I made a batch of dill pickle relish from the recipe on the side of a
container of pickling salt, and canned them according to the
instructions. (Boiling water bath -type canning). It has worked well
before. This time all the relish is kind of floating on top of a half
inch of liquid that shows at the bottom of the jars. Two of the four
pint jars had no remaining headspace at the top because the cut up
veggies floated to the very top. (I also suspected that they didn't
seal right, so I stuck them in the fridge just to be safe.)

I think I know what went wrong. The cut up cucumber is supposed to set
in salt for 2 hours, then it's supposed to be rinsed and drained. The
instructions say to squeeze out as much water as possible. I tried it
with a couple of fistfuls of cucumber, but it all just squeezed out of
my fingers, so I didn't bother trying to squeeze the rest. I also
tried draining it through a collander, but it was shredded so small by
the food processor that pieces just pushed through the holes in the
collander. Maybe next time I should try pressing it against
cheesecloth or something?

Anyway, I trust two of the jars, because they have the right kind of
sound when I tap the lids, look like they sealed right, and they still
have some headspace at the top... but there's that half inch of liquid
at the bottom. Does that sound like it would be unsafe, or is it okay
to keep it and use it later? All the books and official-sounding
articles online talk about the importance of having enough acid in
this kind of canning, and I'm afraid that layer of liquid at the
bottom might mean the vinegar and/or salt is diluted by water or cuke-
juice.

Either way, the refrigerated ones taste okay. Maybe I should freeze
them all if the seals aren't trustworthy.

In article
>,
Deidzoeb > wrote:

> colander. Maybe next time I should try pressing it against
> cheesecloth or something?

Yes.

> Anyway, I trust two of the jars, because they have the right kind of
> sound when I tap the lids, look like they sealed right, and they still
> have some headspace at the top... but there's that half inch of liquid
> at the bottom. Does that sound like it would be unsafe, or is it okay
> to keep it and use it later? All the books and official-sounding
> articles online talk about the importance of having enough acid in
> this kind of canning, and I'm afraid that layer of liquid at the
> bottom might mean the vinegar and/or salt is diluted by water or cuke-
> juice.

It's diluted even if it's evenly distributed through the chopped vegies.
>
> Either way, the refrigerated ones taste okay. Maybe I should freeze
> them all if the seals aren't trustworthy.

I wouldn't worry about it. Give it a shake every few days if it will
make you feel better. :-)


--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of
St. Pectina of Jella
"Always in a jam, never in a stew;
sometimes in a pickle."
Where are my pearls, Honey?