You’ve followed all the instructions and your hot jars are sitting picturesquely on a thick dishtowel awaiting their final touches. What do you do now? Absolutely nothing! After processing, leave your jars untouched for 12 hours. I mean it ladies, no picking them up to admire, no swirling them about and absolutely no tightening of the bands or rings around the lid.
After 12 hours, remove the ring and look at your lid. It should be depressed with a tight vacuum seal. When you touch the center of your lid does it move up and down or just stay down like it should? Is there a clicking noise? No? That’s good. Now, try to gently pop the lid off with your thumb. Not budging? Great! A good tight seal will require a bottle opener to lift. If all is well and your jar looks tightly sealed, carefully tip the jar at an angle with one hand ready just in case and check that there are are no drips. Go slow now and really give it a chance to leak. No drips? Congratulations! You have a good safe seal protecting your home canned goodies!
But what if one or all of your jars did not pass the seal test? Well now you have a decision, you can keep your jars in the refrigerator to use within the next few days or you can reprocess. Honestly, reprocessing will not “overcook” most foods and it may save your children from seven straight days of green beans.
To reprocess, carefully wipe the rim and rings of the jar with a clean damp cloth. You don’t want anything sticky interfering with your seal. Add liquid if necessary to maintain the head space suggested in your recipe and use a fresh lid and screw band. Now process again as directed in your recipe for the full time. Follow the same steps as above to test your seals.
15 responses so far ↓
1
Jen on the Edge
// Jun 22, 2008 at 7:31 am
I wish you could be here in my kitchen when I tackle tomatoes for the first time next month.
2
daysgoby
// Jun 22, 2008 at 9:19 am
What’s the best (read really, really easy) thing to start canning?
I’m getting drawn to it but can just see myself making an incredible mess!
3
TXPoppet
// Jun 22, 2008 at 9:58 am
@Jen on the Edge: I do too, only I think we’d do more laughing than canning.
@Days Go By: I’m sending you an email with my recipe for no process jam. All you need is a potato masher and a dishwasher, no canning equipment necessary.
4
Sadge
// Jun 22, 2008 at 10:46 am
One of my most favorite sounds - the “ping!” of a canning lid sealing as it cools.
~Sadge
5 Stephanie // Jun 22, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Thanks for the comment. I cannot wait to tear through your sight and read every tidbit. It is adorable. I am wanting to learn to can this year too so I cannot wait to read it all.
Stephanie
6 Stephanie // Jun 22, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Sorry I meant site. Silly me.
7
sara
// Jun 23, 2008 at 7:55 am
thanks for visiting my site! i love your writing style … and great tips! i have been wanting to trying canning, so I’ll have to try it soon!
8
Mandy
// Aug 18, 2008 at 3:25 am
Thank you for the great tips! I just finished canning peaches and realized two of my lids did not “ping”. I will wait patiently and test them tomorrow. So glad to know there’s hope if they did not work the first time around!
Mandys last blog post..vintage pillowcase dress. . .don’t go, summer!
9
Felicia
// Aug 18, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Hi,
I have a question, if you have a sec.
I am making jam from my plum tree for my wedding favors. the first 30 jars went off without a hitch. The second 30 I used different jars, but did everything the same, anyway, they didn’t seal! and I made them a week ago, I’ve been so busy, I didnt check till now! do I have to throw them all out?
Thanks!
10
Wedding Planning with Heather
// Sep 23, 2008 at 10:23 am
Hey that is an original idea, offering self made jam as a wedding favor.
I always loved it when my grandmother would prepare all these jams with fruit from the garden.
Somehow that knowledge seems to get lost. Fortunately people like you share their experience and I hope it will survive yet another generation
11
Ms. Wead
// Jun 9, 2009 at 5:35 pm
When I first pulled my *first ever* batch of homemade cherry jam out of the sealing bath they were sealed. Then over the course of 20 mins I started hearing popping and went to investigate. I found that they all had unsealed! Where did I go wrong and/or will they reseal themselves? I am not sure if I should go through the process of changing lids and trying it again.
12
PeachesApplenty
// Aug 8, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I just had my first canning experience with peaches. Dixie Gems. I have mixed results. out of 28 pints, half sealed. Now I have all these pints and I have no idea what to do with them! So my questions are these; when I opened an unsealed pint the peaches have an aftertaste of slight carbonation, is this normal or just the type of peaches used? And if they are okay reguardless can I use them in baking recipes or is that not a good idea? Please help!!
13
Summitcanner
// Aug 31, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Well I thought I mostly read the directions but my first quarts of tomato sauce just came out and I see (1) a little bit of sauce in the pressure canner water and (2) most of the jars have tomato/solids on top and liquids on the bottom….I used my regular sauce recipe that has tomatoes, basil, parsley, oil ann salt/pepper. How do I know if my sauce is now poisonous? Loved the piece on testing the seal…that is how I found the site!!
14 Asparagus and rhubarb can-can. — Kat of All Trades // May 7, 2010 at 1:46 pm
[...] canner, place on towel on countertop, and allow to cool. Check seals after 12-24 hours to ensure a proper seal, and tighten the [...]
15
Kristinia
// Aug 23, 2010 at 5:08 pm
I love to can. I cannot believe this year though, over half of my jars refuse to seal! It is so frustrating.
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