PyrexQueen
Assistant Cook
- Joined
- May 28, 2011
- Messages
- 2
Hi, I'm a very new canner - actually I've only made ONE batch, and I hope someone here might be able to answer a few questions I have. I'm really sorry I feel like these are dumb questions, but I just want to have all my facts straight.
First, when heat processing in boiling water, is is after actually canning the food and bringing the jars to a boil that organisms are killed? Basically, I'm worried that even though I boiled the jars & simmered the lids, and boiled the jam - what if the funnel isn't completely sterile? Nowhere in my book (Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving) does it say that has to be sterile - or the spatula to get rid of air bubbles. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but last night I canned some strawberry jam and I'm just worried, even though I boiled & sealed the jars well, that they are still contaminated from the spatula or funnel. Or is it during the final processing in the water that it becomes sterilized despite maybe using a contaminated tool?
Second, when inspecting my strawberry jam jars this morning, I removed the ring and saw that on one jar the jam had been tilted a little and some was hitting the top of the lid - does this mean that jar is ruined? I did my best not to tip them when removing them from the pot, but the headspace was only 1/4 inch and apparently I did tip this one a little.
Thirdly, it was my first time and I was moving slowly and catiously, so I'm concerned that my jam might have cooled too much from the first jar to the time I filled the last. Is this something to be concerned about?
Again, sorry for the dumb beginner questions! Thanks so much in advance for any advice or support!
First, when heat processing in boiling water, is is after actually canning the food and bringing the jars to a boil that organisms are killed? Basically, I'm worried that even though I boiled the jars & simmered the lids, and boiled the jam - what if the funnel isn't completely sterile? Nowhere in my book (Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving) does it say that has to be sterile - or the spatula to get rid of air bubbles. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but last night I canned some strawberry jam and I'm just worried, even though I boiled & sealed the jars well, that they are still contaminated from the spatula or funnel. Or is it during the final processing in the water that it becomes sterilized despite maybe using a contaminated tool?
Second, when inspecting my strawberry jam jars this morning, I removed the ring and saw that on one jar the jam had been tilted a little and some was hitting the top of the lid - does this mean that jar is ruined? I did my best not to tip them when removing them from the pot, but the headspace was only 1/4 inch and apparently I did tip this one a little.
Thirdly, it was my first time and I was moving slowly and catiously, so I'm concerned that my jam might have cooled too much from the first jar to the time I filled the last. Is this something to be concerned about?
Again, sorry for the dumb beginner questions! Thanks so much in advance for any advice or support!