I'm thinking about getting a good pressure cooker. Can I put woozies w/ plastic lids in a pressure cooker? Or will it melt the plastic (or liner)?
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cooking Can I pressure cook woozies with plastic lids?
- Thread starter Stemwinder
- Start date
I would say no, you can't. There are a million types of plastic, each with it's own melting point. Some don't melt but may begin to decompose at higher temps. I'm sure someone has probably done it and gotten away with it but that doesn't mean you should. That's for the lids. For the liner it's going to be gone if you put it in a pressure cooker.
Just for giggles PVC melts around 212C or 414F. Water boils at 100C or 212F. But using a pressure cooker allows the water to withstand a higher temperature before boiling. Most pressure cookers go up to about 15lbs of pressure which allows the water to reach a temp of 121C/250F before it boils.
Just for giggles PVC melts around 212C or 414F. Water boils at 100C or 212F. But using a pressure cooker allows the water to withstand a higher temperature before boiling. Most pressure cookers go up to about 15lbs of pressure which allows the water to reach a temp of 121C/250F before it boils.
Using the glass sauce bottles and hot packing, bottling it at 195 degrees F and not letting the sauce drop below say 185 degrees F, and inverting the bottles so the sauce touches the lid for 15 minutes or so you don't really need to worry about pressure cooking the bottles. Just by hot packing your sauces and SL correct me if I'm off here but you'll be in compliance with FDA and most state and local requirements. If you're canning with lids and rings is really more the pressure cooking comes into play. But still isn't required in moost applications. I learned canning from my grandparents who did it sonce the depression days. All they ever used was a water bath and I don't remember them ever having a batch go bad. JMHO
RM
RM
Thanks. That's what I figured. I know I don't HAVE to pressure can my sauces... but I thought it might be worth going the extra mile IF it was possible to do without melting the tops.
I'm still annoyed that my mango sauce went bad. I'm trying to figure out what I can do to prevent it in the future. I'll just have to be more conscious of my bottling procedures. I thought that I had done everything right, but I guess not. I'll make sure to change out the batteries in my ph meter. I could use a better thermometer, too.
I'm still annoyed that my mango sauce went bad. I'm trying to figure out what I can do to prevent it in the future. I'll just have to be more conscious of my bottling procedures. I thought that I had done everything right, but I guess not. I'll make sure to change out the batteries in my ph meter. I could use a better thermometer, too.
salsalady
Business Member
RM and Potawie are correct. Bottle distributors say to not even do a boiling water bath with plastic lids. They will melt, distort, etc. The typical process is to boil the empty bottles to sterilize the bottles, and then hot pack as described above and invert the bottles sterilized the inside of the lid. This is for a sauce with the proper pH. If it doesn't have a low enough pH, the sauce should be pressure canned in regular mason jars.
Side note on pressure canning-
Standards have changed for pressure canning since the depression days. My grandparents also did all their canning with the boiling water bath, including green beans and other veggies. It used to be standard process to boiling water bath (bwb) tomatoes, but not any more. University extension services now recommend pressure canning tomatoes. Heirloom variety tomatoes used to have a much higher natural acid content, but so many of the modern varieties have been bred to be low acid, and therefore a higher risk when canning in a bwb.
Side note on pressure canning-
Standards have changed for pressure canning since the depression days. My grandparents also did all their canning with the boiling water bath, including green beans and other veggies. It used to be standard process to boiling water bath (bwb) tomatoes, but not any more. University extension services now recommend pressure canning tomatoes. Heirloom variety tomatoes used to have a much higher natural acid content, but so many of the modern varieties have been bred to be low acid, and therefore a higher risk when canning in a bwb.
How did your mango sauce go bad?
Remember, just because the ph is low that doesn't prevent mold growth from sugar content.
ph regulates and controls your bacterial growth and any growth from botulinim. Canning your product gives you the extra protection of preventing the botulinim spores from releasing the toxin, but neither of these things do anything for fungus and mold.
If your sugar content in your sauce is just right in proportion to your acidity, you can still get mold growth in a properly packaged product. Especially if you are leaving it out at room temp and open.
kendra
Remember, just because the ph is low that doesn't prevent mold growth from sugar content.
ph regulates and controls your bacterial growth and any growth from botulinim. Canning your product gives you the extra protection of preventing the botulinim spores from releasing the toxin, but neither of these things do anything for fungus and mold.
If your sugar content in your sauce is just right in proportion to your acidity, you can still get mold growth in a properly packaged product. Especially if you are leaving it out at room temp and open.
kendra