Canning Sloppy Joe mix
I recently tried to pressure can some Sloppy Joe mix. For our family it is normally beef, chopped onions mixed with ketchup, brown sugar, and a shot of Worcestershire sauce. All 6 jars sealed but they were very liquidy. So after a few months I opened one of the jars. Ugh! Not bad as in spoiled but its sour like all the sweetness was canned away. What did I do wrong?
Lisa Kukla
Kingsley, Michigan
As I don’t have a clue how you canned it, I can’t really say. The liquid/sour thing is NOT normal for a Sloppy Joe mix, canned correctly. Mine is always fine. Did you process your mix for 75 minutes (pints) or 90 minutes (quarts) at 10 pounds pressure? Did you fill your jars with hot mixture? Check out the directions in my book, Growing and Canning Your Own Food. You can add your own seasonings, ketchup, etc. but the directions are the same. — Jackie
Canning sweet potatoes
Today I was canning sweet potatoes and before I realized it, I had packed the one inch chunks into pint size jars, poured boiling water over them and added a little salt. I completely forgot that I wasn’t suppose to add salt and I was suppose to hot pack them only. They were in the pressure canner and going good before I realized what I had done. Instead of using 10lbs pressure, I notched it up to 12lb and instead of leaving them for 65 minutes, I left them for 90 min. They all sealed ok. Do you think I should give them to the chickens or just make sure I heat them real good, providing they don’t look spoiled when I open them.
Jackie S.
Raw packing sweet potatoes is fine. We did it for generations until the experts began telling us to hot pack them. You certainly heated them adequately by lengthening the processing time and increasing the pressure. The salt is fine, too, as most recipes (mine included) say to add salt to each jar. Your error wasn’t so bad, was it? — Jackie
