Hi, new to the preserving, I place the jars in the oven on 120 degrees for 20 minutes to sterilize them, I take them out one at a time, and as soon as I pour the relish in, the jar cracks! ! I have a wooden surface, and place a towel underneath. What am I doing wrong? , do I let the jars cool down, then pour the hot relish in? , do I let the relish cool down, or how long should I leave the jars out before pouring in the relish? help from a professional at preserving would be really apprechiated. Advice please? :o)
2halls,
Apr 10, 7:29pm
I'm no expert at this, but one thing I was taught to do (and always do) is put a stainless steel spoon in the jar before you pour in the relish. This always stops the jar from cracking. You also may be better to sit your jar on stainless steel (ie - in the sink or inside an empty pot). Let us know if this helps :-)
liz_taylor,
Apr 10, 7:39pm
Turn your oven down to 100deg. Your jars are too hot. boiling point is 100. tipping a liquid 20deg cooler into glass will make it crack. Good to see about the wooden surface and the towel. I did the same thing last year when preserving plums. 2 large agee jars later I remembered
rog.e,
Apr 10, 7:43pm
I've bottled and jar'ed many a food. I broke quite a few jars when I started out too. I feel for you here. Pribably most of us do though until we learn a way not to.
It is caused by the jars being hotter or the product beibng hotter than the other. The expansion of the glass is too fast.
I now always take all the jards from the oven, stand them on awad of newspapwer and wait a few minutes before filling hm.
Haven't lost a jar or bottle in many a year.
Best wishes.
V
dms01,
Apr 10, 7:48pm
I do exactly the same as rog. e the newspaper has the bonus that you can chuck it out along with the inevitable dribbles when you are done
raewyn64,
Apr 10, 8:19pm
I had the same problem when bottling fruit in February. I just put it down to the jars being second hand and maybe having a floor in them. So thank you all for your comments above and I will certainly watch my temperatures next time I bottle.
lythande1,
Apr 10, 9:24pm
Let the relish cool a bit.
buzzy110,
Apr 10, 9:48pm
I usually boil my jars. This removes all the guesswork. Boiled relish and boiled water are pretty much the same temperature. Well I presume they are because I haven't had any jars crack ever, touch wood.
elliehen,
Jan 18, 8:07pm
I heat mine in the oven at 100*C.
The spoon idea of 2halls in post#2 I use if I am one jar short and need to heat one in a hurry. Then I put a spoon in an empty room-temperature jar and fill with near boiling water. The heat is drawn to the metal spoon and the jar doesn't crack, but I don't leave it there during the pouring process.
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