# Water boiled out of jars



## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

Got to canning these potatoes and when I took them out of the canner most of the jars were now only about 1/2 full of water. do I recan these after I add water back to them?


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

how did you end the canning process?

Did you pull the weight off the lid and let the pressure bleed off?


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## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

partdeux said:


> how did you end the canning process?
> 
> Did you pull the weight off the lid and let the pressure bleed off?


You know what. I thought that it was all the way down and took the little preasure thing off but realized that it was not finished and stuck it back on. do you think that that is what has happened? It pulled the lids off?


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## squshnut (Sep 5, 2011)

Wait longer to take the weight off. aat least 1/2 hour longer than it takes for the pressure to go down

If you open the jars you will have to recan them. And that will soften the potatoes too much.
Or just plan to use them in the next month or so.


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## Beaniemaster2 (May 22, 2012)

The same thing happened to me the first time I canned potatoes... I called Presto and they told me that they were not safe to eat since they were not covered with liquid... I ate a few jars in the beginning but then noticed that the pototoes that was not imersed in liquid began to look funny... (Not to mention the liquid that was left in the jar was very cloudy which I assumed was caused by the starch in them) As not to poison anyone, I threw the rest of the jars out  Personally, I think the potatoes obsorbed the water as there was no indication in the canner that the jars leaked... I will be canning potatoes again very soon and will keep my eye on this thread to see what others have to say about them... I do plan to cook the potatoes alittle longer than I did before and maybe not pack the jars too full hoping that helps... This site is a good source of information on all methods of home preserving...
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/potato_white.html


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Freyadog said:


> Got to canning these potatoes and when I took them out of the canner most of the jars were now only about 1/2 full of water. do I recan these after I add water back to them?


Some boil off is ok and/but any food not covered by liquid will discolor with time, it doesn't necessarily mean its spoiled though.

I think that the concern about liquid loss is that the water transfers heat better than air so if the foods were not covered in liquid, they may not have been cooked to the right temp.

This FAQ from the "National Center For Home Food Preservation" covers your question
http://nchfp.uga.edu/questions/FAQ_canning.html



> Should liquid lost during processing be replaced?
> No. Loss of liquid does not cause food to spoil, though the food above the liquid may darken. If, however, the loss is excessive (for example, if at least half of the liquid is lost), refrigerate the jar(s) and use within 2 to 3 days.


The site also goes over recanning.

Some more possible causes for boil off are the lids being on too loose or too tight, both can cause liquids to escape during pressure canning.


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## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

I thought that me removing the cock prematurely was the problem but the second batch I left in the canner. Did not touch until this morning, not even the cock. Same thing happened.

I am wondering if maybe I have too many potatoes in the jars? I got the bubbles out before putting the lids and rings on like the instructions says to do. 

I am going to start all over and take some of the potatoes out of the jars and see what happens.


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## partdeux (Aug 3, 2011)

How much heat do you have on the pressure canner? Does it occasionally rattle, or is it continuous? Should rattle once every 15-30 seconds. I have to turn the heat WAY down. As also suggested above, set the rings to finger tight. Are you wiping down the rim before setting the flats in place?


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## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

partdeux said:


> How much heat do you have on the pressure canner? Does it occasionally rattle, or is it continuous? Should rattle once every 15-30 seconds. I have to turn the heat WAY down. As also suggested above, set the rings to finger tight. Are you wiping down the rim before setting the flats in place?


My All-American rattles periodically. Yep have to turn the heat way down. Using propane now. Finger tight rings as always. Rims are wiped down.

I just opened the cans from last night and took out some potatoes and added more water. Got them in the canner and waiting for the 10 minutes of steam release. Been canning for almost 30 years and just do not know what has happened. got to figure it out though because I have about 125 #'s left to process.


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

The water loss has happened to me too. I called the extension office and she said it's caused by too high of a pressure in the canner. I was waiting until I saw a steady stream of steam coming out of the lid vent, then putting the weight on top and waiting until it started rocking back and forth which always occured at 15 pound pressure. So esentially, I was canning everything at 15 pounds whether I needed to or not. I re-read my book and found that the weight doesn't have to be rocking as long as your guage has reached the correct amount of pressure for what you're canning. Does that make sense? Hard to put into words I guess. So anyway, now that I've gone down to canning at 10 pounds for a longer time if necessary, I haven't had any water loss in the jars. 

Question about the potatoes. Is the cloudy water a sign that they will taste icky? I don't like the way the sweet potatoes look either.


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## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

lazydaisy67 said:


> The water loss has happened to me too. I called the extension office and she said it's caused by too high of a pressure in the canner. I was waiting until I saw a steady stream of steam coming out of the lid vent, then putting the weight on top and waiting until it started rocking back and forth which always occured at 15 pound pressure. So esentially, I was canning everything at 15 pounds whether I needed to or not. I re-read my book and found that the weight doesn't have to be rocking as long as your guage has reached the correct amount of pressure for what you're canning. Does that make sense? Hard to put into words I guess. So anyway, now that I've gone down to canning at 10 pounds for a longer time if necessary, I haven't had any water loss in the jars.
> 
> Question about the potatoes. Is the cloudy water a sign that they will taste icky? I don't like the way the sweet potatoes look either.


I too use 15# of pressure per instruction book. Up here in the mountains the increase is necessary.

I just took the potatoes that I canned last night and then recanned this out morning out of the canner and all the water was there. I had taken potatoes out of the jars and resealed. The color was not snow white as they have been cooked again I suppose. Still the water is there............ My sweet potatoes waterr turns sort of a sweet potato color at times. Maybe I cook them too long before canning and the off color is caused by the breakdown. don't know but they taste fine. just look strange in the jars.


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## ilovetigger (Aug 10, 2011)

White potatoes tend to make the water really starchy............Nothing wrong with them just rinse it off. 

That is why I prefer to can the harder yukon gold or red potatoes.


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

Oh good, I planted all Youcon gold this year! Thanks


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