Pickling - safety

What method did you use for the pickling/canning?

If you did a refrigerator version of pickling that doesn't require the canning process, the mason jar lid will not pop. By the way, it doesn't pop up, it compresses and only pops up when the vacuum seal is broken upon opening.

If you did the heat processing method, be sure the top of the jars are covered by at least two inches of boiling water. It generally takes about 10 minutes at sea level for most canning batches.

I recommend you pick up the book most beginners start with, the Ball jar book on canning. I'll look for a link to it on Amazon and post it in a second.

Another book you'll like is a book on pickling. I used both quite extensively this summer for picking and canning various items from our vegetable garden.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0778801314/ref=oss_product



http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0882667440/ref=oss_product

Thank you. I used the hear method. Boiled the jars and lids, heated the brine, then filled the jars with jalapenos, filled them with brine, pressed all the air I could out of the packed jalapenos, and added more brine until it reached the top. Then I screwed the lids on. However, I thought that the heat was supposed to make the bubble on the lids poop out? That didn't happen. So I'm wondering if that's a bad sign.

Also, with the other jar, I didn't "pack" it with peppers, so it was about half full with peppers and the rest of the jar is brine (up to the top). Now they're floating around. Is that bad?

Thx again!

Here's a 3-part series on the basics of canning that will be very helpful for you. At about 1 minute before the end of part 3, there is a visual example of how to check the lids to assure a proper seal has been created. It also shows what an improper seal will look like.

You also need to leave a bit of space at the top of the jar rather than filling it to the brim with the brine. Usually, it is between a half and quarter inch of space. The recipe should specify what is needed. The space is what aids the vacuum to be created. The videos above will show a good visual of this too.

It's nearing the date where I get to try out my jalapenos and see if I did it right. However, I'm a bit concerned (again) that I may have messed something up. The garlic in the jar has turned slightly green. I'm not sure if that is because of the green of the jalapenos or if that means the garlic is going bad because of air contamination or something. Does this sound normal or should I be concerned?

Thanks!

Here's a link to a picture I took so you can get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

http://images2.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp538%3A7%3Enu%3D3272%3E%3A92%3E58%3B%3EWSNRCG%3D3567%3C%3A9%3A5%3A32%3Anu0mrj

Have the jars been refrigerated all this time? If so, they should be okay.

Give them the smell test first though, and take a look at the condition of the brine. Is it cloudy, slimy or smelly?

If there is any doubt at all, throw it out. They aren't that expensive to replace and do again.

I'd be very surprised if that garlic was somehow 'bad'.

From the photo, it looks like the garlic is just becoming more translucent and the green sprout is more visible.