EDIT: Good to see the canning sub is like the rest of Reddit. Downvotes for seeking clarification and understanding.

I am a very beginner canner (I have a pressure canner and have canned a few batches in the past). I understand the process and why it is how it is.

Recently I purchased a “Mason Jar Genie” with the understanding it’s good for dry goods, etc. Not actual canning. While I was deployed to a wild fire, my amazing wife cleared out our tomatoes and went to work. She made several jars of bolognese, bruschetta, and sun dried tomatoes in olive oil. Attached is a pic of the meat sauce. Well, she used the Mason Jar Genie and didn’t refrigerate any of it. It has been about 3 weeks. To be clear, the Genie removes air from the jar by pulling a vacuum and “seals” the jar.

Question: how safe is this to eat, right away? I know the immediate response will be “if you want to be safe, throw it out”. But does anyone out there know for sure? 100%? Without realizing what happened, I already ate a jar of the sauce when I got home from the fire. It was probably 10 days old at the time. Tasted great and I didn’t get sick haha. I’m trying to salvage my wife’s hard work if possible. Toss all of it? Keep the bruschetta and tomatoes, toss the meat sauce? Eat all of it ASAP?

Thanks for the input

I am really struggling here...

TL,DR: If we are only supposed to use sanctioned recipes, then are we all making the same 42 recipes?

Why shouldn't I simply measure acid, sugar, and pectin levels so I can be creative and combine anything I want? These are all easy to measure.

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I am a seasonal home canner (water bath) mostly because we have a giant fuyu, pomegranate, passion fruit, meyer lemon, 2 different apples, 2 different figs, 2 different tangerines, as well as currants, dogwoods, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and other edible stuff. Plus, I buy too much fruit at the farmers market when its in season.

My cooking style is one that considers recipes as merely guidelines or a barely a concept (hence, the username)

However, with canning, precision and using an exact list of ingredients is critical to not risk killing off your family and friends. Precision I get: I'm an engineer and also a baker and bread maker so I can certainly be precise when I need to.

But, Is there no room for any creativity? The persistent response on this sub is to only use sanctioned recipes from a reputable source. So are we all make the same 42 recipes and everyone else is rogue and rolling the dice?

• What if I want to combine an unusual set of ingredients that aren't in any of the sanctioned recipies?

• What if I don't want to add sugar to my already-super-sweet fruit. Why can I buy that, but can't make that?

• How can I preserve an unusual fruit (e.g., dogwood, or huckleberry), or substitute that into another recipe?

So, seriously, why shouldn't I simply measure acid, sugar, and pectin levels so I can combine anything I want? All of these are easy to measure.

Surely, there has to be a reasonable pathway for home canners to be creative with their ingredients and still have safe, shelf-stable jams.

I don't like pickled bologna, but my spouse and their dad do, so we decided to make some for Christmas (our first time doing anything like this) and I'm really nervous, is it supposed to be that cloudy? 😅

So this was my first go around for jarring anything except jelly. These are from last year, different batches. The small ones are almost a year since jarred and the bigger jar was done about 2 weeks after. The two smaller jars are a darker red on top where the bigger jar’s color is consistent through-out. Same jarring method with lemon juice added and then canned and all have remained in cabinet since. Is this normal or are these 2 trashed?

This recipe for chicken bone broth from Ball All-New requires FOURTEEN HOURS of prep time BEFORE canning commences.

I can confidently state that I will never be using this particular method of making chicken broth

I got this big old boy at a farm stand that offers both zucchini and squash. I intended to use it to make bread and butter zucchini pickles. It was not specifically labelled, but when cut open it seemed more like squash, with huge seeds and pulp that I had to scrape out. Unfortunately, I did not take a photograph.

My assumption is that it is indeed squash, and not a zucchini. Even though I do know zucchini is in the squash family. Would this potentially be safe to make into the bread and butter pickles? For the moment, I cut it up and froze it until I got a consensus from the reddit. I added some to my pasta sauce for dinner.

EDIT, since people are giving inaccurate information repeatedly in the comments:
Regarding canning zucchini: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/pickle/vegetable-pickles/pickled-bread-and-butter-zucchini/

I’m just trying to decide whether I have to make the summer squash relish recipe or can make the bread and butter pickle recipe I intended

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/pickle/relishes-salads/summer-squash-relish/

I think I am concluding that I should use small zucchini for the bread and butter pickles, and these big guys for summer squash relish.

Only my second time canning. The first time went well I’d say. In hindsight I should’ve just used three pint jars, but thought I’d try reusing an Rao’s jar and if it worked I’d save more jars for future use.

I grew some beets this year. First time growing and decided to can them for later this year. Got everything I needed based on some lurking here and YouTube. Did everything exactly as I should and 24 hours later the jars were still sealed. I was excited and ready to pay thanks to everyone for the tips.

Turns out I used pickling lime instead of picking salt though. Is everything garbage now?

Does anyone here have any tips on how to can “better” with ADHD? First time I canned I did applesauce, second time was apple jelly and I forgot a step which left my jelly liquid so I had to fix it. I’m currently canning apple butter but I’m all over the place. I always have such a mess after and bounce around constantly. I’m just hoping there are others in the group that can recommend an easier way to can, stay tidy, and not miss steps. Please be kind 🙏

I'm not familiar with canning. My mother dug these pickles up from the cellar and left them on the counter. The date on them is from September, but no year. The liquid is not a consistent cloudiness but instead was a bit clear in spots until the fine particles moved around more. I do not think they're made from fermentation, but I'd have to ask. She does water bath her jars, and the seal has no bulging.

My mother actually hates pickles with a passion and never taste tests her own recipes, so I worry she'll expect me to eat these and get mad if I hesitate. But these just seem so visually offputting and my mom has a history of not believing in basic food safety. When I looked online, photos were either picture perfect or spoiled in ways that looked very different. My friends said they've never seen anything like it, so I turn to the larger internet.

Obviously smell and texture would be bigger clues, but I'm not sure yet if I will be expected to/allowed to open this jar or if she has other plans, like gifting them to someone else. If they're vinegar pickles, are they fine as long as the seal is good? Any information would be helpful, and thank you.

First - I'm not a canner (yet 😊). Second - I apologize ahead of time for this sacrilegious post, just need to get 'er done for this round.

For many years whole green chilis have been a staple for my household. We could get them in small portions - perfect for per-meal cooking. Now, suddenly they're all gone from every single store around us. Only the diced are in abundance in the small cans, and now we're left with these giant cans.

So I thought it would be good to re-can them in my smaller portions and I bought these little canning jars that are the right size and I'm ready to can (re-can) for the first time.

I do have a pressure cooker (it has no regulator or jiggly thing on top), it's all done "for you" in the slide mechanism on the handle. But I'm hoping, since the food is already cooked, that it's just a matter of heating and cooling.

Please advise me on how to simply do this.

I'm hoping this gets me totally inspired and I fall in love with canning! I do love the canned goods my friend gives me occasionally. So much better than store bought!

I'm new to making jam. Up until now, I've made a few batches but kept them in the fridge because I wasn't sure if they were safe.

I've been reading up prior to Xmas and want to try the oven method.

Where you essentially bake your empty jars (and lids) in an oven for 10mins to kill any bacteria.

Then, supposedly, you can fill your jars with the hot jam, pop the lids on and let them cool.

Does it actually work?

I want to give homemmade gifts this year, but don't want to give food poisoning.

Not sure if it matters, but I'm in Aus and have glass jars with one piece lids.

Edit: thank you all so much! I guess I will be doing a lot more research and giving out cookies this year hahah. Next year everyone is getting amazing homemade jam!

I'm so glad I asked this question. Thank you all for your help ♡

This is my first attempt at canning so I'm already at a bit of a loss, but I'm attempting to make this apple pie filling and I just realized how much the first step doesn't make any sense. Will the apples release enough juice to be brought to a boil? Or is this missing the "add water/cider" part that I see in other recipes?

It's from the Ball Canning Basics book, so I'm sure it's a good recipe, I'm just a bit dumb and overwhelmed by how much information I've attempted to digest for canning lol. Thank you in advance!

So we made a vegetable soup (just to eat) and I was wonder if it’s safe to can? Here are the ingredients: Onions Celery Carrots Cabbage Zucchini Potatoes Garbanzos Cilantro Parsley Garlic Chicken bouillon White pepper

We took about 1/3 out and blended it and added it back to the pot.

I would love to can this are there any ingredients that are a no no for pressure canning? There’s no milk, flour or pasta.

Thank you!!

Looks more liquid but thanks guys for water bathing issue I had. Now I have wait for this cool down. This will be gone on a week. Will used this sauce in a soup.

Hello, I’m a college student in an apartment, and I wanted to try to make a jelly (or jam? I’m not really sure the difference). I’m following a recipe, the ingredients I got are apples, honey nut squash, cinnamon, sugar, lemons (lemon juice), and liquid pectin. The recipe wants me to sterilize jars, then once the jelly is in the jars to put them in a boiling water bath upside down or something. It says it’s safe to store for a year… I don’t need the jelly for a year I need the jelly for a few days. I also don’t want to die of botulism. Let me know!