Thursday, March 30, 2017

If I Brag About Successes...

then I also need to report my fails.

Out of the 14 quarts of chili I canned, one jar didn't seal right out of the canner.  That is not unusual.  While I was washing the jars prior to shelving them, another six jars popped their seals.  That is unusual.

I am not sure why this happened.  There are a number of reason why lids don't seal, but this is the first time I can remember having jars that seal, only to come loose the next day.

I put the offending jars in the fridge.  Tomorrow I will transfer the chili from the jars to freezer bags and freeze them.  I am debating whether or not I should just open the rest of the jars and freeze the contents of them as well.  With a failure rate of 50%, it seems likely that others could lose their seals and I could have chili on my shelf, slowly rotting away if I don't catch the popped seals right away.  Better to err on the side of caution.

On the bright side, I didn't lose any chili due to spoilage.  Good thing I cleaned out the freezer.  :)

16 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Gorges...That is my first guess. All the lids that failed came from the same box. So did most of the lids that are still sealed, which is why I don't dare just shelve them.

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  2. That is strange, but I am glad you caught it. You could just heat it all up again and re-can.

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    1. Linda...I'm glad I caught it, too! I thought about re-canning, but today is a busy day for me. That's why I decided just to freeze the entire batch. Whenever I can get more hamburger on sale, I will can some more then.

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  3. I wonder if the lids were bad. I noticed that ball lids (regular) were made differently last year. We are cutting ourselves when we open some, they are that sharp (bad lids or made differently?).

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    1. Kristina...I think I read where the sealant on the lids is now thinner than it was. And I have cut myself on the lids, too. Don't quote me, but I believe the changes came about after Kerr and Ball merged into one company. Their website lists several reasons why lids do not seal - all of which are due to operator error and none due to bad lids. I am careful in the extreme when canning. I know I did not skip a step nor was I careless in the procedure. So I am guessing I got my hands on a box of bad lids.

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  4. No matter what you are doing, seems like something always goes wrong to one extent or other. If I am working on my truck, it's things like needing an inch pattern tool and only having metric in the tool box. I guess things like that keep you flexible. You've still got plenty of good chili you can just microwave and eat! That's a good thing.

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    1. Harry...Does anything ever run smoothly as planned? Sometimes I think Murphy is a permanent resident here. :) This wasn't so bad. At least I didn't lose that big batch of chili - just have to move it around some. It will taste just as good, frozen or canned.

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  5. people are having high failure rates due to substandard lids.
    one article i read said to put two lids on before processing. think it was 'behar prepper'.
    when the jars cool the extra lid can be removed and used again as a second lid.
    apparently all the makers are producing thin worthless lids.
    try the two lid approach with one of your jars and see if it works.

    also keep an eye on the remaining sealed jars for later unsealing.

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  6. deborah...Thanks for the advice. I have been hearing about substandard lids, too. I will try the two lid approach the next time I can something. But right now I am too busy to mess with re-canning the chili, so into the freezer it goes.

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  7. At least they didn't fail in the canner. That would have been a real waste of time and money.
    Glorious spring day here. Full sun and blue skies. Cheers, SJ

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    1. SJ...Yeah, it could have been a lot worse. The only thing I lost was time, and Lord knows I have a bunch of that. :)
      It is warming up here, too. I have hope for spring!

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  8. Dang - wish I could remember where I saw a video (about two or three years ago) about lids . Woman claimed the new lids were only good for 6 months of storage.

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    1. CM...I think I have seen that video or one like it. I checked the Ball/Kerr website. They say the sealant on the lids was changed from a Latex base (which needs to be heated in boiling water) to Plastisol (which doesn't). I go by the manufacturers recommendations. The same website says the changes to the lids were made in 1969.

      If the lids were only good for 6 months of storage, it wouldn't make much sense to use canning as part of home food storage. I've got jars of food that I canned as far back as 2010 and are still perfectly good. I have two shelving units. Each is 6 ft. high and 4 ft. wide. The shelves hold rows of 5 jars deep. Both shelving units are plumb full and I have had to store the overflow on two shelves of a third unit. Thing is, with all of that I have had only one jar unseal on the shelf.

      I think it was just a bad batch of lids. :)

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  9. Vicki call them and they will sent you a coupon. I got some bad rings on new jars and they sent me a $5.00 coupon. It helps.

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    1. Thanks, stakandeggs...I probably wouldn't have thought to do that. I checked their website and they list both a phone number and an email. I will get in touch with them and see if they will make good on the bad lids. Every once in awhile I have jar that doesn't seal, but never have I had a seal failure like this. Should be worth a coupon. :)

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