I canned apple pie filling last week. It's lovely, it tastes wonderful - had a bit leftover that I turned into apple crisp that night for dessert, but it leaked around the seal. I had 10 jars and all but one sealed (that one is awaiting its dessert fate in the fridge). When I went to take the rings off and put the jars in the pantry, they were all stuck on. I cleaned them off and called Mom. She said that's happened to her in the past with apple pie filling. She suggested I open one and here's what happened.
It went 'thud' and all the filling sunk to the bottom of the jar, although the jar looked full before I popped the seal. Here's what the rim and lid looked like:
Here is an unopened jar compared to the one I opened:
Now, what to do? Mom suggested I should refrigerate them all, just to be safe. I really don't want 10 jars of apple pie filling in my refrigerator for the next 6-8 months. Personally, they're all sealed so I think they're safe to store in the pantry. Am I wrong? Has this happened to you before? What did you do?
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Hello! I've had this happen to me as well. I've learned to leave alot of extra headspace in the jar. It overflows because of the juice that cooks out of the apples. If my jars seal, I just wash them off and put them in the pantry. I always check them carefully before using them though. Perhaps you could freeze your filling if you are not comfortable with putting it in the pantry. Hope this helps a bit. Have a GREAT day! :o)
ReplyDeleteYou could always freeze them in freezer bags if you're unsure if they're safe or not. Or you could reheat the mixture and recan them.
ReplyDeleteI've canned beef stew and thought I had a good seal until I smelled a stink and the seal had broke. I always say if you're not sure, better to be safe than sick!
Hmmm, maybe your jars where not packed enough? I made some this season and only left 1/4 head space and packed them. After adding the syrup to the apples I tapped the jars until all the air bubbles were released and added more syrup if needed. Here's my recipe if you want to see how I did it. All mine turned out tasty and sealed.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.apocketfullofbuttons.com/2011/09/canned-apple-pie-filling-recipe.html
I also would suggest freezing if you aren't sure, better safe than sorry!
ReplyDeleteI agree Anonymous - I did not leave enough headspace. Mom said that's happened to her before. Live and learn!
ReplyDeleteLisa and Candy C. - I think I'd rather freeze it then put it in the fridge. I guess I'll add that to my to do list for the evening. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteMommyof2girlz - That is the exact recipe I used! Funny. I love allrecipes.com. Your blog is cute. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteWe do apple pie filling every year and I would avoid leaving too much headspace. They may overflow, mine usually do, but if you leave too much headspace in the jar there is too much air in there for it to form the proper vacuum, and it's the trapped air in the jar that leads to spoilage. The reason your filling sank when you opened the jar is probably because the vacuum that was formed during the sealing process pulled the contents up in the jar. When you opened it and lost that vacuum, the contents settled to the bottom of the jar. I've had jars come unsealed in the past when I left too much headspace in order to avoid the mess caused by the overflowing filling. Some of these jars popped their seals several days after I had canned them and already had them in the cabinet. I now leave mine out for a couple of days and check the seals several times before I put them in the cabinet even though I leave less headspace now.
ReplyDeleteThis is the recipe for apple pie filling that we do each year. http://petticoatjunctionsmom.blogspot.com/2011/10/canning-apple-pie-filling.html
If you look closely to the picture you'll see the filling around some of the jars on the towel. Trust me, there was way more than you can see. I've just resigned myself to having to clean the jars before putting them away.
Oh, and I do take the rings off and clean around the threads just so nothing grows in, or gets attraced by the filling that's trapped between the ring and the jar.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with Becky. To help make sure you don't have air bubbles, you can use a knife down the edge of the jar to help release any air bubbles. That will also help with the headspace. Check the seal in a couple of days, and you should be fine.
ReplyDelete