How To Store Home Canned Food Properly
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It’s time I talk you through how to store home canned food properly.
And, spoiler alert, it’s not that serious.
You will see tons of people online telling you exactly how to do something with random explanations and whatever they’ve decided is the truth. The problem with that is its normally their opinion and assumption of what they think will happen, and not actually the science and whole truth.
How to store home canned food is an important step in the safety of home canning and is often overlooked and skipped.
I’m going to start step by step of walking you through post-processing to putting them on the shelf and how to store your home canned food properly to get the best shelf life and quality out of your hard work.
Again. It’s not that serious. I promise.
This is also not aesthetic storage design options or anything like that. This is proper conditions and whatnot to preserve your hard work in the best way, because it doesn’t just stop after you process it in your canner!
It’s mostly to prevent premature “aging” where your jars begin changing color and the food looks less appetizing, or rusted rings, or dealing with seal failures. That kinda stuff. And, I guess, I’ll toss some quips about botulinum (that hag that errbudddy likes to yodel about online… yeah I said yodel cause it sounds exciting) in here and there to settle ya.
Testing Seals
Once you have processed your jars of food properly with good canning technique (meaning you used correct times, common sense, and you weren’t a dirty bird), you remove them from the canner and let them cool completely, normally 12-18 hours.
You do want to check the seals before the 24 hour mark post-processing because after this time, it is recommended to toss any food that is unsealed rather than reprocessing, refrigerating, or freezing. If you don’t agree with that recommendation, do you boo. But the food is considered “sterilized” up until that point where they assume the bacterial load is no longer re-processable? Something like that.
Once cooled, you’ll want to remove the screw bands. Test the seals using the method(s) that suits you best, which I will list below.
Lid lift
Lifting jars by the lid is a quick, but sometimes not completely definitive way to test for seals. Sometimes, especially if you have a lot of siphoning, the lid can create a false seal due to sticky food being between the lid and the rim of the jar that is “falsely” holding the lid on there that way instead of a good hermetic seal.
No fear though. Eventually that seal will fail since oxygen will be able to sneak in and really get those bacteria and pathogens riled up. Your food will discolor, potentially mold, and then begin to show obvious signs of fermentation. Also known as ROTTING.
You can also hold the jar in one hand and grasp the side of the lid with your fingertips and pull upward to see if the lid comes off. It should not and if it does, that means you had a false seal. Use only your fingertips and do not pry the lid. Simply grasp and pull in an upward motion. You should not be able to pull a lid off this way. You can use your fingernails and pry it off; that is normal and should not be used to test the seal… since it breaks the seal. Duh.
Lid tapping
This is my favorite method. Simply tap the lids of the jars with your fingernail or a spoon and listen to the sound. A dull pitch is a false or not sealed lid and a high pitch, ringing ish sound for lids that are sealed.
This is nuanced and does take a bit of practice, but once you learn the technique, it becomes pretty easy and you can really fly through all your jars when you’re doing pantry checks.
Some things to take into consideration are if food is stuck to the underside of the lid of your jar, it will sound dull but can still be a good seal. That’s why we do all the tests, which seem like a lot, but take literal seconds to do.
Different lid brands will make different sounds, but AGAIN, the pitch will remain the same. You just have to learn it. I use literally every brand of lids in a free for all kind of fashion and this method has never failed me. The sound test even works for the reusable plastic canning lids from Tattler or Harvest Guard. Everyone tells me it doesn’t, but I literally do it and have never been wrong so…..
But we all know why. It’s because I’m better than you! Fresh milled flour and all that jazz. Don’t forget!
Every time I share about using this method to test for seals, the internet loses their mind over me “making it up” and it “being bad advice” when the NCHFP even says to do this on their website. It just proves how very little the canning police know about their beloved canning authority and their terrible un-user friendly website.
It normally gets me in the Ball canning Facebook Group, too. I’m a repeat offender.
Press the middle of the lid
Press down with your index finger on the center of the lid. Does it move? If it doesn’t, it’s sealed. I don’t really do this method at all since I simple go by lifting and sound, but this one works as well. DO NOT do this to jars that have not cooled… I always hear of people having their husband or a nosy kiddo go through and poke jars of recently canned food. It can cause them to prematurely seal, so try to refrain.
For Superb lids specifically, it’s pretty hard to tell because they don’t flex very easily and for the reusable plastic lids like Tattler and Harvest Guard, it’s pretty impossible to tell using this method… since they don’t… flex.
Look with your eyeballs
Look at the lid at eye level. Does it appear concave, bending inward toward the food. It should be curved down slightly in the center. If it’s not and rather appears flat (straight across) or is obviously bulging upward, the lid is not sealed or you may have a false seal if it passed the lift test and pressing the middle.
Using all of these methods can be done quickly and about at the same time. It seems like a lot, but as you learn the ropes of canning, it becomes second nature. You do not want to be storing unsealed jars because rotten food attracts free loading friends, smells bad, and is generally not wanted. K? You won’t die.
Reprocessing Unsealed Jars
You will read from the canning “authorities” that any SaFe AnD tEsTeD recipe can be reprocessed within 24 hours of it being processed.
But any untested recipes needs to be discarded. This is simply because the canning authority did not adopt a testing method for someones recipe and distribute it as safe. It does not mean your food with your recipe is unsafe and you’re going to no longer be with us on this Earth. They are not going to recommend you rebel can when they’re going to disseminate their own recipes. Why would they?
Liabilityyyyyyyyyyy.
So. If you have jars that did not seal and it is within 24 hours of them being processed, you can dump the food, reheat and reprocess them for the same times as the last time. Heating the food helps the canner heat up faster, but you can start completely cold if you’d like. Just heat ‘er up low and slow… insert Beastie Boys here.
First thing I would do is remove the lid, wipe the rim down really well, and try a new lid, or at least assess why the seal failed. Was the jar rim chipped and you missed it? Is the lid faulty? Or did the food siphon and get between the seal? Adjust, pivot, and reprocess… taking into account what the end product will be like after being cooked twice.
It’s good to consider what reprocessing will do to the final quality of the food. Some things are going to be completely overprocessed after another round in the canner. Think things like peaches, apples, green beans, potatoes, that kinda stuff. Where overcooked and mushy isn’t really what you want on the menu. Although potatoes can be forgiving because I label them for use in mashed potatoes and it’s no big deal.
For things like broth, tomato sauces, juices, jams, and that where you’re not really looking for texture when you eat them, reprocessing is fine. It usually is fine for meat, too!
If it’s not something you want to reprocess, simply pop it into the fridge to use soon (my kinda meal planning lol) or freeze. You can even freeze it right in the jar by adjusting the headspace a little extra… 1.5-2 inches, and popping it straight into the freezer. Leave the jar too full and you’ll crack it.
Washing Jars & Ring
Washing jars of canned foods is important, especially if you have siphoning, which does happen and isn’t a big deal as long as your jars seal. (Read more about that here).
I add my jars and rings to soapy water in my sink and scrub the jars top to bottom, being sure to get the lids and around the edges where the threads are very clean. Food likes to hide there, even if you can’t see it, and will mold/get mildewy kinda fast. I have it happen in storage from time to time and it washes off and is okay, but the miceeeeee. The forsaken MICE. And it also looks gross. There’s that.
Give the jars a good scrub and a rinse and dry off thoroughly.
Label the Jars
Label the jars however you see fit. Sometimes I get arrogant and am like “I’ll 100% know what that is in 5 years…..” Spoiler alert: I don’t.
Label them with the contents and date if you want. I normally do the month and year and the contents unless it’s something obvious, like carrots and green beans. I should not have to label those, and I will not label those. I don’t care if you’re color blind or what… you know what a carrot and a green bean is.
Labeling them with the year helps keep you organized so you can follow a first in, first out rule. Use the oldest first before opening the new. I store my jars in order and know to work left to right when pulling them off the shelves as I know I put the new ones to the right of the existing stock. Find a good organization method that works for you and stick to it. When my pantry is chaos, that’s when I unearth a 7 year old jar of pickled beets that I’ll be eating for lunch. Don’t be type B like me, try to be organized :D
Using wet erase chalk markers has been a game changer since I’m a lid reuser and also have the reusable Tattlers. Write on them and then it doesn’t wash off unless they get wet and are wiped. Which is a must since I have a creepy, somewhat damp, sandstone cellar.
Rings on or off?!
This is a hotly debated topic and one I find so doggone STUPID.
First off, BOTH the NCHFP and the Ball Blue Book tell you to do whatever the heck you want. Rings off are recommended, BUT if you want rings on, make sure they’re loose!
Why?
Because you don’t want the rings cranked down for two reasons: RUST (you will NEVER get them back off without losing a piece of your sanity in the process) and if the seal does fail, you want the gas from the fermentation to escape rather than the jar to explode. K? Exploding jars of rotten tomato sauce are not fren. Bad.
So many people online right now are claiming that storing with the rings on will cause a false seal, meaning your seal fails due to rotting food, then RESEALS ITSELF AND YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW IT WENT BAD.
Did you read that yelling in your head? Because if you didn’t, go back and READ IT YELLING.
So many people, rebel and rule follower alike, are claiming that actively fermenting (see also: rotting) food can just magically stop, the lid reseal itself, and then we would never know it happened. Excuse me?
Fermentation causes obvious changes in the sight, texture, smell, and taste of our food. And regardless of if that lid seals itself back closed or not, you will not hear that strong “schwoooop” sound of your seal being opened when you go to use it. Which is why I preach constantly to use your five God given senses when you’re opening a jar. IF you food is rotten, you will know it.
And your lid is not going to reseal its self without you knowing the food is bad. WHAT ARE WE DOING.
Signs of fermentation/bad food would be discoloration, starting at the top and working down, active bubbling when you’re not moving that jar, a lid that is not sealed, or one that doesn’t have a strong seal. Sometimes gunk can get between the lid and hold it down, making it appear sealed BUT… the lid will NOT be concave… it will appear unsealed by sight.
Which is why we test the seals with several different methods and use COMMON SENSE. Rotten food doesn’t not become unrotten just because it re-seals itself??
Are you catching my drift?! And also why I’m completely losing my sanity over this?
And even if the lid were to “reseal” itsself, many of the pathogens that like to rot our food can flip between aerobic to anaerobic. They’ll continue making gas, and that lids gonna pop back up.
My goodness… this has been a wild ride this year. And one that is scaring new canners TO DEATH because what do you mean my jar of rotten, poisoned food is going to reseal and I won’t know?! IT WILL SMELL, LOOK, AND TASTE ROTTEN. For crying out loud.
Avoid home canned foods that are rotten.
Is that so hard?
Anyway. NEXT.
Proper storage
Proper storage is considered to be between 50-70 degrees F. Why?
Mostly because this keeps your food at a good quality for longer, AND if the botulinum spore perchance hops in your jar, it will NOT germinate at these temperatures, regardless of the type. Marine botulinum likes fridge temps and is what the Alaskans normally get with their indigenous fermentation attempts and our canned food botulinum likes it warm and toasty. Far above 80 degrees F to even want to germinate.
So, scientifically, you could add a boatload of clostridium botulinum spores to your jars and it will remain completely harmless unless they’d get all warm and fuzzy. Then there’s a *potential* the spores germinate and produce the toxin, but they still may not. Again… why is botulinum so overblown when just storing jars at the right temperature means your free and clear. It’s really that easy.
Storage conditions outside these ranges are acceptable, you just may notice discoloration or changes and enzyme activity faster. Jars should never be stored above 95 degrees or in direct sunlight.
IF you are storing jars at higher temps, please boil them prior to consumption due to the warmer temps potentially creating prime bacteria breeding grounds. I get we all don’t have perfect storage places and we work with what we got!
Direct sunlight will accelerate aging and discoloration and will degrade contents much faster. Dark dark dark!
Damp storage areas can be problematic due to rusting. If your area is damp, I would recommend removing the rings so they don’t rust to the jar. That is a whole mess to get off. And it can also rust the lids and cause seal failure in long term storage. A dry place is preferred!
If your jars were to accidentally freeze and then thaw, as long as the seal is intact, you can safely consume that food. Texture may change though due to that, and you might have mushy food.
All of this information can also be found from the NCHFP. I’m not making up uNsAfE storage instructions…. LOL
Identifying spoiled food
Periodically, when I’m pulling jars for meals, I will test the seals of the surrounding jars. Every once in a while you may find one with a failed seal and a nice little molded culture on the top. Toss that (not to the chickens or where your dogs can eat it please).
I normally test the seals using the tap test working through many jars very quickly. It works like a charm and doesn’t take much time and doesn’t require me to physically handle a ton of jars to move around and look at them. Just tap-tap-tap-tap and then walk away.
The NCHFP recommends you treat every unsealed or rotting jar of low acid food as if it has clostridium botulinum present.. which ok. I guess if you want. But botulinum does not cause seals to fail so….. if you want to follow their recommendations for discarding an “infected” jar and detoxifying it, go for it.
I don’t. I find it to be pretty silly. Because #1… our processing times are overkill in the name of safety against unreachable lab conditions of botulinum LIKE bacterial inoculations. Our processing times are more than enough to allow that to survive so why would it be there. That just my $0.02 and I’m not your Mama or your brain, so do what you want.
That’s all folks
Storing home canned goods is not hard. It’s not dramatic. And there’s no one and done way to do any of it. Tailor it to what works for YOU and don’t let the online goofballs (including me) tell you what to do.
Operate from an angle of knowledge and confidence, NOT fear.
Once fear seeps in, you start making mistakes and bad decisions. Educate yourself, learn, and become confident. Canning isn’t scary, but I get it, the overcomplicating online hags such as myself and make it difficult.
