Jars Were Touching During Canning

[DadsCooking]

Hello, All:

I water bath canned a batch of applesauce in quart jars last night.

The rack for my canner holds seven jars snugly, but with a little room around each jar.

However, the rack bottom doesn't have anything built in to keep the jars from moving.

During processing, two of the jars got jostled together by the boiling water, so they were touching during the 20-minute processing time.

After processing, all jars "pinged" and sealed fine.

Should I be concerned?

Thanks, in advance, for your replies.

 

[dragnlaw]

Not to worry, it happens to me often.

If it really bothers you, try wedging newspapers between the jars to make them snug. It might tak the water longer to come back to a boil but it works.

I've done it a couple of times. Now I just make sure to sort'a push the jars to the outside of the canner. They rarely move back in.

BTW... Welcome to DC!

 

[DadsCooking]

Thanks!

Thanks for the quick reply, dragnlaw.

I got the sense from other sites that jars touching can hamper proper processing, but, like I said, they all seem to have sealed fine.

 

[dragnlaw]

Thank you - just be advised - I am by no means an expert canner! That was just my personal opinion and experience. LOL!

I rather imagine that the processing would take longer if jars were touching but the same holds true for the addition of newspaper. Your timing starts from when the water comes back to a "full boil". I think that is what you need to remember.

 

[GotGarlic]

Thank you - just be advised - I am by no means an expert canner! That was just my personal opinion and experience. LOL!

I rather imagine that the processing would take longer if jars were touching but the same holds true for the addition of newspaper. Your timing starts from when the water comes back to a "full boil". I think that is what you need to remember.

I'm having a hard time picturing how putting newspapers in boiling water would prevent the jars from jostling each other. If they're soaked with water, wouldn't they just collapse?

 

[GotGarlic]

Thanks for the quick reply, dragnlaw.

I got the sense from other sites that jars touching can hamper proper processing, but, like I said, they all seem to have sealed fine.

I think the concern about jars jostling each other in the water is that it might cause cracking. As long as the jars are intact and they sealed correctly, they're fine.

To prevent this problem, I bought this canning rack through Amazon for less than $15.

 

[medtran49]

or you could use crumpled up foil.



I've had the same problem as well. The jars seem to gravitate toward each other. It's never caused a problem though. Like GG wrote, it's probably just a cracking concern.

 

[Janet H]

I bought one of these which solves the issue https://www.amazon.com/Prepworks-Progressive-Reversible-Stainless-Canning/dp/B007QT4GO4/