Bill and I have dubbed ourselves with a new acronym (actually an acronym within an acronym): DADrunCs (DINKS against Drunk Canning). DINK= Double Income No Kids.
In the midst of our canning frenzy last night, we had a couple of beers. No doubt, it was wildly fun and we giggled and cranked the tunes as we processed 50 pounds of tomatoes. But, disaster eventually struck. I burned myself. And then, I did cardinal canning sin #1: I inadvertently let the lids boil instead of simmer. It is marked clearly on the lid box, like the surgeon general's warning for canners. But I blew it off as no big deal, something I would never do stone cold sober. So, after all the prep, and 70 minutes in the pressure canner, 2 of my 7 quarts of spaghetti sauce with sausage failed to seal. We did not, however, blow up the pressure canner, so all in all, the losses were minimal.
On the bright side, I researched a new method of sterilizing jars. The trouble with water sterilization is that it takes so much energy to heat up the water. Not to mention, I have limited space on my stove top. The oven method is simple. First, clean your jars in soap and water, place them on a cookie sheet, and preheat the oven to 225-250. And then you let them cook for 20 minutes, keeping the oven door closed. Remove them with a mitt, fill them promptly and place them in the canner. Viola! Simple. And so much more energy efficient. Of course, this method is not FDA approved. However, according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, sterilization of jars is not even required for pressure canners or for water bath canners when used for more than 10 minuets (20 minutes at my elevation). So, in most cases, all I really need to do is heat the jars, which the oven is perfectly capable of doing.
Lessons Learned:
1. Don't boil the lids!
2. DADrunCs
3. Sterilize canning jars in the oven.
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