pressure canning salsa help needed

[cnachel]

questions:
canning salsa with pressure canner, using olive oil in mixture, is this safe?
why do ingredients in jars, shrink below 1/2 in head space when canned, when you filled it to 1/2 in head space when jars were filled?
food in jars canned, shrunk down to half a jar, but are sealed, are they safe?
Help....... lots more to can

[jal_ut]

canning salsa with pressure canner, using olive oil in mixture, is this safe?

Where did you get the recipe? If it is out of the Ball Blue Book or from a USDA publication, then yes, it is safe. Otherwise Who knows?

As to the other problems, same question. If you used approved recipes and followed directions in procedure, and the jars sealed, then yes, they are safe. Otherwise ....... who knows?

It is not unusual for food to shrink or the head space to be a little more. You can avoid shrinkage by precooking the food before packing it in the jars. Losing liquid out of the bottles may be caused by heating the cooker up too fast. Turn the heat down a little bit at the start. It takes a few minutes longer, but you may be happier in the end.

[LindsayArthurRTR]

You can also lose liquid from the jars if the pressure (after canning time is up) is dropped too quickly. When the time is up on pressure canners, turn off the heat and let the pressure reduce slowly. Leave the weight guage on the vent until it completely stoops rocking, then remove it. Leave the lid on until the steam stops streaming from the vent. This allows the pressure in the jars time to catch up with the pressure in the canner. If the pressure in the canner is lower than the pressure in the jars, the contents in the jars are pushed out. This can cause food particles to get stuck in the seal. They can mold and cause a seal to fail eventually. This is why I store foods without bands on them after they have cooled completely. Pressure canning takes time. Don't rush it, and you'll be rewarded with safe, beautiful food!

The same thing can happen with boiling water canning, if the jars are removed promptly when the canning time is up. It can be prevented by turning off the heat on the canner, take thecover off, and allow the jars to remaining the water for 5 minutes before removing the jars and cooling them.

[jal_ut]

When the time is up on pressure canners, turn off the heat and let the pressure reduce slowly. Leave the weight guage on the vent until it completely stoops rocking, then remove it. Leave the lid on until the steam stops streaming from the vent. This allows the pressure in the jars time to catch up with the pressure in the canner.

I do not agree! When the time is up, turn the heat off and go do something else for a while. Wait until the pressure gauge reads zero before taking the weight off. Do not touch anything. Just let it cool off. There should be no steam at all "streaming" out when you take the weight off.
[url=https://www.pickyourown.org/pressurecanners.htm]Read the instructions!!![/url]

[img]https://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/pressure_canning2.JPG[/img]
From the Ball Canning Book

[LindsayArthurRTR]

I DO believe that when the weight stops rocking, the pressure is zero in the canner My canner does not have a pressure "guage" like yours. It just has a weighted guage. Steam does not jet from the vent once it stops rocking. The instructions for my pressure canner are as I previously stated and they came with the pressure canner itself.

I do use ball's books and I also use 2 other books for canning. I am a very familiar, successful canner. I don't loose liquid or food from my jars using this technique. I have never lost a jar of food to spoilage.

[jal_ut]

Every pressure weight I have seen jiggles when the pressure cooker reaches its design pressure, usually either 10 or 15 pounds. When you turn the cooker off the weight will almost immediately stop jiggling. That does not mean the pressure is gone, it means that the pressure is less than the 10 or 15 pounds, whichever weight you have. It takes additional time for the pressure to go down to zero. If you touch the weight and it hisses at you, leave it be for a while longer. You don't want to take that weitht off until all the pressure is completely gone. The time it takes for the pressure to go down is also part of the cooking time and you should not shorten that by taking the weight off while there is still pressure in the cooker.

If you pull the weight and steam comes "streaming from the vent" (your words) There was still pressure in the kettle. I suggest you call your extension office and talk to someone about this procedure. Of course you won't believe me, I am just a nut with a computer.

What brand cooker do you use?

[LindsayArthurRTR]

Haha! Jim! I don't think you're a nut! I don't dispute your advice. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm saying I'm not wrong, either! Streaming is a bit different than the jet of steam that comes hissing out when you touch the weight and the pressure is still too high. When you are bringing your canner up to temperature before you put on your weights, steam comes from the vent for 10 minutes. The pressure is low then. Just like it is when the weight doesn't hiss at you. Liquid is lost from jars when the weight is immediately removed when cooking time is up. I believe that was the question from the OP.

I have a mirro pressure canner. It is 16 years old and still has all it's original parts. It can hold up to 20 pint jars. It takes at LEAST 15 minutes for the weight to stop rocking when I pressure can. It has taken longer in the past...

Again, I don't think you are a nut with a puter. Haha! I truely enjoy your posts. Even when in direct conflict with mine! I hope I'm still canning at your age

[jal_ut]

OK, but I was really serious when I said:

If you pull the weight and steam comes "streaming from the vent" (your words) There was still pressure in the kettle. I suggest you call your extension office and talk to someone about this procedure.

Have a great day!

[jal_ut]

Here is some additional reading on proper procedure for using a pressure cooker. ( From an approved source)

[url=https://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/using_press_canners.html]Click Here[/url]