Sterilizing Jars – What’s the “Right” Way?

I’ve spoken to a few different people about how they process jars and each one has a different approach. Some keep the traditions grandma taught them, while others will say grandma’s techniques are outdated.

So what’s the “right” way? How you can you be confident you won’t give your friends botulism if you hand them a jar more than 2 months old?

Well, no pun intended, but this is kind of a “hot topic” in home canning and that’s the trick I have learned – it’s all in the temperature.

Now, my mom worked in quality control so I’m about as neurotic as they come when processing jars. I wash my jars in either the dishwasher on the hot cycle or with soap and hot water in the sink. Then I sterilize them in water at 212 degrees for at least 10 minutes. The lids I wash in soap and hot water and I keep the lids hot/warm in water so the rubber seals well on the jar. The jars are hot when I pack them with my jam/jelly, etc. and after I seal the jar it’s back in the water at 212 degrees for 10 minutes of processing. This is truly the neurotic approach.

But is all this fuss necessary? Maybe not. Technically speaking you need to be operating at 212 degrees – how you sterilize with that temperature can vary.

I’ve watched a very talented jam/jelly maker pack their hot (212 degrees) product into cold jars, seal the jar with cold lids and tip the jar over until it seals. This is because the product is the right temperature so it sterilizes the inside of the jar and seals it. She’s never had a problem and sells her product at boutiques in New York!

There’s also the oven approach. You can oven heat your jars to 212 degrees and pack your hot product into those. You can either flip the jars over after you’ve put the lids on or put them into a water bath for 10 minutes (or less time if you’re working with ¼ pt. jars).

So after all this, what is the best way? Well, I think it’s a comfort level thing. I’m comfortable being neurotic about my approach because I know it’s about 99% fool proof. But it’s fussy and, technically, you’d probably be just as okay packing the product into cold jars and flipping them over to seal.

So have a play around with an approach that works best for you, but don’t forget it’s the temperature that will make or break it – you’ve got to be at that hot 212 temp. And these tips are for small batches for home canners – if you’re doing anything on a larger more commercial scale you need to do your proper research.