Oh My, I think my co-worker screwed up his green beans again...

11 years ago

I couldn't find my old post from last year so I'm starting another.

A co-worker canned his green beans last year in WB. He came to me asking about why they were spoiling. I told him to buy a pressure canner. He did.

Now, he has green beans spoiling again! I asked him did you use the pressure canner, yes. Did you add a little acid, yes, 1/4 cup of 5% vinegar to each quart. Did you process for them long enough, yes, 1 hour. Did you let them cool before removing the PC lid, yes.

I think I may have found the answer with this question: At what pressure did you can them, He said it is a weighted PC and he put his glass top stove on high and it only made the weight rock but not release any steam.

I've read on here that problems arise when using a glass top stove.

Opinions?

Comments (2)

readinglady
11 years ago
First, properly processed green beans do not require acid and only need to be PC'd 25 minutes for quarts.

There isn't enough information to know what went wrong. I'm not sure the canner was vented before the weight was applied.

If they are "spoiling" then that would indicate the jars weren't sealed and that is entirely separate from the canning times and use of the canner. To determine the cause of that you'd have to go back to how the jars and lids were prepared, how the beans were packed and the lids applied.

But the biggest issue seems to be that your co-worker hasn't invested the 5 or 10 minutes it would take to go to the NCHFP or one of the many Extension sites where the current USDA guide is posted to get proper instructions for use of a pressure canner and processing of green beans.

You can't fix stupid.

Carol
digdirt2
11 years ago
You can't fix stupid.

Amen. Or stubbornness either. His.

I'd go to NCHFP and print out a) the instructions for canning green beans, and b) the Step-by step guide on how to pressure can. Give them to him to read and then give up on worrying about him.

While it is true that he may not be able to successfully pressure can on his glass stop stove - some work and some don't - he first has to learn how to use a pressure canner. Once he gets that part figured out there are numerous alternatives available for canning for those with the glass top stoves.

Dave
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