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Steps in Canning: The Hot Water Bath Method
Appears in
By Janet Cooper
Published 2014
Some mixtures do not have enough acid or sugar to be safely canned by the open kettle method. For these you will need to use the hot water bath method. This method requires either a special large kettle with a lift-out rack, usually enamel ware, or a smaller kettle with a rack on the bottom that is deep enough so the jars will be covered by at least one inch of water. For this you will also need strong tongs for lifting the finished jars from the water.
- Fill the kettle about ½ to ⅔ full of hot water, preferably soft water, cover, and place it over high heat. Also have an extra pan of boiling water ready to fill the canner after the jars are in the water.
- Prepare the food and fill the jars as the recipe directs:
- Hot pack—food is partly cooked before packing into the jars. Then boiling liquid is added to fill the jar to within ½-inch of the top.
- Cold or raw pack—uncooked food is packed into jars and then the jars are filled to within ½-inch of the top with boiling liquid.
- Syrups for fruit, hot or cold pack:
- Very light—1 cup sugar, 4 cups water
- Light—2 cups sugar, 4 cups water
- Medium—3 cups sugar, 4 cups water
- Heavy—4 to 4¾ cups sugar, 4 cups water
When filling the jars, be careful not to pack food too tightly and to work out air bubbles. These can cause loss of liquid during processing if a siphoning action begins.
- Use an absolutely clean wet cloth to wipe off the jar rims.
- Cover each jar with a sterilized lid and rim. Screw on securely.
- As each jar is sealed, place it on the wire rack that is suspended over the top of the large water bath kettle. This will start warming the jars and help avoid broken jars. If a conventional kettle is used, place the jars on the rack in the bottom or in a warm oven until all jars are sealed. Boil the water in a separate kettle and pour over the filled jars when all are filled. Jars should not touch each other.
- When all jars are full, slowly lower the rack into the water. The entire bottom of each jar should hit the boiling water at once. Add boiling water to cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches. Put the lid on the kettle.
- Return the kettle to a full boil and start timing for the length of time the recipe directs. Adjust the heat to keep the kettle at a boil. If boiling stops, stop timing and resume when the kettle returns to a boil.
- When the time is done, slowly lift the rack out of the kettle and set it on a folded towel to drain. Wipe the top of each jar. Place the dry jars on a heat-proof surface, out of drafts, to cool. Use tongs to remove the jars from a conventional kettle. Check all jars to be sure the lids are tight.
- Jars are sealed when the lid is depressed in the center. If a jar does not seal, either refrigerate and use or repeat the processing. Reprocessing is not recommended for cucumber pickles and soft fruits.
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