# So we try some canning!



## res2cue (Mar 14, 2012)

Well Rdwolf and I try out my birthday present she bought me 
An All American Pressure Canner! anyways we had never done this before and figured now was as good a time to try canning. First I did a hot water bath in our big lobster pot and I put up 8lbs of apple's in syrup. That was easy 
The lids sealed! Guess I did it right.
Next came the big test, pressure can some chicken soup. Following the receipt made a batch, pressure cooked it for 90 min. I did start with 5 jars but 2 did not seal and did have some boil over in the canner, and the rings where not tight. Not sure if they loosened while cooking or I didn't tighten them finger tight enough. Also after this was done and while letting the jars cool rdwolf did read a big NO NO that I did, I kind of help the cooker cool down by not allowing it to do it on its own. I keep wiggling with the weight to try and sped it up. Wont do that again, lesson learned. 
I think next time we do soup so as to keep the jars evenly full I will use a slotted spoon the stock in first of all jars then add the broth.
Well this was fun and cant wait to try other thing!


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

res2cue said:


> I kind of help the cooker cool down by not allowing it to do it on its own. I keep wiggling with the weight to try and sped it up. Wont do that again, lesson learned.


 Yep! That's where your boil over came from. I did the same thing the first time I used the pressure canner. My batch had one other surprise for me. One of the jars exploded inside the canner. Hard lesson learned.


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## cybergranny (Mar 11, 2011)

Your rings will loosen during the process. Don't tighten. When your jars are cool and have sit for 24-48 hours remove the rings, wipe jars clean, label and store.

Boil over can occur for many reasons. Too much fat in the broth (clean as much fat as possible off your meat), not proper headspace, rings too tight, bringing up the pressure too fast, etc. Your product looks wonderful. Good job. Canning is easy but we do have to follow the rules precisely.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Thats a nice canner, wanna trade?

On the boil over in the jars, agree with what UncleJoe and cybergranny said.


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## Kellog (Mar 3, 2012)

Good job res2cue! Pressure canning requires care, but as you found, it's not that mysterious and it sure is satisfying to see the results sitting there on the counter. 
Yup, agree, let the pressure drop naturally. Also, after filling the jars, be sure to wipe the lip and top of the jar thoroughly to remove all food residue before sealing with the lid and ring. Any little bits of food or grease film (if you are canning meat products) could interfere with the seal. I wipe with a damp paper towel followed by a dry one to make sure there's nothing between the glass and the rubber seal on the lid. Rings should be firmly tight - but don't ream on them - and like cybergranny said, don't mess with them after they come out of the canner.
Before canning, check jars and lips carefully for cracks or chips. Do not use non-canning jars (mayonnaise, etc) to can - particularly in a pressure canner. They just do not make 'em like they used to and are likely to break. (experience talking here...) 
If your soup or whatever you are canning is chunky, after filling the jars, gently run a knife down the sides of the jar to release any trapped air pockets, that will help you get the jars evenly full.


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