If Canning Jars Leaked But Sealed, Are They OK?

When I'm asked the same question by three different people in three days, I know it must be a hot topic worthy of discussion.

Here's the scenario: You've made stock, applesauce, or peaches in syrup. You carefully ladle it into hot jars with the recommended headspace and dutifully can the recommended length of time in a water bath or pressure canner. But when you pull the jars out, the headspace is different and it looks like the canning jars leaked! Or liquid is still flowing out of the jars as they are cooling! The jars do seal and you wonder - what happened? Are they ok to put in the pantry?

First of all, you are not alone. Every experienced canner has seen jars with uneven headspace - sometimes it's one jar in a batch or sometimes it's the whole canner load.

Why Headspace Changes

Often, vigorous boiling or steaming during processing forces a little liquid out. This is especially true if you overfill jars by a little bit, which is easy to do, especially when raw packing fruits that float.

When one raw-packs tomatoes, corn, beans, peppers, or peaches in water or syrup, the produce may absorb some liquid during processing. Alternatively, if air bubbles aren't released before adding liquid, they will rise to the top during processing. This ultimately lowers the level of liquid in the jar.

Most often, liquid or sauce is forced out during the cooling process when air escapes the jar before it is fully sealed. Applesauce is especially prone to this; the sauce is viscous enough that air bubbles get a little 'stuck' behind the thick sauce and burst through a little more violently than they travel through liquid.

What To Do About Loss Of Liquid

After your jars are fully cooled, check the seal by lifting the jar gripping the edges of the lid only. If you are able to pick up the jar, it's sealed and you may store at room temperature. Clean any leaked liquid off the outside of the jar with a hot soapy rag because obviously anything outside the jar is prone to spoilage.

Occasionally the seal on jars that lost liquid during processing or cooling will fail later when a bit of fat, liquid, or produce matter dislodges the seal. This has never happened to me personally, but it's possible. If you ever find an unsealed jar on the pantry shelf, DISCARD the food and do not use it. I test every seal before I open a jar.

Food that remains exposed or floats on the top surface of the canning liquid may discolor but is still safe to eat. Store jars in a cool, dark place to slow the discoloring.

How To Prevent Canning Jars From Leaking

• Be sure to use very hot syrup or water when raw packing. If you're doing a large batch, it's ok to reheat the liquid during filling.
• Remove air bubbles with a sterile chopstick or butter knife and add liquid to achieve the correct headspace.
• Do not overfill jars.
• Carefully wipe the rims of every jar before putting on the lid to be sure there isn't a pathway for liquid to escape.
• Let jars cool a little (5-10 minutes) in the water bath after processing time ends and you turn off heat before removing them to the counter. My experience is that slower cooling results in less liquid loss, especially for applesauce.
• Always let the pressure canner come to room temperature on its own. Do not use cold water, remove the weight or otherwise try to hasten this process. Not only can you invite steam burns by messing with a hot pressure canner, but the jars need to cool slowly to avoid violent air expulsions that result in liquid loss.

Have you experienced canning jar liquid loss? What did you do?

If Canning Jars Leaked But Sealed, Are They OK?

When I'm asked the same question by three different people in three days, I know it must be a hot topic worthy of discussion.

Here's the scenario: You've made stock, applesauce, or peaches in syrup. You carefully ladle it into hot jars with the recommended headspace and dutifully can the recommended length of time in a water bath or pressure canner. But when you pull the jars out, the headspace is different and it looks like the canning jars leaked! Or liquid is still flowing out of the jars as they are cooling! The jars do seal and you wonder - what happened? Are they ok to put in the pantry?

First of all, you are not alone. Every experienced canner has seen jars with uneven headspace - sometimes it's one jar in a batch or sometimes it's the whole canner load.

Why Headspace Changes

Often, vigorous boiling or steaming during processing forces a little liquid out. This is especially true if you overfill jars by a little bit, which is easy to do, especially when raw packing fruits that float.

When one raw-packs tomatoes, corn, beans, peppers, or peaches in water or syrup, the produce may absorb some liquid during processing. Alternatively, if air bubbles aren't released before adding liquid, they will rise to the top during processing. This ultimately lowers the level of liquid in the jar.

Most often, liquid or sauce is forced out during the cooling process when air escapes the jar before it is fully sealed. Applesauce is especially prone to this; the sauce is viscous enough that air bubbles get a little 'stuck' behind the thick sauce and burst through a little more violently than they travel through liquid.

What To Do About Loss Of Liquid

After your jars are fully cooled, check the seal by lifting the jar gripping the edges of the lid only. If you are able to pick up the jar, it's sealed and you may store at room temperature. Clean any leaked liquid off the outside of the jar with a hot soapy rag because obviously anything outside the jar is prone to spoilage.

Occasionally the seal on jars that lost liquid during processing or cooling will fail later when a bit of fat, liquid, or produce matter dislodges the seal. This has never happened to me personally, but it's possible. If you ever find an unsealed jar on the pantry shelf, DISCARD the food and do not use it. I test every seal before I open a jar.

Food that remains exposed or floats on the top surface of the canning liquid may discolor but is still safe to eat. Store jars in a cool, dark place to slow the discoloring.

How To Prevent Canning Jars From Leaking

• Be sure to use very hot syrup or water when raw packing. If you're doing a large batch, it's ok to reheat the liquid during filling.
• Remove air bubbles with a sterile chopstick or butter knife and add liquid to achieve the correct headspace.
• Do not overfill jars.
• Carefully wipe the rims of every jar before putting on the lid to be sure there isn't a pathway for liquid to escape.
• Let jars cool a little (5-10 minutes) in the water bath after processing time ends and you turn off heat before removing them to the counter. My experience is that slower cooling results in less liquid loss, especially for applesauce.
• Always let the pressure canner come to room temperature on its own. Do not use cold water, remove the weight or otherwise try to hasten this process. Not only can you invite steam burns by messing with a hot pressure canner, but the jars need to cool slowly to avoid violent air expulsions that result in liquid loss.

Have you experienced canning jar liquid loss? What did you do?

Homegrown Home-canned Salsa {Recipe}

Home-canned salsa. It sounds so simple and yet many people struggle to make something that's "just right". The first recipe I tried was too watery. The next was too bland and the third had a too-cooked texture.  These were all a disappointing use of homegrown tomatoes and peppers!

Then finally last year my friend Jenn (who also shared celery powder with me) passed along this recipe. It is thick, richly-flavored, and has a pleasing chunky texture.

There are several tricks that make this recipe work. First is the preparation of the produce. I carefully remove the seeds and watery pulp with my thumb from each section of tomato and drop that into a bowl for the chickens. I chop the remaining flesh with skin on into a colander to drain away any further juice. I measure the tomato pieces into a large measuring bowl and then move on to chopping the peppers, garlic, and onion.

Next up is seasonings. Dry spices like cumin and coriander add an aged, smokey flavor that differentiates this salsa from fresh pico de gallo. Our own touch is some of last season's homegrown and house smoked ancho peppers.

Two elements contribute to the perfect salsa texture: a quick cooking and processing time and the addition of tomato paste. Overcooked salsa has the taste and texture of tomato soup, which isn't what we prefer. Tomato paste (we can our own each year) thickens the salsa while adding a rich, dense tomato flavor.

I like to can salsa in squat half pint jars manufactured by Kerr, found locally at City Folk's Farm Shop. The short and wide dimensions allow for dipping right out of the jar.

If you, like me, have been searching for the perfect tomato salsa recipe, try this one. 

Home-Canned Salsa

Makes: 10 half pints

8 cups chopped, seeded, drained tomatoes 2 cups finely diced red onion 1.5 cups chopped peppers (use a mix of sweet and hot peppers for a medium heat salsa) 6 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 cup lime juice 1/3 cup vinegar 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground smoked ancho peppers 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds 1 teaspoon black pepper 8 ounces tomato paste

1. Stir tomatoes, onion, peppers, and garlic in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add in lime juice, vinegar, kosher salt, cumin, ancho peppers, coriander, and black pepper.

2. Bring to a simmer on the stove. Cook for 5-10 minutes until onions begin to soften. Meanwhile, heat 9 half pint jars in a boiling water bath. Wash rings and new lids in hot soapy water.

3. Stir in tomato paste and return salsa to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

4. Ladle salsa into sterilized jars. Fill to a head space of 1/2 inch. Center lid and tighten rings.

5. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. Remove from hot water, allow to cool completely, label, and store.

A note about canning salsa safely: Keep the proportions of tomatoes, onions and peppers to lime juice and vinegar consistent. This recipe keeps the ratios of pH tested recipes which rely on juice and vinegar to add acidity and balance the lower pH of onions and peppers. You can use fewer peppers and onions or spice up the salsa with additional dried peppers but do not increase the amount of peppers and onions or you might create a finished product without a low enough pH to be safely canned in a water bath.

Homegrown Home-canned Salsa {Recipe}

Home-canned salsa. It sounds so simple and yet many people struggle to make something that's "just right". The first recipe I tried was too watery. The next was too bland and the third had a too-cooked texture.  These were all a disappointing use of homegrown tomatoes and peppers!

Then finally last year my friend Jenn (who also shared celery powder with me) passed along this recipe. It is thick, richly-flavored, and has a pleasing chunky texture.

There are several tricks that make this recipe work. First is the preparation of the produce. I carefully remove the seeds and watery pulp with my thumb from each section of tomato and drop that into a bowl for the chickens. I chop the remaining flesh with skin on into a colander to drain away any further juice. I measure the tomato pieces into a large measuring bowl and then move on to chopping the peppers, garlic, and onion.

Next up is seasonings. Dry spices like cumin and coriander add an aged, smokey flavor that differentiates this salsa from fresh pico de gallo. Our own touch is some of last season's homegrown and house smoked ancho peppers.

Two elements contribute to the perfect salsa texture: a quick cooking and processing time and the addition of tomato paste. Overcooked salsa has the taste and texture of tomato soup, which isn't what we prefer. Tomato paste (we can our own each year) thickens the salsa while adding a rich, dense tomato flavor.

I like to can salsa in squat half pint jars manufactured by Kerr, found locally at City Folk's Farm Shop. The short and wide dimensions allow for dipping right out of the jar.

If you, like me, have been searching for the perfect tomato salsa recipe, try this one. 

Home-Canned Salsa

Makes: 10 half pints

8 cups chopped, seeded, drained tomatoes 2 cups finely diced red onion 1.5 cups chopped peppers (use a mix of sweet and hot peppers for a medium heat salsa) 6 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 cup lime juice 1/3 cup vinegar 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground smoked ancho peppers 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds 1 teaspoon black pepper 8 ounces tomato paste

1. Stir tomatoes, onion, peppers, and garlic in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add in lime juice, vinegar, kosher salt, cumin, ancho peppers, coriander, and black pepper.

2. Bring to a simmer on the stove. Cook for 5-10 minutes until onions begin to soften. Meanwhile, heat 9 half pint jars in a boiling water bath. Wash rings and new lids in hot soapy water.

3. Stir in tomato paste and return salsa to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

4. Ladle salsa into sterilized jars. Fill to a head space of 1/2 inch. Center lid and tighten rings.

5. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. Remove from hot water, allow to cool completely, label, and store.

A note about canning salsa safely: Keep the proportions of tomatoes, onions and peppers to lime juice and vinegar consistent. This recipe keeps the ratios of pH tested recipes which rely on juice and vinegar to add acidity and balance the lower pH of onions and peppers. You can use fewer peppers and onions or spice up the salsa with additional dried peppers but do not increase the amount of peppers and onions or you might create a finished product without a low enough pH to be safely canned in a water bath.

Ginger Raw Honey Syrup {Recipe}

It's baby ginger season again!

Swainway Urban Farm is harvesting several dozen pounds of Hawaiian baby ginger each week. Unlike the grocery store stuff, fresh young ginger doesn't need to be peeled and has a pleasant crisp texture when raw. The flavor is complex and well-rounded with an alluring floral aroma.

I enjoy chopped pieces raw in stir fry or soup. A savored slice settles the stomach while making me feel alert*. Sadly, fresh ginger doesn't last long (though you can freeze it) and some members of my family don't like it raw.

So what else can I do to enjoy the delicate aroma and mild flavor? How about syrup?

I started by making a very strong tea of simmered roughly chopped pieces (including the stems and roots). To sweeten, I added raw local honey, a healthy, immune-boosting sugar*, after the tea cooled.

The resulting ginger raw honey syrup is the best thing I've made in months. It is sweet, flowery, and soothing. I 'prescribed' a shot in tea to Alex when he was complaining of an upset stomach*. Combined with soda water, the syrup makes top-notch ginger ale. And I can attest it pairs well with rum and whiskey.

I estimate this syrup will last in the fridge for at least a month. I'll report back on experiments with canning and fermenting some to further extend the shelf life through the winter cold and flu season.

In the meantime, find some baby ginger at the Clintonville Farmers' Market and make this healthful* and tasty syrup for yourself.

Ginger Raw Honey Syrup

Makes: 3-4 cups Time: 45 minutes

2 cups scrubbed fresh baby ginger, chopped 4 cups water 3/4-1 1/2 cups raw local honey, to taste

1. Gently simmer ginger and water in a heavy bottomed pan for 30 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature. 2. Pour ginger tea through a strainer to discard ginger pieces. 3. Add honey and stir vigorously. 4. Store in the refrigerator. Use as a base for ginger ale, cocktail mixer, addition to hot tea, or sip as a health tonic*.

*Health-related statements have not been approved by the Food & Drug Administration, who is shutdown and can't approve anything right now. Cultures around the world have eaten ginger and honey in various forms to treat a multitude of symptoms so I defer to their wisdom and my personal experience.

Our Worst Canning Accident Yet

My students at canning classes frequently express concern about botulism. I ease their fears about that rare occurrence by assuring them they should worry about burns instead. Hanging around boiling water, hot jars, and simmering sauces is a recipe for a brush with hot stuff, one I experienced today.

My friend Kate of Kate On The Way and I were canning sauced tomatoes in quarts. During the water bath phase, one of the lids loosened and tomato sauce seeped into the boil. No problem, we kept the other jars in there to finish processing.

Kate removed a jar after the finished time. As she went to tighten the ring a bit (a necessary step for Tattler lids), the lid flew off, creating an explosion of tomato. We both were covered in the spray of boiling sugary puree.

We ran for cool water and eventually made our way outside to harvest, chew, and apply plantain poultice. Our left arms have a series of first and second degree* burns with Kate suffering more than me.

Alex was kind enough to pull the remaining jars from the canner after they cooled a little. By then, three of the remaining jars had also lost their lids, the contents mingling with the water bath.

Learning From A Canning Accident

Since neither of us were hurt badly, we moved pretty quickly into the "how did this happen?" phase. Kate and I have each canned hundreds of jars of food before, if not thousands.

We referenced a canning book and filled the jars to the right head space. We heated the canning bath to a simmer so the jars weren't rattling in a raging boil. We used a proper canner with a  rack on the bottom. We have done all of these things many times.

We concluded that the lids must have been the issue. Although they were tightened according to directions, and Kate and I both have used them before, the Tattler process failed this time. Will we ever use Tattlers again? Kate says yes, I'm less sure.

Additionally, I experienced why it isn't a good idea to hover when someone else is pulling jars out of the water bath. I can't remember exactly why I was near - I might have been getting ready to grab something out of the fridge - but I shouldn't have been so close. While the Tattlers might be responsible in this case, glass failures and drops can also occur when jars are moved from the water bath to the cooling place. Someone standing nearby can be in the line of fire.

Finally, we were reminded that even experienced canners must remain vigilant to the risks at hand. We feel fortunate that the liquid exploded onto our bodies and not our faces, and that no pets or children were caught in the splatter. We lost some home-grown goodness and in a little bit of pain, but ultimately realize this could have been much worse.

We'll continue to put up food using water bath and pressure canning, with these lessons learned:

• Use caution if you use Tattler lids with liquidy sauces
• Stand back when removing hot jars from the hot water bath
• Keep children and pets at a distance when canning
• Have a plan in place for treating burns
• *Identify some plantain in your yard. By all accounts, we should have blistered burns but thanks to plantain we don't. Kate details a little more about using plantain to heal.

What's your worst canning disaster? What did you learn from it?

Fermenting Wisdom from Sandor Katz

Wild Fermentation and Art of Fermentation author Sandor Katz visited Columbus briefly last week. He taught two classes to the ever-growing population of people who keep jars of ferments brewing in their homes.

Our family ferments sauerkraut, sour cream, kefir, beer, charcuterie and more on a regular basis. I don't write about it here often because we never make the same thing twice, preferring to ferment what we have in abundance at any given time. Fermentation is a fun and useful pursuit that I want to encourage. Below are ideas from Sandor Katz to start your sour juices flowing:

"There's No Food You Can't Ferment"

People ferment for:

• preservation - krauts, kimchis, and cheeses historically allowed populations to survive between growing seasons
• production of alcohol - to sanitize water, provide entertainment and elightenment, and preserve grains in a useable form
• digestion - see below
• flavor - almost all gourmet foods like cheeses, cured meats, olives, chocolate, coffee, and vinegars are fermented

Vegetables are a good place to start because they are intrinsically safe, require no special equipment, ferment quickly and are delicious. The process can be as simple as cutting up vegetables, pressing them until juices run, adding a little salt, and submerging under juices or water for a few days until they sour.

Salt is good for the process because it discourages unwanted molds, enhances taste, and maintains texture but you can use very little. Through osmosis, salt pulls out water and creates a desirable selective environment for the fermenting bacteria that can tolerate salt.

Fermentation changes foods by:

• pre-digesting nutrients that humans cannot digest normally, as is the case in dried soybeans fermented into tofu
• enhancing nutritients - fermented foods have more B vitamins than fresh versions and some nutrients like natokinase are only available after fermentation
• de-toxification - cassava, the African staple crop, for example, is a root vegetable that contains cyanide and is inedible until fermented.
• live bacterial cultures - pro-biotics aid digestion by supplementing the biota in our guts. Eating naturally fermented foods with diverse macrobiotics offer more benefits than monoculture probiotic additives or pills.

"Where Is The Line Between Fermented And Rotten?"

No form of life has lived without bacteria, yet Americans for the past 100 years have been indoctrinated in the idea that bacteria is dangerous. Humans need bacteria to digest and absorb nutrients, reproduce, and support immune function.

The origins of fermented foods predate recorded history because as soon as humans chose an agrarian lifestyle, they had to use fermentation to preserve crops. Agriculture would not make sense if fermentation did not exist.

Food exists on a spectrum from fresh to rotten. Cultural standards often define what is too rotten to eat. Scandinavians notoriously eat fermented fish that both smells and looks rotten to most Americans. Runny, molded cheeses are not common here either but are considered delicacies in parts of Europe. Expanding your palate by eating more fermented foods may open your mind to new flavors.

"Be Bold In Your Experimentation But Not In Your Quantities"

Once in awhile, everyone who attempts fermented foods will create something that isn't tasty at the best or afflicted by black mold at the worst. It's ok - we all make mistakes. To minimize waste, make many small batches until you learn what works in your environment and with your particular tastes.

For health, preservation and flavor, ferment!

Special thanks to City Folk's Farm Shop, Swainway Urban Farm, and Clintonville Community Market for sponsoring this event and Janine Harris Degitz for organizing.

Loving Lard - How To Make And Use Rendered Pork Fat

Oh, lard. Mention the word and some people turn up their noses, remembering days of eating cookies that tasted like pork. Others are curious, having never eaten lard to their knowledge. And then there are those of us whose faces break into knowing smiles.

All About Lard

High quality lard is a pure-white fat. It remains solid at room temperature. It should smell only slightly porky, if at all, and that flavor bakes away when cooking.

Home-processed pork lard is arguably healthier than vegetable shortening because it doesn't contain trans or hydrogenated fats. It contains less saturated fat than butter and is 45% monounsaturated fat, one of the more heart-healthy kinds. Lard also contains vitamin D naturally.

Pay attention to lard labels if purchasing - some are hydrogenated to be shelf stable which transforms some of the good fat into trans fats. Others contain preservatives like BHT which you may want to avoid. I recommend buying directly from a local pork producer like Morning Sun Organic Farm.

How To Make Lard

Start with high quality pork fat from around the organs (leaf lard) or body of the animal. When we recently slaughtered and butchered a Large Black pig from Six Buckets Farm, we ended up with 18 pounds of fat unattached to muscle cuts. Lyndsey, the farmer, was concerned that we might be upset with the excess fat, but I assured her we knew what to do with it. Set up a rendering pot, a heavy bottomed non-reactive lidded pot over an adjustable heat source. Some prefer to do this outside over a propane stove because the slightly porky smell can bother some folks. A crockpot set up in a garage or porch is another idea.

Add in your pork fat, ideally fresh and chunked into small pieces. Ours was frozen this time so we started the heat very low, breaking up the pieces as it thawed. Add a little water and the lid so the fat begins to simmer over low heat. You want the fat to melt out of any proteins that might hold it in place without burning those same proteins. Stir frequently to prevent sticking on the bottom.

In one to three hours, you'll have a pool of fat with some pork cracklins. Drain the cracklins on a towel and eat as a snack or on salad. Pour off the liquid lard into a non-reactive container like a mason jar. Some people stir in salt at this point to flavor and preserve the fat. Allow it to come to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for up to a month or freeze for up to a year.

What To Cook With Lard

Lard makes the best pastry. Lard pie crust (I use Ruhlman's 3-2-1 ratio of  flour, fat, and water by weight with at least 30 minute rest in fridge) is flavor neutral and bakes into a flaky yet strong dough to contain fillings. Lard dough is very easy to work. Sometimes I mix lard 50/50 with butter because the butter flavor is desired.

You can pan-fry meat or vegetables in lard. It is a useful emulsifier in pates. Many traditional recipes like Mexican tamales and refried beans call for lard. Some chefs are even advancing the fat to be used as a spread like butter - whipped salted lard was part of a bread and spreads platter I ordered in October at Cleveland's The Greenhouse Tavern.

Pork Lard 1. Start with leaf fat, back fat, or belly fat from pork. Cut into one inch pieces and place in a clean deep sided pot. 2. Add a little water to the pot, cover, and begin to heat over low heat. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Continue until all fat is melted, one to three hours. Add more water as needed to keep fat from browning. 3. Cook as long as desired to crisp up cracklings (delicious on salad or as a garnish!) and then strain through cheese cloth or a paper coffee filter. 4. Pour lard into clean glass containers and allow to cool to room temperature. You may add salt to taste while it is still liquefied  Refrigerate and use within a month or freeze for up to a year.

Do you use lard? Do you make it?

PS. Like Harmonious Homestead of Facebook to see photo outtakes featuring a certain lard lovin' kitty, Moonshine.