MNTaxi
Cook
How tight do you screw the bands down on the lids befor putting them in the pressure canner? Do you tighten them down or leave them semi loose? None of my canning books specify and I have heard it both ways.
NCHFP said:
- If rings are too loose, liquid may escape from jars during processing, and seals may fail.
- If rings are too tight, air cannot vent during processing, and food will discolor during storage. Over tightening also may cause lids to buckle and jars to break, especially with raw-packed, pressure-processed food.
NCHFP said:Do not retighten lids after processing jars. As jars cool, the contents in the jar contract, pulling the self-sealing lid firmly against the jar to form a high vacuum.
Actually the screw band should be removed completely. It is no longer needed.Once the jars are completely cooled, screw the band down until it is just snug. Not tight as a supermarket jar lid would be.
Loss of liquid during processing has to do with the 'headspace' that is being purged, not how tight/loose the lids are. Sometimes with meats the headspace has to be an 1/8"-1/4" more than what the published recipe calls for because it seems to expand more during processing.OK, the reason I am asking is because when I canned the beef and tuna some of the liquid from nside of the jar escaped. Is that normal?
When I was shown how to tighten the band from the neighbor I thought he had them to loose. He basiclly screwed the ban and than stopped at the first sign of the ban touching the lid. If I wanted to I would be able to unscrew it with one finger.
I take the rings off after the jars seal, because sometimes liquid escapes, and I like to wash the jars before I put them in the cupboard. Leaving the rings on may cause the rings to rust, as well, making them hard to use again.
Great idea!I keep them on a wire coat hanger that I've twisted so I can open and close it since that holds a lot more than a drawer does.
~J