# First busted jar



## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

Guess it was bound to happen at some point. I hope busted jars are more common than botulisim. :ashamed:

When I set the jar into the canner I heard a slight "tink". I turned to see if the water was boiling and I could see some of the spices in the canner. I figured it had leaked out of the lid. ??? I went back into the kitchen a few minutes later and saw a jar floating, like a bottle in the ocean bobbing, and cucumbers running loose. 

So what causes that? I used the little plastic tool Ball sells to run along the inside of the jar to get rid of the air bubbles. Was my jar just not hot enough??


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## Karen Kay (Aug 18, 2010)

Jars break for all kinds of reasons. Could have had a hairline crack you couldn't obviously see... was it a "real" canning jar? A regular jar (like reusing a Gedney's pickle jar) is not made to withstand the heating process like a canning jar.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Bummer. It happens tho, Like Karen said, so many reasons.


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## Gladrags (Jul 13, 2010)

It's not common, but it happens. I walked into the kitchen the other day in the midst of canning salsa, and smelled hot peppers. Not good. I suspect the jar had a crack in it that I missed.

At least it was only one jar, but the canner insides had to be hosed out.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Even with brand new jars.... You just never know how they were handled before you purchased them. It has most likely happened to all of us. 
In your previous posts, it looks like you have been canning full steam ahead. Sometimes it just happens.. don't be overly concerned... just handle your jars carefully and take good care of them. You are doing GREAT!!!!


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

I had a brand new jar go once too. Very frustrating. Like Texas says, the case of jars may have been rough handled before you got them.

It happens. It's frustrating, but at least you have all the other jars!
:dance:


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## jmtinmi (Feb 25, 2009)

This use to happen to me quite a lot, like at least one jar per canner load. A real mystery as I tried to figure it out. If I remember correctly it happened to newer jars, some older. As it turned out I was tightening the bands too much. The bottom of the jar was completely broken off! Reading one little snippet somewhere clued me in. After that I didn't have a problem. But last week, when I was canning, I lost a jar~~not to tightening it down too much though. There was too much of a difference between my jar temp and the water temp of the canner~~like you PP, I heard something different.

Then two days ago, I lost a jar of pears to a crack in the jar. The jar held together, but the juice still managed to escape. I a tribute this to a hairline crack in the jar that I didn't catch.


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## crispin (Jun 30, 2010)

I had one break on me recently. I was reusing a jar that someone had given me. I do not know if it was a real canning jar or not.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

crispin said:


> I had one break on me recently. I was reusing a jar that someone had given me. I do not know if it was a real canning jar or not.


If it didn't say anything on like Mason, Ball, ect. Never think of it as a "real" jar. These unmarked jars, i will only use for water bath short process. Usally I just toss em.


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## PrettyPaisley (May 18, 2007)

Thanks, y'all. Glad to know it really does happen to the best of us! 

This was a real jar but I don't know where it came from. I'm like many, my jars are from all over. Some new, some old, most bought from people off of Craig's List.


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## kabri (May 14, 2002)

I recently pulled a brand new quart jar out of the dishwasher to fill with pickles and noticed that the side seam was crooked and kind of wavy and a bit indented. Not straight like the other jars. It did not break, this time, but I think that is a manufacture defect that is just waiting to break on me one of these years!


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## dinytcb (Sep 20, 2009)

I had my first ever jar break about 2 weeks ago. It was a brand new jelly jar. Thank goodness I had salsa in it and not jelly.


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## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

I had one broken jar in last year's canning, none so far this year BUT I have tossed 4 or 5 jars in the recycling bin this year due to cracks. One of which - I didn't see it was cracked until after I got it out of the water bath, but thankfully it held together while it was in there and I didn't end up with apple sauce all over my canning kettle! I dumped that jar of sauce back to re-boil with the next batch, threw the jar out, and got a new one.


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