Forgive me if this has been asked before. I have googled, searched reddit, etc for any answer to this question.
I had tons of okra from my garden and have been freezing, eating, etc. I decided to pickle okra as I'm from the south and love the store bought stuff. I looked up a recipe, prepped everything, made my brine, and water canned for 15 minutes.
I had packed my jars tight and couldn't fit anymore okra in them. I filled the spaces okra didnt fit with garlic cloves. I made sure no air pockets, and there is still plenty of brine in the jars. Recipe called for 1/2 inch head space. I pulled them out and set them on the counter overnight. Every single one is sealed, but in every single one the okra floated to the top like I didn't pack my jars tight. They look half full of okra (but full of brine). Are these safe to eat? What did I do wrong?
by Lindseye117
7 Comments
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Did you blanch the pods before putting in jars?
You could/should have put far more okra in there.
In my experience, this is not unusual for okra when it is first canned. I have found that they will settle back down over time. You don’t puncture okra so the brine has to seep through over time.
Edit to add, I have better experience using regular mouth jars with okra than wide mouth.
I blanch mine and make sure they are spineless
I have found that you can fit much more okra if you start placing the pods in stem side down (so the pods point up). Once you do that you can add a second “layer” of pods that point downwards; these will fit together nicely with what is already in there. Do the larger pods in the first group so they can use the full height of the jar and then the shorter ones for that top layer. Hope this helps!
If you alternate Okra pods, ie-Stem up & Stem down you’ll pack more in jar.