Canning Pea Soup

[bigdaddy3k]

Last night I canned 4 quarts of pea soup. It had ham in it so I used the pressure canner. Everything has seemed to go well. However, after the canner was down to room pressure I pulled the jars out of the water and placed them on the counter. They have an excellent seal, nice and tight but the contents of the jars was boiling. Lots of motion! The solids of the soup had seemed to be compressed. I left the jars alone and checked them this morning. The solids have re-expanded to make the contents of the jar look normal. The boiling has stopped and the jars still have a great seal.

Has anyone encountered this? Is this just normal and I simply haven't seen it yet?

 

[mcnerd]

That's normal. Pressure Canning is bringing the temperature of its contents to over 240°F. Normal boiling temperature is 212°F so those superheated jars and contents will take awhile to cool down even to the boiling temperature.

Because of the danger of temperature shock that could shatter jars, you should wait 10 minutes after the canner comes down to normal pressure and the regulator is removed, but before the lid is removed. This allows the inside to cool down better before being exposed the normal air and possible drafts.

 

[bigdaddy3k]

Thanks! I left them in the canner for quite a bit before uncovering. It just freaked me out a bit. Next time I will baby step it even more.