# Canning Problem



## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

I use to can hundreds of jars of food before My Wife and I go together, always in a All American pressure canner except for a couple things Like pickles and tomato's were water bathed. Never a problem. She wanted some Kentucky wonder beans and wanted to jar them when they came in. Well the bushes were loaded and we picked 1 1/2 bushels, prepped/snapped, etc them---No talking her out of it---she was going to water bath them like she has done in the past.. Sooooo being the good Husband---I just followed her directions----got the jars in the canning pot bringing them to a boil, got the water boiling to blanch the beans then dropped the beans in the boiling water---let them come back up to a boil and boiled for 2 minutes. Removed hot jars and hot packed the beans---lids simmering in a pot----packed the beans then poured the blanching water into the jars to the proper head space--wiped the top of the jar and put the lids on and the ring---set them in the water bath canner rack---dropped them down then let the pot start to boil---then No More than 15 minutes she said---I shook my head but followed her method. When the water started boiling I hit the timer---15 minutes later they were removed and set on towels spaced apart---in a little, started hearing the lids pop/seal. 27 quarts we did. Let them cool and put in the pantry---3 days later I began to smell a little smell, got worse in a couple days---checked the jars---7 was unsealed with foam spewing down the side of a couple of the jars. Bad smell, cleaned up the shelf and a couple days later the smell was still there but getting strong again---heard a jar lid pop---went in and several more jars were unsealed---some spewing down the jars---got to looking and there was some bubbling inside some of the jars that were still sealed---lid down--we dumped all 27 quarts, she blamed the lids??? I have my thoughts but wanted other canners opinions. Thanks


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## Wellbuilt (Dec 25, 2020)

Hmmm seams like 15 min is not long enough . 
But could be the lids .
I don’t can yet but I eat a lot of home caned stuff over the years .
I’ve never had a jar just pop in a few days once sealed . 
Not many pop over years , maybe none . 
I have them pop in transport when traveling with them


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## RJ2019 (Aug 27, 2019)

1) 15 mins is not nearly long enough for beans. In a water bath canner? They better be pickled if you do that (see below)
2) for water bath canning the food needs to either be at a certain acidity, or really sugary (acid is still added to jams, ect.). Salt preserves well too but that's another conversation.

I'm pretty sure what happened is the beans started to ferment in the jars and the co2 had to escape so it pushed the lids off and foamed all over your shelves.

Next time save yourself the headache and just ferment those beans, lol


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Beans must be pressure canned.


https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_snap_italian.html


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## sharkerbaby (Jan 15, 2016)

Definitely not the lids. The beans were either beginning to ferment or going quite bad. Beans must be pressure canned as they do not contain near enough acid to kill harmful bacteria one of the most concerning of which is botulism. 


*Table 1.* Recommended process time for *Snap and Italian Beans* in a dial-gauge pressure canner.    
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]*Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of*[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]​
[TD]*Style of Pack*[/TD]
[TD]*Jar Size*[/TD]
[TD]*Process Time*[/TD]
[TD]*0 - 2,000 ft*[/TD]
[TD]*2,001 - 4,000 ft*[/TD]
[TD]*4,001 - 6,000 ft*[/TD]
[TD]*6,001 - 8,000 ft*[/TD]​
[TD]Hot and Raw[/TD]
[TD]Pints[/TD]
[TD]20 min[/TD]
[TD]*11 lb*[/TD]
[TD]12 lb[/TD]
[TD]13 lb[/TD]
[TD]14 lb[/TD]​
[TD]Quarts[/TD]
[TD]25[/TD]
[TD]*11*[/TD]
[TD]12[/TD]
[TD]13[/TD]
[TD]14[/TD]
[TD][/TD]​


*Table 2.* Recommended process time for *Snap and Italian Beans* in a weighted-gauge pressure canner.    
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]*Canner Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes of*[/TD]
[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[TD][/TD]​
[TD]*Style of Pack*[/TD]
[TD]*Jar Size*[/TD]
[TD]*Process Time*[/TD]
[TD]*0 - 1,000 ft*[/TD]
[TD]*Above 1,000 ft*[/TD]​
[TD]Hot and Raw[/TD]
[TD]Pints[/TD]
[TD]20 min[/TD]
[TD]*10 lb*[/TD]
[TD]15 lb[/TD]​
[TD]Quarts[/TD]
[TD]25[/TD]
[TD]*10*[/TD]
[TD]15[/TD]
[TD][/TD]​


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## sharkerbaby (Jan 15, 2016)

Oh dear that didn't work at all let me try this....




*Table 1.* Recommended process time for *Snap and Italian Beans* in a dial-gauge pressure canner.
​
​Nope, and now I can't get rid of that last remnant

So here's the link I was trying to copy the table from....

USDA - Selecting, Preparing and Canning Vegetables Beans, Snap and Italian - Pieces, Green and Wax


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## Stockton (May 9, 2013)

Green Beans have to be pressure canned


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

So she used to do beans like this in the past?


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## Wyobuckaroo (Dec 30, 2011)

Sooooo being the good Husband---I just followed her directions---- 
+ + +
Um.... Maybe you need to check that she hasn't taken out a large life insurance policy on you ?? ??


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## Hiro (Feb 14, 2016)

Green beans should be pressure canned. But, around the places that I have resided and currently reside, the old salts water bath them in wash tubs 20-30 quarts at a time over an open fire outside. BUT, they cook them to death when they open the jars. Botulinum toxins break down at high temperatures for a prolonged period of time. Those that didn't cook them that way died off long ago, I suspect.

And yes, we pressure can green beans and everyone probably should.


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## Tom Horn (Feb 10, 2021)

I'd say that you got off easy.



> *Clostridium Botulinum and Food-Borne Illness*
> Botulism is an illness caused by the nerve toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, widely found in soil and stream bottoms. Roughly 20 to 30 cases of food-borne botulism occur each year in the United States, most often from home canned foods, such as green beans and other vegetables, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1. Extremely small amounts of toxin can cause severe symptoms, usually beginning within six to 36 hours of eating contaminated food. Early symptoms of botulism include double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech and muscle weakness, followed by paralysis and respiratory failure in severe cases. The fatality rate with advanced medical care is 5 percent or less, as opposed to a fatality rate of 50 percent from 50 years ago.
> 
> Healthfully





> *Reference chart: pressure canning low-acid foods*
> 
> Type of foodStyle of packJar sizeHead spaceProcess time (minutes)Dial gauge (PSI)Weighted gauge (PSI)AsparagusHot and rawPints1 inch3011#15#Quarts1 inch4011#15#Beans - lima (fresh) shelledHot and rawPintsSmall beans - 1 inch small4011#15#QuartsSmall beans - 1 ½ inch5011#15#PintsLarge beans - 1 inch4011#15#QuartsLarge beans - 1 ¼ inch5011#15#Beans - green and waxHot and rawPints1 inch2011#15#Quarts1 inch2511#15#BeetsHotPints1 inch3011#15#Quarts1 inch3511#15#CarrotsHot and rawPints1 inch2511#15#Quarts1 inch3011#15#Corn (cream style)HotPints1 inch8511#15#Corn (whole kernel)Hot and rawPints1 inch5511#15#Quarts1 inch8511#15#Peas (fresh green)Hot and rawPints1 inch4011#15#Quarts1 inch4011#15#PeppersPeeledHalf pints1 inch3511#15#Pints1 inch3511#15#Potatoes (white, cubed or whole)HotPints1 inch3511#15#Quarts1 inch4011#15#Pumpkin and winter squash (cubed)HotPints1 inch5511#15#Quarts1 inch9011#15#Spinach and other greensHotPints1 inch7011#15#Quarts1 inch9011#15#Soups (vegetable, dried beans/pea, meat, poultry-NO seafood)HotPints1 inch6011#15#Quarts1 inch7511#15#Meat (ground or chopped)HotPints1 inch7511#15#Quarts1 inch9011#15#Meat (strips, cubes or chunks)Hot and rawPints1 inch7511#15#Quarts1 inch9011#15#Poultry (without bones)Hot and rawPints1¼ inches7511#15#Quarts1¼ inches9011#15#Poultry (with bones)Hot and rawPints1¼ inches6511#15#Quarts1¼ inches7511#15#
> 
> ...



Here is more info.

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

I know some of the Amish water bath green beans as that is how their parents did it, but I remember her saying that they ran in the hot water bath for the space of hours not min. Don't remember for how long.


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## RJ2019 (Aug 27, 2019)

I lacto-ferment my green beans. I've experimented with letting them ferment thoroughly and then water bath canning after the lactic acid levels are suitable. But it's quite a science experiment and hasn't been professionally tested using modern science and so I can't reccommend it. I've done pickles the same way. It is a historic method.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Yea, I thank everyone, To be honest I have never water bathed beans--always pressure canned----so I did not have any experience with what they would do??? She told me last night that she always cold packed them in hot jars and let them boil in the water bath canner for 45 minutes?? I told her she was the one that said no more than 15 minutes in the water bath----she said she said that because I blanched the them which she had never done before we put them in the jars and she felt that was all they would need to can/seal them??? I have canned many jars of Jackson Wonder and dixie lee pea's before her and I got together but I never grew or canned Kentucky Wonder and she said that the pressure canner would make them to soft/mushy is why She always water bathed------that's the story. Whats your experience in pressure canning Kentucky wonder beans---are they soft/mushy?


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

I pressure can Ky Wonder beans without blanching in a pressure canner for 25 minutes without any problems. They are not mushy.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Fire-Man said:


> She told me last night that she always cold packed them in hot jars and let them boil in the water bath canner for 45 minutes?? I told her she was the one that said no more than 15 minutes in the water bath----she said she said that because I blanched the them which she had never done before we put them in the jars and she felt that was all they would need to can/seal them???


It sounds like she doesn't understand the reasons things have to be done the right way, and the danger of doing them the wrong way. Personally I would never knowingly eat anything canned by such a person, unless I knew for a fact that a particular thing had been canned correctly. I would insist that any future canning be done strictly by instructions from reliable sources. I realize there might be a cost associated with that, but whatever it is, sooner or later eating improperly canned food will incur a much higher cost.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Pressure canned then boiled for 20 minutes after opening the jars does not make Kentucky Wonder or Blue Lake green beans mushy. They aren't hard and crunchy like frozen beans but they aren't mushy. They are soft, but they still hold the green bean shape. 

Try canning a small batch to see if she likes them before doing a bunch more.

My grandma never pre-cooked green beans. This site has instructions for both hot and raw packed pressure canned green beans.









How to Can Green Beans With a Pressure Canner | Lehman's


Thinking about canning your extra green beans for the winter? Sharon Peterson has tips on the best and healthiest way to can your leftover green beans.



www.lehmans.com


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