Fresh Preserving Discussion Boards

Hi everyone- new to this site and also to canning! I've done two batches of peach butter so far this year. My first batch was in half-pint size jars. This batch I've gone to a 4 oz. quilted wide mouth jar.

Here is my question: I couldn't use my canner as these jars fell thru the wire rack and would have sat on the bottom of the pan. I used a large stock pot with a wire trivet in the bottom to hold the jars up. I sterilized nine jars in the pot. Once I had filled and lidded them, all nine would not fit in the bottom of the pot! I didn't account for the added width of the bands- OOPSY! I didn't have another wire rack to put make a second row, so I used a flat silicone oven mitt thing. Partway thru the processing the silicone tipped that one jar over and floated to the top. I took the silicone mat out and set the jar kind of in between but on top of two other jars- it managed to tip over again, so I sat it directly on top of a jar. It was on its side for a good 3 minutes and directly on top of the other jar for about 1 minute. Will this jar be OK if it seals, or should I just put it in the fridge once cool? I've not seen any questions about tipping jars during processing, so any advice is greatly appreciated!

Also, I processed these little jars for 8 minutes total. I am 50 ft above sea level (yes, just 50) and I couldn't find a recommended time for such small jars. Do you all think that is a sufficient time?

Thank you very much for reading my long dissertation!! I appreciate any answers you can provide. AmberZ

Interesting serious of events you have experienced.

You could have still used your canner, but just tossed that wire thing, and used a bunch of spring lids tied together to create a platform, or possibly a round cookie wire rack. I actually recommend that you get a pressure canner platform that fits your water bath canner.

Actually one should get a couple of them so you can use one as a separator for stacking jars.
Well, at least you learned now not to use silicone mitts as a ventilator, which is what the racks are for....to allow the flow of water (and heat) inbetween the jars.

If the jar tipped over, it probably did not get processed correctly, especially the purging of the air to seal the lid, so I would put that one in the refrigerator or at least watch it closely for problems. Jams don't have the poison problem that other foods have.

I'm curious though how you are seeing and trying to correct all these little problems while the canning process is going on. In my canner the lid is on (not to be removed) and the rolling boil prevents me from seeing letting alone doing anything with the jars. If you are doing this then you have NOT successfully pasteurized your jars and you have created a safety issue.

Any reduction of temperature during the canning process requires that the heat be brought back up to the required conditions and the timing restarted from the beginning.

Most such recipes today have processing of 10 minutes, which also eliminates the need for pre-sterilizing the jars. You need to be over 1,000 feet above sea level before you need to consider adjusting the processing time to compensate.

OK, so you take the lid bands and tie them together to make a platform? Maybe I'll do that for future use, and use the wire rack for the in-between if I do these little bitty jars again.



I saw all of this when I went in to check that I wasn't boiling over. I lifted the lid a bit to re-direct the steam away from my burner temp. selector handle (I had this on the back burner of my stove) I bumped my temp down a touch so that the water wouldn't keep trying to jump the lid off of the pot, while still remaining in a full boil. That is when I saw the silicone floating towards the top (this is a glass lid). The boil didn't slow down at all while I fidgeted with that mat or the jar, so I think I'll be OK? I also started out with sterilized jars, so will that make a difference?

My 8 minute processing was more like nine after fussing w/that jar and all jars sealed within a couple of minutes of coming out of the water bath. And in my original post I said they were wide mouth jars, which they are not- I had intended to use the wides, but decided on these narrow 4 oz. instead.

So, what is the recommendation- redo the whole batch with the longer processing time, or wait and see and risk spoilage??? ugh....I thought I had a handle on this!

I appreciate any advice! Thank you for the reply! AmberZ

OK, so I can use lid bands tied together to make a rack for the bottom of the pan- thanks for the tip, I'll use it next time I do these itty bitty jars! That will free up my wire trivet to use as a divider, also.



This jar that tipped over does have some of the peach butter on the outside of the jar under the ring- although the lid did seal. After thinking about this, these jars were in the boiling water for more like 9 minutes after fussing with this jar.



I saw the mat floating when I went to check on the excessive rattling of the lid while it was boiling. This pot has a glass lid, which is why I noticed the red mat floating. I lifted the lid and took out the silicone mat and righted the jar laying on its side. At that point I placed it on top of and kind of straddling between two other jars. A couple of minutes later I looked in on it again and had to right the jar again, at which point I placed it directly over another jar. There was a minute still left on the timer when I did that so I then left them boiling for a minute or so beyond the timer set. When I lifted the lid the boil didn't change, and I even tweaked the heat setting down a teensy bit to alleviate the lid from bouncing so much while it was on.

I said in my first post that these were wide mouth jars, which is incorrect. They are the regular mouth 4 oz. quilted crystal jars. I sterilized the jars before using them, also. It has now been over 24 hours since I processed them, so I don't know if there is anything to be done for them? It is too late to re-process, correct? Should I freeze them, or just leave them out and watch them for signs of spoilage, or ?? I appreciate any advice given! TY- AmberZ

I have tried to respond to this 5X now. I am on a different computer hoping that makes a difference, but who knows?

TY for the response, Canned Nerd. I will use the lid bands tied toether as a base the next time I use these little jars.

I was able to see the floating silicone/tipped jar because the stock pot I was using has a glass lid. I went in to check on my boil as the lid was bouncing excessively and saw the floating silicone mat at that point. I lifted the lid (which did not change the intensity of the boil-but was it too much temperature loss?) and took the mat out and placed the jar on top of and between two other jars. I then adjusted the boil a teeny bit to alleviate the lid bounce. I checked again after about a minute and saw the jar on its side again. I then sat it directly over the top of another jar and allowed the jars to process for a couple more minutes, for more like 9 total minutes. All jars sealed within minutes of coming out of the water bath, even the tipped one. The tipped one is the only one that had some of the peach butter come out from under the lid. (At least that was easily visible) I put that one in the fridge and will use it here at home.

I am wondering now what to look for in regards to spoilage, as I am way past the re-processing time. These jars are the 4 oz. regular mouth (not wide as I stated in my first post) quilted crystal. As I said before, not finding a processing time for such small jars, I just went with 8 minutes which turned into 9 after fussing with that tipped jar.

Something I've noticed on these jars after processing- the undersides of the lids (inside) have condensation on them. Is that normal or a sign of too much headroom or ?

If you have any other advice or can tell me what to check for in the spoilage dept. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much, and I sure hope this posts this time!! AmberZ

With jams and jellies your spoilage is from mold and you will know if that occurs, just like with bread. It will be visible and will usually have an off smell. Loss of the jar seal is the usual indication that mold is growing and causing the vacuum to disappear.