It may seem like a strange time of year for a blog about canning but at AnswerLine, we get calls about canning almost every day. Callers today were canning pork, beef, or planning what products to preserve next summer.
One of our callers today realized that she had not processed her beef at the correct pressure in her canner. She had only done 5 quarts of beef but was concerned that it would not be safe to eat. She was right, that beef was under processed and would not be considered safe to eat. I was happy to tell her that she did have options to correct the problem and she would not have to discard the jars of beef.
- The jars could be reprocessed at the proper pressure (PSI) for the entire time prescribed in the recipe. The resulting food would not be quite as high quality as food processed only once but it would be safe. For beef, likely very tender beef would not be problematic but processing green beans a second time does result in an inferior product.
- The jars could be stored in the freezer. If the jars are overly filled, you may want to remove a small amount to prevent jar breakage as the food expands in the freezer. These jars will not break in the freezer.
- The jars could be stored in the refrigerator and the contents enjoyed within 3-5 days. It would be difficult to use an entire canner load of jars within a week but you may want to enjoy at least one jar in that time.
Any of those three options can be used within 24 hours of the original canning process. You lose those options after that time, so always check to be sure that you used the proper processing time and that your jars have sealed. We offer these solutions to anyone that did not use a proper canning method or for jars that failed to seal.
Hopefully you will not need to use any of these remedies the next time you use your canner; but now you will know your options.
Happy Canning! Call us any time-we are always happy to talk canning with callers.
Does the same information for pressure canning apply to water bath canned produced that is under processed. Last year as I judged foods & nutition a few projects did not meet the time requirements for our altitude.
Yes, but by the time the food reaches a fair, the time to safely save and use those under processed jars has passed. I apologize, I just saw this comment in a sea of spam comments. Hopefully this response will help next time you are judging.
i have been canning for 45 years but recommendations have changed…canning lids…i just read you should not boil or simmer lids but only wash in hot soapy water and rinse..is that correct for all new canning lids. also with tomatoes and or tomatoes with onion and green pepper if I can in a pressure canner do I need to add acid..either lemon juice or powdered acid…if I have an older canner (I have replaced the pressure gauge) do I still increase the water from 2 quarts (which is what the original book states) to 3 quarts…and I have always followed the pressure and time recomendations in my original book…where do I find the new recomendations? I want to be safe as I share my canned produce. Thank you
Sheri, In August 2014, Jarden, (the company that manufactures all Ball Canning Jars and lids), very casually mentioned that they completely changed the recommendations when using their canning jar lids. Jarden (Ball Canning) now says that we do not have to heat the canning lids in hot water before canning. Instead, we can just wash the lids and use them at room temperature. However, if the lid is overheated in boiling water, it can cause the plastisol to thin out. If that happens, you either get a poor seal (that fails later on the pantry shelf) or no seal at all. So, they now recommend that we either wash the lids and use them at room temperature OR we only place them in warm water no hotter than a simmer (180 degrees). The choice is ours and either way is okay.
All canned tomato products need to be acidified to be considered safe. If you are adding green pepper and onion to your tomatoes, please use a researched based recipe (National Center for HOme Food Preservation, USDA, or land grant university); adding other vegetables to tomato products changes the pH; both green peppers and onion are considered low acid vegetables. If you cannot find a recipe, we would recommend that you can the tomatoes alone and freeze portions of green pepper and onions and add them to the tomatoes when used. The University of Minn extension has a tested recipe at https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/canning-minnesota-tomato-mixture for your consideration.
Generally you want about 3 inches of water in your pressure canner–for some canners that is about 2 quarts, others 3 quarts. The amount of water to put in the canner depends upon the canner, so always refer to the directions that came with your canner. Too much water is unlikely to cause harm, but too little could boil dry and that would be a major problem.
The best sources for safe canning can be found at the National Center for Home Food Preservation or the USDA Complete Guide to Canning.
Canning is a science so we appreciate your desire to be safe.