Canning grape juice

Got a question on canning grape juice. A couple years ago my wife try canning grapes according to the 9th edition of Carla Emery’s book and they turned out great. Now the last two times the jars do not seal as they pop open within a week or two.

Recipe:
clean sterile jar
1 cup of grapes
1 cup sugar
fill jar with boiling water and seal
takes about a month to be ready

Any answers for me? Was nice to meet you folks at the Energy Fair in Wisc.

Jerry Struthers
Otsego, Minnesota

The problem is that they’re not hot enough when you put the lids on. All you have to do is water bath them for 20 minutes (quarts) to ensure that the grapes are thoroughly heated so the jars seal dependably. It’s frustrating to have seals come undone and waste food, isn’t it?

Great to meet you, too, Jerry! — Jackie

Salt in pickle recipe

My question is, how much salt do you absolutely have to put into a pickle recipe?

Lois
Corbett, Oregon

Some recipes for pickles require no salt added or very little. Others, more. I’d stick to a tried and true recipe that doesn’t have a lot such as Easy sweet dill pickles, Bread and butter icicle pickles, where you soak in salt water, then rinse and drain, or Sweet pickle spears, which have only 3 Tbsp, all from my book, Growing and Canning Your Own Food. With pickles, the salt is necessary in most recipes, unlike canning vegetables and meat, where salt is optional and only for taste. — Jackie

2 COMMENTS

  1. jennifer,

    Holy mackerel! $125? Quite a markup! You can buy most of my books right here through the magazine at a whole lot less than that. Check the boxes to the right of the beginning of my blog. Or you can just order right through the magazine itself. Don’t pay the $125!!!

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