The reason I replace the bowls is because when new and shiny, they help to reflect heat back up. As to the canning burner, that is one that is easily installed (takes less than a minute) and mine isn't always in the stove, unless I am doing canning all the time.
Rain garden, whats that?

A rain garden is a garden designed to catch and collect rain runoff. The runoff can come from any impervious surface, but the most common applications are for roof or parking lot runoff. The garden is designed like a bowl, it holds the water long enough for it to soak into the ground. Usually the soil is ammended with sand and compost to increase its absorption capability.

The one we did Sat. was to absorb the runoff from one drainpipe covering one small area from the roof of the college. These are kind of tricky things, because each site has its individual quirks, and if the garden doesn't "work" you've got a mess of water that has been redirected to one area where it was causing a problem, to another area to cause a problem. You want a rain garden to solve problems, not create them! Yesterday I was dealing with slope in the area of the garden, and also a tortuous route for the water to take to reach the garden, it had to cross a driveway and sidewalk, through a pretty long drainpipe system. It was a challenge, but the students rose to meet it, so it is finished and looks pretty good. It hasn't been tested by a huge rain, but the water we poured through it ended up going through the system and being absorbed by the garden. It is also reasonably attractive. The folks from local nurseries have been very supportive, G-d bless them! One of my students got his friend who was a contractor to help, which was wonderful also.

Sounds like it would work well for some areas, but as you said terrain is hard to overcome if its not going in your favor.