I am a 44 yr old man and made pickles for the first time in my lilfe
today! My wife doesn't seem interested so I decided to give it a try.
Anyway, I followed recipe I found online. I boiled the bottles and
lids for 10 minutes then put my pickles, dill, and garlic into the
jars. I poured on top of this a mixture of pickling salt, vinegar and
water. Here's my concern tho. I only did 6 jars but three of them the
lid isn't sealing on...you can still pop it up and down. What should I
do?

Thank you!!

Clueless in Oregon

wrote:
> I am a 44 yr old man and made pickles for the first time in my lilfe
> today! My wife doesn't seem interested so I decided to give it a try.
> Anyway, I followed recipe I found online. I boiled the bottles and
> lids for 10 minutes then put my pickles, dill, and garlic into the
> jars. I poured on top of this a mixture of pickling salt, vinegar and
> water. Here's my concern tho. I only did 6 jars but three of them the
> lid isn't sealing on...you can still pop it up and down. What should I
> do?

What did you do AFTER you put the pickles in the jars?

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/

wrote:
> I am a 44 yr old man and made pickles for the first time in my lilfe
> today! My wife doesn't seem interested so I decided to give it a try.
> Anyway, I followed recipe I found online. I boiled the bottles and
> lids for 10 minutes then put my pickles, dill, and garlic into the
> jars. I poured on top of this a mixture of pickling salt, vinegar and
> water. Here's my concern tho. I only did 6 jars but three of them the
> lid isn't sealing on...you can still pop it up and down. What should I
> do?
>
> Thank you!!
>
> Clueless in Oregon
>
It's not necessary to boil the lids, just get them hot in simmering
water. Did you do a boiling water bath? this is where the jars go into a
large pot of water with a trivet or a kitchen towel in the bottom to
cushion the jars. You fill the jars, then put them into the pot and
bring it to a boil. The best advice I can give you is to get yourself a
copy of the Ball Blue Book, the home food preservers guide to putting up
food. You can also go to the University of Georgia's food preserving
site or to foodsafety.org.

As for the jars that didn't seal, put them in the refrigerator and eat
them up within a couple of weeks. Good luck, get yourself some books,
read this newsgroup, get a copy of the FAQ, and enjoy putting your food by.

George

This morning when I got up they were all sealed.......looks like all
turned out well. Thank you.

II


George Shirley wrote:
> wrote:
> > I am a 44 yr old man and made pickles for the first time in my lilfe
> > today! My wife doesn't seem interested so I decided to give it a try.
> > Anyway, I followed recipe I found online. I boiled the bottles and
> > lids for 10 minutes then put my pickles, dill, and garlic into the
> > jars. I poured on top of this a mixture of pickling salt, vinegar and
> > water. Here's my concern tho. I only did 6 jars but three of them the
> > lid isn't sealing on...you can still pop it up and down. What should I
> > do?
> >
> > Thank you!!
> >
> > Clueless in Oregon
> >
> It's not necessary to boil the lids, just get them hot in simmering
> water. Did you do a boiling water bath? this is where the jars go into a
> large pot of water with a trivet or a kitchen towel in the bottom to
> cushion the jars. You fill the jars, then put them into the pot and
> bring it to a boil. The best advice I can give you is to get yourself a
> copy of the Ball Blue Book, the home food preservers guide to putting up
> food. You can also go to the University of Georgia's food preserving
> site or to foodsafety.org.
>
> As for the jars that didn't seal, put them in the refrigerator and eat
> them up within a couple of weeks. Good luck, get yourself some books,
> read this newsgroup, get a copy of the FAQ, and enjoy putting your food by.
>
> George

wrote:
> I am a 44 yr old man and made pickles for the first time in my lilfe
> today! My wife doesn't seem interested so I decided to give it a try.
> Anyway, I followed recipe I found online. I boiled the bottles and
> lids for 10 minutes then put my pickles, dill, and garlic into the
> jars. I poured on top of this a mixture of pickling salt, vinegar and
> water. Here's my concern tho. I only did 6 jars but three of them the
> lid isn't sealing on...you can still pop it up and down. What should I
> do?
>
> Thank you!!
>
> Clueless in Oregon
>
I don't know what kind of lids and rings you are using, but very few
would suggest that you boil the lids for 10 minutes. Look at the box
they come in and follow the instructions. Also, you usually need to
wait 24 hours to see if the jar is sealed. Touching the lids or rings
before then may interfere with that.
Ellen

> George Shirley wrote:
> > wrote:
> > > I am a 44 yr old man and made pickles for the first time in my lilfe
> > > today! My wife doesn't seem interested so I decided to give it a try.
> > > Anyway, I followed recipe I found online. I boiled the bottles and
> > > lids for 10 minutes then put my pickles, dill, and garlic into the
> > > jars. I poured on top of this a mixture of pickling salt, vinegar and
> > > water. Here's my concern tho. I only did 6 jars but three of them the
> > > lid isn't sealing on...you can still pop it up and down. What should I
> > > do? Thank you!!
> > > Clueless in Oregon
> > >
> > It's not necessary to boil the lids, just get them hot in simmering
> > water. Did you do a boiling water bath? this is where the jars go into a
> > large pot of water with a trivet or a kitchen towel in the bottom to
> > cushion the jars. You fill the jars, then put them into the pot and
> > bring it to a boil. The best advice I can give you is to get yourself a
> > copy of the Ball Blue Book, the home food preservers guide to putting up
> > food. You can also go to the University of Georgia's food preserving
> > site or to foodsafety.org.
> > As for the jars that didn't seal, put them in the refrigerator and eat
> > them up within a couple of weeks. Good luck, get yourself some books,
> > read this newsgroup, get a copy of the FAQ, and enjoy putting your food by.
> > George

RiverMan wrote:

> This morning when I got up they were all sealed.......looks like all
> turned out well. Thank you.
> II

Dear Clueless - just because the jars sealed does not make them safe. Actually,
the vinegar does that if the concentration is high enough compared to other
ingredients. I believe that you used what is called the "open kettle method." It
is not approved by the USDA, but some folks still do it.
Using a boiling water bath brings all the contents up to a very high heat and
ensures a good seal and better keeping quality.
I'd check your product carefully while you store it, and if any of the jars loses
the seal, if the pickles are slimy or smelly, throw them out.
What kind of pickles did you make?
Edrena, faithful follower of St. Vinaigrette
Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella

In article >,
George Shirley > wrote:

> As for the jars that didn't seal, put them in the refrigerator and eat
> them up within a couple of weeks.


Heck, give them a month or so in the fridge before you eat them.
Otherwise you'll have cucumbers in vinegar brine, not "pickles." "-)
--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 7-5-06, Pannekoeken
"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."

In article >,
The Joneses > wrote:

> > George Shirley wrote:
> > > wrote:
> > > > I am a 44 yr old man and made pickles for the first time in my lilfe
> > > > today! My wife doesn't seem interested so I decided to give it a try.
> > > > Anyway, I followed recipe I found online. I boiled the bottles and
> > > > lids for 10 minutes then put my pickles, dill, and garlic into the
> > > > jars. I poured on top of this a mixture of pickling salt, vinegar and
> > > > water. Here's my concern tho. I only did 6 jars but three of them the
> > > > lid isn't sealing on...you can still pop it up and down. What should I
> > > > do? Thank you!!
> > > > Clueless in Oregon
> > > >
> > > It's not necessary to boil the lids, just get them hot in simmering
> > > water. Did you do a boiling water bath? this is where the jars go into a
> > > large pot of water with a trivet or a kitchen towel in the bottom to
> > > cushion the jars. You fill the jars, then put them into the pot and
> > > bring it to a boil. The best advice I can give you is to get yourself a
> > > copy of the Ball Blue Book, the home food preservers guide to putting up
> > > food. You can also go to the University of Georgia's food preserving
> > > site or to foodsafety.org.
> > > As for the jars that didn't seal, put them in the refrigerator and
> > > eat
> > > them up within a couple of weeks. Good luck, get yourself some books,
> > > read this newsgroup, get a copy of the FAQ, and enjoy putting your food
> > > by.
> > > George
>
> RiverMan wrote:
>
> > This morning when I got up they were all sealed.......looks like all
> > turned out well. Thank you.
> > II
>
> Dear Clueless - just because the jars sealed does not make them safe.
> Actually,
> the vinegar does that if the concentration is high enough compared to other
> ingredients. I believe that you used what is called the "open kettle
> method." It
> is not approved by the USDA, but some folks still do it.
> Using a boiling water bath brings all the contents up to a very high heat and
> ensures a good seal and better keeping quality.

Another option is the "low temp pasteurization" method that involves
bringing the waterbath to 180-185 degrees and keeping it THERE for 30
minutes or so (I'd have to research the particulars). OK, here's a
link to the poop on the NCHFP site:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_06/...p_pasteur.html

That method is invariably followed by the caveat to "Use only when
recipe indicates.

--
-Barb
<http://jamlady.eboard.com> Updated 7-5-06, Pannekoeken
"If it's not worth doing to excess, it's not worth doing at all."