I’ve enjoyed my experiences of pressure canning , no doubt! Though I’ve heard that boiling water canning is much simpler, I have hesitated to give it a try. After making my delightful raspberry treats, I decided I needed some more goodies. So, my obsessive-compulsiveness kicked and I needed to try a many new jam recipes. :) I rounded up a bunch of pears at the store to begin my new recipes. While gathering the pear recipes, I found a wonderful apricot-honey jam recipe. Sounded great to me! Because of the high acidity rate (lots of lemon juice), I didn’t need to do it in a pressure canner and could proceed to a boiling water canner. Sounds easy, right? Aie, why do I take the hard road before the easy road?
As I don’t have a pot that works for a boiling water canner [er, not that I knew of at the time, at least], I decided to use my pressure canner instead. Not such a good idea. Pressure canners work to create pressure in order to bring the temp. above 212º F (boiling water temperature), which works great for low-acid products. However, the difference is that when a pressure canner is done cooking, it has a very long cool-down period, which is calculated into the time in the canning recipe. When you do the same in a boiling water canner, you remove the jars immediately after the cooking time, so the product doesn’t overcook. Can you imagine the danger ensuing? :D Currently, my new batch of apricot-honey butter is still sitting in the pressure canner (30 minutes and counting – should have been only ten). I’m sure it will still taste good, but I have certainly learned my lesson–the hard way, as usual.