We recently received an email from a customer, having a bit of difficulty with pressure canned chicken broth, and we felt it would be good to share with everyone the thoughts we shared with her. Below is the question and our response.
Customer question…
| I had bought a large amount of your lids. Back in the winter. The first of the week is the first time I was able to use them. I put up 16 pints of chicken bone broth. Two days later 2 un sealed. Nothing wrong with jars. The day before I put up 14quarts of pinto beans. The next day 2 unsealed. I have been checking them everyday. This morning I found another jar that came unsealed. I also noticed that I lost about a inch of water out of jars. I have never had that happen before. And id did not happen with the broth. Hope you can give me some pounters on this problem. I can everything. |
Our response…
“First, it is always critical to wipe the rims of the jars before the lids and gaskets are put in place. We made that very same mistake recently when pressure canning chicken while filming a video. Upon review of the video, we noticed only one of the seven jars had been wiped clean, and two seals failed over the next 48 hours. Further inspection of the rings and jars showed cooked fat on both surfaces, causing an air gap that made the seals fail.
Second, we recommend adding as much as 1/4-1/2″ extra headspace, especially when pressure canning very greasy, oily products such as chicken, broths and similar fatty meat products. As pressure builds and boiling in the jars begins it is possible for fluids to get expelled from the jar between the rim and gaskets, which can lead to the problem mentioned above.
Third, pay particular attention to the tightness of the band, especially in the pressure canner. A metal band that is even slightly tighter than necessary will trap pressure enough to cause bursts of pressure to be expelled, again leading to the problems mentioned above. A free flow of pressure during the canning process is key.
Finally, tightening the metal band (gently) after removing the jars from the canner is absolutely necessary. Failure to do so will allow the rubber gaskets to fight the vacuum created during cooling which can lead to false seals where the gasket overcomes the limited vacuum over a short period of time.”