please, canning help for a newbie

**walshevak** 10/20/2011, 8:57 am

In all the posts here I see the words DO NOT MAKE SUBSTITUTES. Is there any way I can successfully substitute 1/2 pint jars for 1 pint jars? I'm making Christmas gifts and the pepper jelly recipes are for 1/2 pint jars, but the relish recipe is for 1 pint jars. I want to make a 3 jar stack of 2 jellies and 1 relish.

Kay

westie42 10/20/2011, 10:37 am

That is mostly all I use and so do others around here for Jam and jelly. From the farmers market it's home maid and most of it is in 1/2 pints as are condiments. My reason is to have it fresher due to smaller jars. I have found no reason to worry about the contents, anything to be used sparingly should be fine in 1/2 pt, go for it.

boffer 10/20/2011, 11:37 am

Often the cooking time in a recipe is less for pints than for quarts.

Would the cooking time be less for ½ pints than for pints?

I don't know.

westie42 10/20/2011, 12:23 pm

Good point if you are referring to canning time for either pressure or water bath preserving. Most recipes recommend a jar size and processing time both. Here is an article that addresses that near the end. http://www.pickyourown.org/jam.htm Since this is cooking not baking there should be a little more leeway in methods and times used.

boffer 10/20/2011, 12:36 pm

I should have said 'processing time' rather than 'cooking time'.

Westie's link states that ½ pints and pints are processed the same amount of time, so nothing to worry about there.

**walshevak** 10/20/2011, 6:56 pm

Made the first batch of jalepeno jelly today in 1/2 pints. Did a 5 min water bath. All the jars "popped" so I assume they sealed properly. Couldn't wait to try the taste so was a little generous when I skimmed. The scum jelled so hope the jars did too. BTW, the taste was great for me but a little mild for my son but even he was impressed with the taste.

Kay

Squat_Johnson 10/21/2011, 12:01 pm

I made jalapeno jelly last weekend. My new favorite is vanilla ice cream and pepper jelly. Try it, sounds weird, but very good.

littlejo 10/21/2011, 8:13 pm

I think the processing time sort of depends on the recipe. Jellies and jams are usually put in the jars boiling hot. Sometimes relish and pickles are put in the jars and then heated. Jellies/Jams should be fine at 5 minutes(they can just have parrafin put on top without the processing)
Pickles/relish should be timed for the pint size jars. It's not just the sealing of the jars. The processing also sterilizes the jars to get rid of any germs. Processing also vaccum seals the jars(removes the air) so they will keep sometimes up to a year.
I think you have a very good idea for gifts! The relatives seem to always show up at harvest time, pickle jars,etc, still warm on the counter.

squaredeal 10/23/2011, 6:39 pm

Some of the newer books on canning are suggesting letting your jars sit in the water bath an extra five minutes (heat turned off) after the canning time has been reached. I found that almost all my jars seal immediately or within a few minutes. If it isn't going to seal, reprocessing the current jar doesn't help. Either put the jar in the fridge and eat soon, or take the contents out, get a new lid or ring or jar, and try again.

I've been freezing whole tomatoes today. Much easier.

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