Question about canning- bringing water to a boil

[patandchickens]

FWIW, the reason that oven canning is no longer considered safe is because ovens do not generally heat completely evenly (even when their thermometers/thermostats are accurate, which of course is not always) and thus it is quite possible to have one or more jars in a spot that is not quite hot enough for proper sterilization.

I would expect the same to be true for using the oven just to pre-sterilize the jars, although you'd think the risk could be reduced by upping the oven temperature.

As Averytds says, you don't always *have* to truly sterilize the jars though -- for just getting them generally hot (pouring boiling jam into a cold jar is not such a good plan!) the oven should be fine. I might do that next time I'm doing multiple batches, but for just a single batch going thru the waterbath canner I personally find it simpler just to hot the jars up *in* the waterbath. Less things to juggle

Lazily yours,

Pat

 

[Cassandra]

As Averytds says, you don't always *have* to truly sterilize the jars though -- for just getting them generally hot (pouring boiling jam into a cold jar is not such a good plan!) the oven should be fine. I might do that next time I'm doing multiple batches, but for just a single batch going thru the waterbath canner I personally find it simpler just to hot the jars up *in* the waterbath. Less things to juggle

Lazily yours,

Pat

I wondered about that, Pat. It seemed to me that since you are de-botulizing the jars after you fill them up that they need only be *clean* when you put the food in there. You don't want dirt and old food particles, obviously, but any disease causing, ambient germs ought to be killed in the canner.

That right?

Cassandra

 

[patandchickens]

I wondered about that, Pat. It seemed to me that since you are de-botulizing the jars after you fill them up that they need only be *clean* when you put the food in there. You don't want dirt and old food particles, obviously, but any disease causing, ambient germs ought to be killed in the canner.

That right?

For things processed for a reasonable length of time, yes.

For shorter processing times, it's a bit more questionable, so probably sensible to err on the side of caution since sterilizing the jars is relatively easy. (I learned it as 'ten minutes or less' (rather than 'less than ten minute), and I am sure I've seen it printed that way too -- but I am not saying this to dispute with what Averytds has posted, because of course canning recommendations change every five minutes or so as new studies and policy directives emerge )

But pouring boiling *anything* into an empty, cool jar is a risky maneuver unless you enjoy having the jar split open and spill boiling sticky <whatever> all over your counter, floor and feet; so even if you are relying on processing for the sterility part it's smart to hotten the jar up a bit first

Pat

 

[Nubsmum]

Interesting to hear how everyone else cans.

I wash my jars by hand with a little dish soap and hot water. Then I lay them out on my counter upside down on a clean cloth. My jars are usually room temp when I fill them and have never had a jar break. I then put them in a boiling water bath, time them once the boil resumes, and have not had a problem with runny jam-knock on wood. I don't keep my empties in the oven or another kettle in boiling water but I do keep my rings and lids in a hot water pan on the stove so they are nice and hot. I have even used the inversion method but when I do that I do keep my jars in a hot water pot and fill them when they are really hot. I feel better about using a water bath as I go to too much work to have my jam spoil.

 

[averytds]

I was just talking about warming the jars up in the oven. I'm pretty lazy about it though. Short of the occasional jelly recipe, I don't usually use any recipes I need to sterilize for. I also mostly use my pressure canner. When I do need to sterilize, then I just use the water in the canner.

Half the time I don't do the heating of the jars either. Of course the first few are quite often hot out of the dishwasher.

I often do it just as Nubsmom does. Hand washed and room temp.


As Pat said, canning is ever-changing. I seem to remember sterilizing a lot more when I first started. No matter how many times I've done a recipe a certain way, I always like to check up on the USDA stuff to see if anything has changed.

 

[Cassandra]

Seems I do what avery does. Wash them in the dishwasher and leave them in there until I'm ready for them.

Cassandra