Ping, ping, ping, music to the home canner's ears. We all love to hear that familiar sound as we know that the valuable food we have prepared for our family is safely preserved for use at a future date. We all love to admire our work and the pinging of sealed jars is the cherry on top of a successful canners sundae!
Occasionally though the pings don't happen and you are left wondering what went wrong. In my home canning experience I have found that there are usually a few little culprits that steal your pings and leave you with unsealed jars.
Check for Nicks
First, it is crucial crucial, crucial that you check the tops of your canning jars for nicks. Sometimes if the nicks are small and on the outside of the rim you can get away with using the jar. If the nick however spans the entire rim or is more towards the inner circle of the rim the best thing to do is not use the jar. However, jars that are not suitable for home canning are not lost forever. Old mason jars can be useful for storing nails and screws in and you may find craft supplies can also be stored quite nicely in a nicked mason jar. Also, if you look on line you can find a lot of neat craft ideas to do with old mason jars.
Wipe that Rim
Second, Wipe that rim off. Yes I know you used the funnel to fill your mason jar, but it is still a good habit to get into to wipe the rim of your jar off before putting on your lids and rings. If there is any oil, or residue left on the rim of the jar from the contents you are putting in it can prevent your jars from sealing. I always like to use a heavy duty paper towel that is slightly moist to wipe them off versus a wash cloth. The reason I like the paper towel is because they are typically pure white so you can see if your paper towel starts to get soiled and swap it out for a clean one. You don't want to be wiping your rims with a dirty wash cloth because that would be counter productive.
Boil Those Lids
Finally, don't forget to boil your lids. Sometimes you can get away with this one, but sometimes you can't. When home canning you don't want to not seal an entire go because you forgot one simple step which is to soak your lids in boiling hot water before affixing them to the top of your jars. I actually did this the other day and luckily all the seals took, but it is definitely not something I would encourage or get into the habit of. Also, as you are placing your lids into the hot water it is always good to give them a quick once over to make sure they aren't bent in anyway and that the sealing is the entire way around.
Home canning is a great adventure and a wonderful way to provide for your family. Remember to not forget the small things while you are canning and you will have many great meals ahead of you!
Ancient Tomb Rings
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Kristen Forrester Hall
Canner's Corner
http://www.cannerscorner.com
kristen@cannerscorner.com
Home Canning Made Simple
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