How Do I Sterilize Canning Jars?

Canning season is here,and unless you have canned a hundred times this question will comes up since it is a very important part of canning safety.

HOW TO STERILIZE JARS

Wash you canner with soap and hot water and rinse well.

Fill about half full with fresh clean hot tap water and put onto the stove-top.

Choose good quality canning jars and inspect them for cracks.

Always wash the jars, lids, and bands thoroughly in hot soapy water. Rinse well.

*TIP: Using a canner is convenient because you will need it anyways and once you have heated up the water, to sterilize the jars, you can also use that same water when it comes time to process.

Place the clean jars, right side up, into the canner placing each into a spot on the canning rack.

Set the canning rack to the down position. The jars will want to float and bob until they are filled with water so it’s a good idea to have a jar with water in it to pour a little into each jar to weight them down.

The jars need to be completely filled with water plus there should be one inch of water above the jars.

Bring the water to a boil and boil for 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat.

Once the water is no long boiling use tongs to drop in the lids and seals. This will also serve to sterilize the tongs.

Leave the jars, rings and lids for a minimum of 10 minutes up to one hour but no longer.

If you go longer than one hour you will need to sterilize again.

When you are ready to pack a jar with tomatoes or whatever fruit you are canning, use the tongs to remove the jar from the water.

The water will be very hot so be careful. You will need to empty all the water out of the sterilized jar.

Set your jar onto a clean paper towel to cool for a minute.

If you use cold jars, you stand the risk of them cracking.

With love,

Grandmother's Kitchen