How do you know if your canning (for jam) was successful?!
How do you know if your canning (for jam) was successful?
I am canning jam and I processed it per the instructions on the pectin box. However, after the jars came out of the water bath and cooled slightly, most of them still popped when you pushed down on them. I reproccessed most of them to make sure the rims and lids were clean, but when I took them out of the water bath again (for 15 minutes - I'm at sea level) some of the lids were raised slightly and when I pushed down on them a couple times they stayed down, now appearing to have been done properly. So now all but one jar appears to be properly canned and the lid doesn't move when I push down on it, but is it ok? I'm not going to die from rotten food or open up disgusting jars of jam in a few months?
Anyhow, this is my first time canning, and I want to make sure I've done it right. I'm especially worried about the ones that were ok.
Answers: It is the cooling after being heated that causes the jars to seal. Just set them in a cool, draft free place and let them cool completely. The jars with the lids that stay down are fine. The one that did not seal, just put in the fridge to eat first. I make bunches of jams and butters each fall and mine usually do fine.
If you can wait, freeze your fruit pulp or pieces, making the jam when the weather is cooler helps as well. And it doesn't heat up the house. I have already had a few that needed a little push on the lid to make it go down. Unfortunately, you wont know until your ready to use them if they are ok, unless there is enough headroom in the jars for you to see if any mold develops. Good Luck Since I only do a small amount from the fruit I raise myself, I can store mine in the bottom of the fridge, that way it is doubly safe and we eat it soon anyway. But if they popped why are you still worried about them, just trust the process. Sometimes they take a while to cool enough to pop. It usually takes more than 15 mins for the lids to seal. Give it a few hours, and if they aren't sealed by the time the jars are completely cooled off, they aren't going to seal.
Then, you can re process, or put them in the fridge to use first!
I hope they work out for you!
No need to worry about rotten food... if it pops up, it isn't sealed, if it stays down, they are good!
Good luck! Try lots of fun canning this summer... pickles are super easy too!!