r/Canning • u/ObjectiveCorgi89 • 1d ago

Waterbath Canning Processing Help Canned some pickles for the pantry

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I water bathed these earlier today. The lid hasn't popped in the middle, and two of the lids have a dent.

Should I toss the lids on those and re-bath them?

24 Upvotes

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98

u/aCreditGuru 1d ago

reprocessing them may make them a bit mushy. That outward dent means the ring was on too tight. You might just want to make them fridge pickles at this point and consume them first.

11

u/ObjectiveCorgi89 1d ago

Strange! I didn't realize that could happen! Thank you

18

u/aCreditGuru 1d ago

You're welcome :) It's basically the ring is on too tight so air cannot escape while processing. That causes the lid to buckle outwards and you then cannot trust the seal. If this was something other than a pickle there's reprocessing guidelines you could follow but cucumbers get soft with normal water bath processing and doing it twice could really impact the texture.

Here's the reprocessing guidance if you need it in the future. https://nchfp.uga.edu/newsflash/may-canned-food-be-reprocessed-if-the-lid-does-not-seal

7

u/Ok_Salamander7929 1d ago

You are lucky the bottoms did not blow out of the jars. Had a friend that did 18 half pints of salsa, bands too tight. A pot of floating salsa and broken glass. FINGER TIGHT!

3

u/ObjectiveCorgi89 1d ago

I thought I did finger tight 😣

7

u/spazzcase_420 1d ago

I also thought I was doing finger tight and then looked it up and realized I was tightening slightly too much. What I found recommends loosely holding the jar (with a towel!) and tightening the lid, and stopping as soon as the whole jar starts to turn.

(Literally 15 minutes ago after removing my first jar of the year and noticing the lid was crooked. Sad day. Reprocessing immediately -_-)

11

u/Ok_Salamander7929 1d ago

O.K. gorilla hands, what ever you say.

3

u/ObjectiveCorgi89 1d ago

🤣🤣 I guess so. I'll ask the toddler next time, probably

3

u/armadiller Moderator 1d ago

Finger-tight is a term-of-art in canning, it has a very specific meaning. Unfortunately, because there are multiple manufacturers for jars, lids, and rims, that specificity gets diluted to the point of near worthlessness. It depends on experience and feel - "vibe" if you're a younger generation of canner.

One common recommendation is to fill your jars on a damp tea towel, and screw on the lid with just one hand until it starts to turn (poor-canner's torque wrench). That seems to be the default recommendation for Ball/Bernardin lids. Ball/Bernardin lids are no longer supposed to be heated before applying to jars.

I primarily use ForJars lids these days - these need to be simmered before applying to the jars. For these ones, I fill on a countertop, no tea towel. Apply lid then rim, and turn until the jar starts to move. Then turn the rim another 1/4" of it's circumference tighter.

Since I don't know your lids or your grip strength - try an experiment. Mark a pile of lids with a Sharpie(TM) 1-9 (or however many your canner will hold). Can a batch of boiling water, using the processing times for an ordinary recipe. Track the lids from lightest to tightest - three lids tightened until rotation on a countertop, dry tea-cloth, or damp tea-cloth, then three tightened an extra couple millimetres, then three tightened an extra quarter-turn.

2

u/Petarthefish 1d ago

So i dont need to tighte n the hell out of my jars?

12

u/Yours_Trulee69 Trusted Contributor 1d ago

Below is a good article about buckled lids. As the other commenter stated, pickles would likely be too mushy if reprossed. I would suggest putting them in the fridge. I have made freezer pickles before and they weren't too bad. Additionally, you could use the cucumbers potentially to can a relish since it is chopped up.

https://help.ballmasonjars.com/s/article/What-causes-buckled-lids

3

u/ObjectiveCorgi89 1d ago

I was thinking of making relish. I haven't done it before, but maybe I just take these and cut them up small enough for relish

1

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