Hard water and canners

[Moosetoo]

I have an All American canner and live in a hard water area. The canner and the racks are always discoloring. I simmer cream of tartar in water to remove the discoloring and this works fine. My question is...can I add a spoonfull of cream of tartar to the canner while I am canning? Kinda kill two birds with one stone. Would the steam from doing this affect the lids?

 

[DaCook]

You will be fine.

 

[sparrowgrass]

My water is so hard I have to chew it--I use a couple tablespoons of white vinegar.

I rinse my hair with it, too--couple tablespoons in a big cup of water, then rinse with plain water so you don't smell like a salad. The softest, shiniest hair ever.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I have an All American canner and live in a hard water area. The canner and the racks are always discoloring. I simmer cream of tartar in water to remove the discoloring and this works fine. My question is...can I add a spoonfull of cream of tartar to the canner while I am canning? Kinda kill two birds with one stone. Would the steam from doing this affect the lids?

Cream of Tartar is a crystalline structure which could cause problems with lid sealing and/or removing the rings from the jars.

A better solution would be to add 3x as much white vinegar as you would cream of tartar to the water - it will not crystallize but will do the same thing.