This entry is mostly an info-note to self about my new steam canner.
When I tested it, as suggested in the manual, by canning four 1 litre jars filled with hot water, and watching the gauge, one of the jars cracked on the bottom. I began at a 6/10 heat on my burner, I never go higher than 7/10 because my pots are heavy and don’t need a higher heat, nor do they benefit from a higher heat. I waited until the lid rumbled a bit and steam forced it up a bit, then checked the gauge reading, lowering the heat to 4.5/10, which provided a full rolling boil and a steady, strong stream of steam. I thought that perhaps a bit higher heat was desirable.
When I made my first batch of Crabapple Jelly, two 500 ml jars, I heated the water in the canner to a boil, added the jars, then turned the heat down to 4.5/10. This was again, a full rolling boil. Only one of the two jars sealed.
When I made Crabapple Jelly this morning, eight 500 lm jars, I heated the water in the canner slowly at 3.5/10, added the jars, left the stove temperature at 3.5/10, waited until the gauge indicated it was up to heat, then set the timer. After waiting five minutes after the heat was turned off, the jars were removed from the canner and set out on a towel on the counter. Within five minutes the first five jars sealed, after fifteen minutes one more sealed, and within a half an hour the last two sealed.
My conclusion is that on this stove, I will preheat the canner at 3.5/10 heat, and leave the stove at that temperature for the entire canning process. The reading on the gauge need only come as far as my elevation minimum, no more. I am 278 feet above sea level here, so these are the settings that I will use going forward, with this canner, for this location, and on this stove.
The Crabapple Jelly is delicious. The Crabapple Jelly recipe used is from the National Centre for Home Food Preservation, but I made one change. Instead of processing for 5 minutes, I processed for 10 minutes. The reason I did this is that jars would need to be sterilized for processing times under 10 minutes, so by processing for 10 minutes I was able to eliminate the extra step of sterilizing the jars and lids.
The end result was:
9 full, sealed 500 ml jars of Crabapple Jelly;
1 full unsealed 500 ml jar of Crabapple Jelly;
1 partially full 500 ml jar containing the last dribbles of the first and the the second batch;
1 cereal bowl of sweet foam, skimmed from the top of the boiling jelly;
1 peanut butter and jelly foam sandwich, down the hatch, yum!
Worldly
Weather
8°C
Date: 11:00 AM EDT Friday 5 October 2018
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.6 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 8.4°C
Dew point: 0.3°C
Humidity: 57%
Wind: NE 15 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Yay, no frost here last night! The garden will keep going for a few more weeks, so more tomatoes, peppers, basil, and beans on the way!
Quote
“Statistics: The only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions.”
Evan Esar
1899 – 1995
This was meant to be amusing, and it would be, if it weren’t true. GIGO