I canned these tomatoes late September of this year and they've been in the fridge the whole time.
I canned them by 3/4 submerging in boiling water until the seal popped.
The other day I noticed this was dented and I know that's typically not a good sign but being that they are so fresh and have been in the fridge is it still a concern?
I'm assuming I just overfilled but I'm a rookie Don't want to verify.
by ryuhayabusa34
4 Comments
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Boiling jars 3/4 submerged in water ‘untill the lids pop’ is not a proper or safe canning method.
You basicaly heated the food in jars in water and stored them in the fridge. That’s not really different than putting food in a Tupperware and storing in the fridge. It will eventually go bad, ferment and even make the lid buckle like that.
They are not safe. There are a few things I’m concerned about.
First, waterbath canning should have the jars fully submerged. I think the rule of thumb is 1 inch of water over the top of the lid. I’m not sure how not enough water would affect sterilization, so I wouldn’t risk it.
Second, that outward dent is indicative of high pressure inside the jar. Did it look like that immediately after canning? During canning, the air in the headspace heats up and expands. This pushes some of the air out, so when it cools down the air contracts, sucking the lid onto the top of the jar, forming an airtight seal to keep out germs that would spoil the food. If that dent happened after canning, then that means something in that jar is creating gas, causing the lid to bow outwards. If that’s the case, I would not even open the jar. Throw the whole thing away still sealed. It could just be bacteria, but it could be botulism.
I know they were kept in the fridge, but that outward dent means something is wrong with the seal. I would treat it like it was in Tupperware, and I would not eat tomatoes that had just been in Tupperware for a month and a half.
Properly canned jars don’t need to be kept in the fridge. And don’t store them with the rings on.