Читать книгу Canning & Preserving For Dummies - Amelia Jeanroy - Страница 75

With your jars filled, you’re ready to begin processing. Follow these steps:

1 Place the jar rack in your canning kettle, suspending it with the handles on the inside edge of the kettle.

2 Place the filled jars in the jar rack, making sure they’re standing upright and not touching each other.Although the size of your kettle seems large, don’t be tempted to pack your canner with jars. Only place as many jars as will comfortably fit yet still allow water to move freely between them. And always process jars in a single layer in the jar rack. If your recipe calls for the same processing times for half-pint and pint jars, you may process those two sizes together. Otherwise, don’t process half-pint or pint jars with quart jars because the larger amount of food in quart jars requires a longer processing time to kill any bacteria and microorganisms.

3 Unhook the jar rack from the edge of the kettle, carefully lowering it into the hot water, and add water if necessary. Air bubbles coming from the jars are normal. If your jars aren’t covered by 1 to 2 inches of water, add boiling water from your reserve teakettle or saucepan to achieve this level. Be careful to pour this hot water between the jars, instead of directly on top of them, to prevent splashing yourself with hot water.

4 Cover the kettle and heat the water to a full, rolling boil, reducing the heat and maintaining a gentle, rolling boil for the amount of time indicated in the recipe.Start your processing time after the water boils. Maintain a boil for the entire processing period.If you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet above sea level, you need to adjust your processing time. Check out “Adjusting Your Processing Times at High Altitudes” later in this chapter for details.