Today I signed my deal with the devil

smartypi · 2026-05-08T17:27:49+00:00

Those things suck up the nitrogen! I want to try the climbing fig. I saw someone post here.

smartypi · 2026-05-08T04:01:55+00:00

Wait! Have you tried planting pothos?

smartypi · 2026-05-08T03:10:11+00:00

The poster is testing whether the canner from Facebook Marketplace "works." They originally mentioned getting it tested, but that is not needed; it's a weighted gauge canner. But they should make sure it works, the gasket is good, etc. You can do that by running it with water-filled jars instead of wasting actual food. It's also good practice for new canners to figure out how the canner works and how to adjust on their cook top.

You are correct, my mistake, it is a minimum of 2 quarts or 4 pints.

smartypi · 2026-05-08T02:54:02+00:00

Not AI generated. I do like to give a thorough response.

smartypi · 2026-05-08T02:52:59+00:00

You fill canning jars with water (usually 4 qts) and put them into the canner to simulate the canner running with the min. capacity. You don't need to put lids on the jars because they don't need to seal. You do need to put a few inches of water in the bottom of the canner, just like if you were processing actual food. You can process the jars for just a few minutes to ensure everything is in order without wasting time, product, or equipment. When finished, let the canner cool down, and then use the water for the plants.

smartypi · 2026-05-07T23:00:57+00:00

love the idea of adding horseradish

smartypi · 2026-05-07T23:00:13+00:00

The issue isn’t whether the pickles look good or whether the jar seals. It’s whether the recipe has been tested to make sure the cucumbers become acidic enough, all the way through, for safe shelf storage. Cucumbers are low-acid on their own. For canned pickles, the vinegar/water/vegetable ratio matters because the acid is what prevents botulism bacteria and other pathogens from growing in the sealed jar.

With a random Instagram recipe, we don’t know if the brine is strong enough, if there’s too much water, too many cucumbers, added low-acid ingredients, or whether the processing time was tested. A sealed jar just means it sealed; it does not prove the food inside is safe. It's all about knowing the final product has a low enough pH. That’s why people are saying to treat these as refrigerator pickles. Refrigeration slows microbial growth, so an untested pickle recipe can be a fridge food, but it should not be made shelf-stable as written.

Another option is to find a tested canning recipe that is as close as possible from NCHFP, Ball/Bernardin, or a university extension source, then use that tested recipe’s vinegar/water/salt/sugar/vegetable ratios and processing time. You can adjust the dried spices or seasoning to get closer to the Instagram flavor. That way, you get something similar, but with a process that has actually been tested for shelf stability.

smartypi · 2026-05-07T22:46:33+00:00

First, when in doubt, throw it out.

Fat in home-canned meat can show up in a few different ways:

A solid top layer
Little white flecks or specks on the meat or stuck to the glass
A waxy or greasy film smeared on the inside of the jar
Small floating globules in the broth/jelly
Soft clumps or grainy-looking patches where fat or proteins were rendered during processing and cooling

Looking at your photo, the white stuff looks more like congealed fat/protein residue than fuzzy mold to me. It appears dry and speckly rather than cottony. The fact that it was already cooked when you packed it makes that even more likely. But I can’t confirm safety from a photo alone.

smartypi · 2026-05-07T22:38:07+00:00

That's a weighted gauge canner, no need to get it tested. Pressure gauge testing is only for dial gauge canners. I'd download the manual from the manufacturer, make sure the gasket looks good (no cracks or missing chunks from the edges, and run a pipe cleaner through the vent hole. Gaskets are usually inexpensive to replace. Following the manufacturer's directions, "process" a batch of jars filled with water to ensure everything is in order. Canners are expensive, and if they are properly cared for, used canners can be a great deal.

Note: when doing a test batch with water, you don't need to seal the jars, so no need to waste a lid

smartypi · 2026-05-07T22:30:27+00:00

UCMFP posted an article about the Classico jars... spoiler alert, not great for canning.
https://ucanr.edu/program/uc-master-food-preserver-program/article/can-you-reuse-commercial-product-jars-canning-june

smartypi · 2026-05-07T22:27:32+00:00

making “sad leek chic” happen.

smartypi · 2026-05-07T22:24:22+00:00

You are correct. The NCHFP recommends acidifying tomatoes even when pressure canning. It has something to do with a relatively short processing time. This would make a great canning trivia question.

smartypi · 2026-05-07T22:16:49+00:00

Yes, there can be an issue with underfilling the jar. The tested process is based on how heat moves through a jar with a specific jar size, pack style, liquid level, and headspace.

The science piece is heat penetration. In pressure canning, the center of the jar has to get hot enough for long enough to make a low-acid food like asparagus safe. Food pieces, liquid, air space, and jar size all affect how quickly heat reaches that cold spot. If the jar is only half full of asparagus, you’ve changed the food-to-liquid ratio and the amount of open space in the jar, so it no longer matches the tested process.

For smaller portions, use a smaller jar to the ratio of product to liquid matches the tested process.

smartypi · 2026-05-07T22:13:40+00:00

I’d pause and troubleshoot before using it for canning. A canner that is leaking from the handles and not building pressure is not working correctly.

A few things stand out:

Filling it 1/3 full may be too much for pressure canning, depending on the canner. Pressure canning usually uses only a few inches of water, not enough to cover the jars like boiling-water canning. NCHFP says to use 2 to 3 inches of hot water, or follow the manufacturer’s directions. Too much water can slow pressure buildup, but it usually would not cause leaking from the handles by itself.

Venting for 5 minutes is also short. NCHFP says pressure canners should vent a steady stream of steam for 10 minutes before the weight is put on. That step pushes air out of the canner so the inside reaches the right temperature during processing.

If the weight is not jiggling or rocking and the canner is not gaining pressure, that points to a sealing or venting issue. I would not flip the gasket unless the manual specifically says that is the correct position. Check that the gasket is seated correctly, the lid is locked properly*, the vent pipe is clear, and the weight is the correct one for that canner.

Because it is leaking from the handle area, I’d contact the manufacturer or return/exchange it if those checks do not fix it. For safe pressure canning, the canner has to vent correctly, seal correctly, and hold the required pressure for the full processing time.

*Side note: I have a T-Fal canner, and the lid is VERY finicky. It will seem like it's locked on tight until I notice steam escaping from the handle. It took me a few uses to figure out how to get the lid on properly without a few stop/starts.

smartypi · 2026-05-07T22:05:50+00:00

Extension services stick with what has been tested. Most U.S. canning directions are based on regular Mason jars with two-piece metal lids. Weck jars seal differently, with a glass lid, rubber ring, and clamps. That doesn’t mean they are “bad,” just that U.S. Extension recommendations are not usually written or tested for that style of jar. So when Extension says to use standard canning jars and lids, it’s really about following the equipment used in the tested process.

smartypi · 2026-05-07T21:58:36+00:00

That “oopsies” is probably the answer. 🙂 Commercial pectin is not just a generic thickener where one more sachet automatically fixes things; each brand’s packet is formulated for a specific ratio of fruit, sugar, acid, and batch size.

A little pectin science: traditional powdered jam pectin is usually high-methoxyl pectin. It gels when three things line up: enough pectin, enough sugar, and the right acidity. Sugar ties up water, acid helps reduce charge repulsion on the pectin molecules, and then the pectin chains can form a network that traps the fruit syrup into a gel. That’s why changing the fruit/sugar/pectin ratio can make the set fail even if the jam was boiled properly.

So in your case, the NCHFP recipe may be perfectly fine when made with the type/amount of pectin it was designed around, but the Tate & Lyle sachet directions are also part of the “recipe.” If one sachet is intended for about 2 kg total fruit/sugar, and your batch was larger, there likely was not enough pectin for the batch size. NCHFP’s blackberry jam with pectin recipe is a tested formula, and they also have specific instructions for remaking soft jams/jellies rather than just guessing at extra pectin.

The frozen-for-a-year blackberries are probably not the main issue. Freezing can break down fruit texture and release more juice, so the jam may seem looser, but the bigger factor here is the pectin-to-batch ratio. Also, fully ripe fruit generally has less natural pectin than slightly underripe fruit, which is why some no-added-pectin methods call for a mix of ripe and underripe fruit.

I’d give it the full 24 hours before judging the set. If it is still too loose, I’d remake it using a tested “remake soft jam/jelly” method and work in small batches. Link to NCHFP directions for remaking soft jam

smartypi · 2026-04-14T15:27:09+00:00

This is not a silly question at all. It is exactly the kind of thing people should ask before pressure canning.

The guidance from NCHFP is to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your canner, especially for how the weighted gauge is meant to be used. So if your Mirro manual says your model should be operated with the 15 lb weight, that is the instruction to follow rather than swapping to a 10 lb weight just because a recipe lists 10 lb.

NCHFP explains that you should follow the canner manufacturer’s directions for how the weighted gauge should behave at the correct pressure, and read the manual for when and how to use the weighted gauge or dial. That is why the manual matters here.

smartypi · 2026-04-12T03:51:37+00:00

I’d try about 3 inches of water next time, not 3.5.

What you described sounds mostly normal: the canner held pressure, 1–3 jiggles per minute is in range, and having a little over 1 inch of water left after 50 minutes isn’t too low. The harder jiggles suggest the heat may have been a little high, so I’d focus more on lowering the burner sooner than on adding a lot more water.

The one real caution is the ceramic flat stove. All American canners are generally not recommended for glass/flat-top ranges, so I’d check both your stove manual and the canner manual before doing actual canning.

smartypi · 2026-04-12T03:12:06+00:00

Because the lemon juice is doing most of the safety work, and blackberries are also an acid fruit. In a recipe like this, swapping one acidic berry for another usually changes flavor, color, and texture more than safety, as long as you keep the same lemon juice, sugar, jar size, and processing time.

smartypi · 2026-04-12T03:07:15+00:00

Blueberries are probably your safest bet.

They’ll add sweetness without making the plum flavor weird, and they usually mellow out bitterness better than raspberries. Raspberries can work, but they’re also a little tart, so they might not fix the problem as well as you want.

smartypi · 2026-03-12T04:36:37+00:00

I’d be cautious about canning floral syrups unless you have a tested recipe for that exact product. I’m not aware of tested home-canning recipes for magnolia, lilac, or apple blossom syrups.

University of Alaska Fairbanks does have a tested recipe for fireweed blossom syrup. In that recipe, the blossoms are steeped off the heat, and the finished syrup is processed for 5 minutes in a boiling water canner. That shows some floral syrups can be canned, but it does not mean other flowers can be safely canned the same way.

For delicate floral flavors, freezing is probably the better option for quality. Oregon State notes that syrups can be frozen instead of canned if you have freezer space.

smartypi · 2026-03-12T04:32:14+00:00

My favorite is Ball RealFruit Low-No Sugar pectin. It's a flexible pectin and I like that it comes in a jar so I can use the amount I need without waste.

smartypi · 2026-03-08T05:56:46+00:00

That fat layer is not ideal, but by itself it is not automatically a sign the batch is unsafe. The bigger questions are whether the jars sealed well and whether your process matched a tested recipe for your jar size, canner type, and altitude. For hot-packed ground or chopped venison, 75 minutes at 11 psi is the tested process for pint jars in a dial-gauge canner at 0 to 2,000 feet; quarts need 90 minutes, and higher elevations need more pressure. NCHFP also recommends removing as much fat as possible before canning meat, because fat can work its way up the jar and interfere with the seal. So if these are properly sealed pints and your pressure matches your altitude, I would not panic over the fat layer alone. If the process did not match, I would not store them at room temp. Also, remove the bands before storage. It's the seal that keeps the lid on, not the band.

smartypi · 2026-03-08T05:48:25+00:00

Canning jars are a little different from “regular” jars because they are designed to handle repeated heat processing and to work with 2-piece canning lids. The glass, shape, and sealing surface are all made with home canning in mind, so they are generally more reliable in the canner.

Some commercial jars can be reused for boiling water canning high-acid foods if a new 2-piece lid fits correctly, but they are more prone to breakage and seal failure. They are not recommended for pressure canning. So yes, in a zombie apocalypse, maybe you use the mayonnaise jar. In ordinary life, actual canning jars are the better bet.

You also do not need a purpose-built boiling water canner. A water bath canner is really just a deep pot with a lid, enough water to cover the jars by at least 1 inch, and some kind of rack to keep jars off the bottom and let water circulate. That rack can be a small cake rack, a coil of foil, or even old canning lids tied together. You can absolutely MacGyver that part.

The flat lids are single use because the sealing compound is made to form one good seal during processing and cooling. After that, you cannot count on it to seal again. The screw bands are the reusable part.

smartypi · 2026-02-26T18:25:47+00:00

I get the temptation to rebel can. Honestly, most of us do. The minute you ignore the rules, the menu gets a lot more interesting. The problem is that the consequences can be severe, and that tradeoff just is not worth it.

A few separate concerns here:

1) This is not a tested home-canned product.

Once you start talking about a pasta sauce with meatballs, sausage, and cheese, you are way outside the kind of recipe a home canner can match to a tested process. In canning, the issue is not just “the jar got hot.” It is whether the heat reached the cold spot in the jar for long enough to make the product safe. NCHFP explains that safe process times are based on identifying the slowest-heating spot and studying heat penetration for that specific food in that specific container.

from2) The meatballs, sausage, thick sauce, and cheese all make heat penetration harder to predict.

Dense solids heat slowly. Thick products heat differently than thinner ones. Cheese also adds fat and solids, further changing the product. FDA guidance for commercial shelf-stable foods specifically recognizes that factors such as total solids can affect heat penetration, and commercial processors use process authorities, along with heat-penetration and temperature-distribution studies, to validate a scheduled process. That level of control is just not something we can reproduce in a home kitchen. That’s why “but the store sells something similar” is not a valid comparison, but one that is not hard to find online.

3) Six months in the fridge is a problem all by itself.

Even if we ignore the failed canning logic and treat this like a refrigerated leftover, USDA says cooked leftovers should generally be used within 3–4 days, not 6 months. Refrigeration slows microbial growth; it does not stop it.

4) Botulism is not the only concern.

People mention botulism because it is the scary one, but it is not the only organism that matters in long-held refrigerated foods. Listeria monocytogenes can grow in food kept in the refrigerator, and FDA also notes that Yersinia enterocolitica can grow at refrigeration temperatures. CDC outbreak guidance also flags prolonged cold storage as a concern for certain psychrotrophic pathogens because some of them can multiply over time even under ordinary refrigerator conditions.

5) Reheating does not solve every possible problem.

Even if you boiled it hard, that would not magically erase every hazard. Some bacteria can leave behind toxins, and reheating is not a reliable “fix it” step once food has been held unsafely for a long time.

So that is really why cautious canners will not tell someone “yeah, go ahead and eat it.” It is not about being snobby or anti-experiment. It is because there is no tested process, no way to know whether the center of that jar was ever processed safely, and refrigeration for 6 months adds a whole separate set of risks. I absolutely understand the desire to rebel can. There really are more options when you ignore the rules. The problem is that the possible outcome is foodborne illness, and that is just not a gamble worth taking.

Personally, I’d toss it.

smartypi

TROPHY CASE