Why do my canned apples always siphon?

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jishinsjourney

jishinsjourney

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Title says it all, really. Honestly, I have this problem with canned fruit of most types except for sour cherries, which I get frozen and then put up later, because I don’t trust myself around 9 pounds of cherries.

I’m hot-packing, did cook the apples for roughly five minutes before filling the jars and putting them in the canner, did check my headspace, did wipe the rims. Why do they keep siphoning?
 
lilmissy said:
I dont pressure can my apples. To me, you will always get a siphon. I do know that the new lids, you can not tighten on to tight. Are you finger tightening them?
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I’m not pressure canning; they’re water-bath canned according to a recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

I am tightening to fingertip-tight. Have never had this problem with anything other than fruit in syrup. My jams, jellies, relishes, and everything else I’ve water-bathed has worked fine.

Did have to upgrade my tightening game a bit for my pressure canner, but since I did that, I’m not having siphoning out of those jars either. I generally do stock and soup for those.
 
Could be head space or air bubbles, if the lid rings are tight.
 
jishinsjourney said:
Title says it all, really. Honestly, I have this problem with canned fruit of most types except for sour cherries, which I get frozen and then put up later, because I don’t trust myself around 9 pounds of cherries.

I’m hot-packing, did cook the apples for roughly five minutes before filling the jars and putting them in the canner, did check my headspace, did wipe the rims. Why do they keep siphoning?
Click to expand...
Have you tried a tablespoon of citric acid?
 
We are not canning experts, but I did marry into an apple snob family. You have no idea. Apples are literally a topic of conversation at every family gathering...which are the best apples, which stores carry them....there is a new kind of apple down at such-and-such store.... It is hilariously weird.

When I mentioned this thread to my wife, she said, matter-of-factly, "Well, different apples have different levels of acidity. What kind of apples are they trying to can?"

I said, "I might actually have something to contribute to this thread!"

Actually, I don't think I'll have any answers...other than to suggest trying a different kind of apple.
 
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Actually, you raised a darn good point or two. Our heirloom apples never needed acid, but the golden delicious and Granny Smith's gave us crap.
 
Not to thread-jack. (One of us will anyway though.) But a cup of apples, a cup of figs, and a cup of blueberries (or blackberries) boiled together and pureed make a godlike spread with NO added sugar. Slap a spoonful of that on your Poptart!
 
Magus said:
You need to pop a link in the reference area too, this is great!
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i posted this link so many times at old forum you wouldnt believe...lol...maybe @Swing can do a sticky post and close it to keep it at top in kitchen section.
 
Magus said:
You need to pop a link in the reference area too, this is great!
Click to expand...
its from your neck of the woods too...also you can get this in print..or at least you use to be able.
 
Without actually standing over your shoulder, maybe even more head space? Canning jars have changed shape slightly, over the years, but not the instructions.

I have never canned apples, but on other things that have siphoned, that mostly worked for me. I have never completely eliminated the problem but it has improved a lot. Also a smidgen more tightening of the rings.
 
Thanks, everyone, for all your input.

As for the apples: I like a mix of apples, because the flavor is more complex. I’ll usually buy a mixed 35-pound box of everything my favorite orchard farmer has. Usually I use this for applesauce and apple butter because they can cook until they’re fully soft. This year I still had applesauce left over from last year, so I thought I’d put up a mix of sliced apples.

This does make precooking sliced apples a bit tricky because some will cook very quickly and some will be slower. I pulled them off when some of the “saucing” apples had gone to mush, but everything else was at least partially cooked through.

As for acidity: I haven’t been adding extra acid because the recipe doesn’t call for it. Does it really improve on siphoning in this case, or only on flavor? I’ve never heard of it helping with siphoning, only safety and flavor.

lilmissy, yes, my jars are heated. I start the canner heating when I start the prep for whatever’s going in it, and put the jars in it to keep hot while I work.

Magus, that spread sounds fantastic. Yum!

Clem, I’m using wide mouth pint jars this year. They didn’t siphon as badly but I still got a little bit in a couple of jars. Last years’ were wide-mouth quart jars and they siphoned a lot.
 
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I have one for y'all
Pickled green apples. One quart of washed and thinly sliced apples just on the verge of turning.

Add 2 cups of sugar to 3/4 quarts of boiling vinegar and 1 diced chili pepper, add a tablespoon of pickling lime if you want them crispy, and a tablespoon of citric acid if you like them softer. Pour the mix over the apples and store them in a cool and dark place for two weeks.
 
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