On Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:40:25 GMT, "lamont cranston"
> wrote:

>
>"George Shirley" > wrote in message
m...
>> Casey wrote:
>>> This problem has been plaguing me for some time. Being the macho type,
>>> I've been trying to solve it myself -- with no success.
>>> My latest venture was ten pints of peaches. I used the USDA canning
>>> guide that calls for either hot water bath or pressure. I chose pressure
>>> (as I have done in the past). My home is at 2,300, more or less, feet
>>> MSL. The guide called for 10 minutes at 10 PSI, weighted gauge. I did the
>>> hot-pack with 1/2 inch headspace, as directed.
>>> The finished product came out sealed well -- all caps snapped down --
>>> but with 1-1/2 to 2 inches less fluid (light syrup) exposing fruit at the
>>> top. And, the fruit floats about an inch or more off the bottom of the
>>> jar.
>>> The first time this happened, a couple or few maybe several years ago,
>>> I had a pal run some culture tests in a lab. The tests were totally
>>> negative for any bacteria.
>>> After a few months, the fruit poking out of the syrup darkens
>>> slightly, but not dramatically. It also tested negative.
>>>
>>> Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Casey
>>
>> I'll take a guess Casey. Looks like you had a pressure variation in your
>> pressure canner and some liquid from the jars was lost. I put up fruit
>> each year using the boiling water bath method as I live at sea level. But
>> have lost liquid in pressure canning tomatoes at sea level when I slipped
>> and let the pressure vary by a lb or more while trying to hold at 11 lbs.
>>
>> The latest USDA guide from the University of Georgia ag division, "So Easy
>> to Preserve," page 49 says that at altitudes above 1500 feet you should
>> pressure can fruit at 10 lbs using a weighted gauge canner. If you have a
>> dial gauge pressure canner you should pressure can at 7 lbs between
>> 1001-4000 feet. I take it you have a weighted gauge canner which would
>> lead me to believe you had some pressure fluctuations while you were
>> canning the peaches. HTH
>
>
>And another cause of loss of product from jars is cooling down the pressure
>cooker too fast. If the pressure is reduced too quickly the product will
>boil up and spill over the rim of the jar. My experience has been to turn
>off the heat and leave things alone until the pressure canner "releases"
>itself. Even though the wait seems interminable. Good luck.
>
>Lamont
>

From time to time I have finished a pressure canner at bedtime. I
just turn off the heat and open it the next morning. Works very well.
I am not tempted to rush things.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)