What recipe are you using that calls for that long a processing time for soup? 60-75 mins. is the norm for soups depending on pints or quarts assuming you followed the 1/2 and 1/2 rule of half solids and half liquid. But no, technically speaking if the recipe calls for 85 mins and it wasn't processed for 85 mins then it is supposed to be reprocessed within 24 hours for the full time. Pressure canner guidelies say "if the pressure falls below the required pressure at any time during the processing begin timing again from the beginning". Is the canner itself salvageable? Usually when they boil dry they will warp. Dave

Thanks again for the wealth of knowledge! The forum is so helpful! Our second batch (20 pints of creamed corn) went MUCH smoother. This time we removed the canner from the stove element and it seemed to cool quicker...maybe 20-30 minutes. I followed the instructions at the NCHFP website for cooling: " 9. After the canner is completely depressurized, remove the weight from the vent pipe or open the petcock. Wait 10 minutes; then unfasten the lid and remove it carefully. Lift the lid with the underside away from you so that the steam coming out of the canner does not burn your face. 10. Using a jar lifter, remove the jars one at a time, being careful not to tilt the jars. Carefully place them directly onto a towel or cake cooling rack, leaving at least one inch of space between the jars during cooling. Avoid placing the jars on a cold surface or in a cold draft." Maybe I missed waiting another 10 minutes between removing the canner lid then removing the jars? We had quite a canning day yesterday! We canned 20 pints of creamed corn, 5 quarts and 7 pints of peaches, and 4 half pints of peach butter (had to do something with those extra two pounds of peaches!). The height of the 23 qt presto made for easier HWB quart canning versus my granite ware HWB canner. I have two more questions... 1-when we canned our peaches, we followed the recipe in the ball blue book for peaches canned in syrup. We went with the hot pack method in heavy syrup (50/50 ration of sugar to water). Now that everything is processed, the peach slices have floated to the top of the jar. I know it'll taste the same but it doesn't look as pretty lol. Any recommendations? 2-when using the presto to pressure can, I've waited until the safety button pops up to start timing the ten minutes of continuous steam coming from the vent pipe. Typically there is a funnel shaped flow of continuous steam before the safety button pops up, but I guess I just want to be sure I'm expelling all the air. Is there any harm in doing it this way? Thank you everyone for your expertise! I'm so excited to be canning!

I BWB in my stockpots, so for me a "load" is what fits. I use smaller pots if I have a smaller load, sometimes as little as four 1/2 pints. I put in jars so the fit and don't have enough room to fall over. They move around in the canner so even if you space them out carefully, they won't be that way when you open it up. If you have a rack with holding spots, you can keep them apart, but with just a bottom rack, if there is room for them to crowd together and then have room for one to tip over, seems like that is just what they do. I now always add jars with water (no lid) to fill any "empty" spaces if I don't have a full load. Like Digdirt said, for PC you need a pot big enough to hold 4 quart jars - usually about 10 qt liquid capacity.

Well, I kind of felt wasteful running the canner for 2 jars, but I did as you suggested. The problem with that is there was some loss of volume during reprocessing, so now I'm running the canner for 1 jar! Guess that other jar will just go in the fridge now afterall, LOL. At least I know now how long it will keep in the fridge. Thanks for the information, Dave. Maybe next time, I'll freeze one, and refrigerate the other.