How long for the water bath?

[Debora Cadene]

I'm attempting my dill pickles, but am getting mixed reviews on how long to do the water bath for. One spot will say boiling for 10 minutes (i'm doing pint jars) another will say maintain the water temp for 30 minutes at 185 degree's. I"m more confused then ever. Which is it????

 

[blissful]

You should follow the recipe, the ingredients, the amounts, how to assemble, and how long to process, at what temperature. The university extension recipes are tried, tested, and true, for safety.

Some recipes call for a water bath boiling for a number of minutes. Some recipes can be lower temperature pasteurized. These are not mix and match.

If you are lucky enough to find identical recipes, for the process or assembly, the ingredients and amounts, and one says WB boiling 10 minutes and another one says WB low temperature for 30 minutes, then you do have a choice.

 

[GotGarlic]

In my opinion, there are only three sites you should use for safe, accurate canning information:

• Ball Canning, the company that makes the most popular brand of canning jars
• US Center for Home Food Preservation, the home of Cooperative Extension-tested canning information (other university extension programs pretty much get their recipes from here)
• Food in Jars, the site of a woman who teaches canning and preservation and has published three books on these topics (I know there are others; this is a personal favorite)

When it comes to food safety, I would not recommend using random internet search results. Go directly to the reliable sites.

For dill pickles: Quick Fresh-Pack Dill Pickles