# Leaky Beans! Do I have to recan??



## strawhouse (Aug 7, 2010)

Help! I tried canning black beans for the first time tonight. It's only my third time using my pressure canner, I'm really new at it.
I followed all instructions, vented first, kept the pressure steady, etc. 
But when I opened the canner, it smelled "beany", and there was purple in the water. Something leaked, I don't know which one, or if it was all of them.
Do I need to re-can the whole batch? Will re-canning it overcook things? Is all my work pooched, or can I save it????


----------



## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

I am not the canning expert here, but as long as the jars sealed you will be fine.


----------



## Old Swampgirl (Sep 28, 2008)

To smell the beans & see something in the water is OK. If your lids sealed, and you pressure canned for the proper time & pressure on the gauge as per your instructions, then you have successfully canned your beans. The "exchange" of some of the liquid in your jars during the canning process is not unusual--that's how it works. I always refer to the Ball Blue Book, but they have published a new, bigger book (paperback), that is not blue. Also someone at your extension service might be helpful.


----------



## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

As others have said, your beans are just fine.

A few days ago, I canned swiss chard and when I opened the canner the water was absolutely BLACK from the leakage! (There is something in chard that turn water black - and my fingernails when I'm working with it).

It's a rare occasion at my house that I get a canner load of anything and none of them leak juice. Just remember to remove the rings and wash the jars, especially the thread area, after they are cool.

Welcome to the World of Canning!


----------



## catinhat (Aug 26, 2010)

The one thing you'll want to do is check the lids again, on the off chance that some little bit of bean got into the rubber seal part of the lid, it might dry out, then let air in, and the seal would be bad. (and so would the beans). So just make sure the lid is still sealed before you open a jar of the beans. Really, though, whenever I can green beans, when it's time to remove the lid from the pressure canner there is always the scent of green beans in the water. With all the pressure in there, some liquid gets through the seals. If the fluid level in your jars of beans is low, it's likely that there were some air bubbles or pockets in the jars of beans that you didn't get out before you put the lids on - that can cause excessive siphoning. If the fluid level in your jars are good, I bet everything is going to be just fine. 

Hope that helps!


----------



## strawhouse (Aug 7, 2010)

Thanks guys. I do have one jar that is missing about a third of it's liquid. Maybe that's the culprit. I had applesauce do this last year, the seals were fine though. But they all turned bad. I'm paranoid now!!!
I noticed that the beans really swelled alot during the canning process, do you think maybe I had too many beans / not enought water?


----------



## strawhouse (Aug 7, 2010)

Old Swampgirl said:


> Also someone at your extension service might be helpful.


I'm not sure what you mean??


----------



## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

What she meant is that your local county AG extension office usually has a certified canning instructor on staff to teach canning classes and to answer questions on canning. You can find your local extension office listed in the county section of your phone book.

I am one for our local county here in Arkansas and what I would tell you if you called my office is that what you experienced is called "siphoning" and while it does happen now and then it can also easily be prevented. The main cause is too many adjustments of the heat source while the pressure canner is processing and other causes are listed at the link below. 

If you search 'siphoning' here you'll find more detailed discussions about it. Or you can always go to NCHFP and read all about it. See: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/general/cannedfoodproblems.html for a start.

Meanwhile your beans are safe as long as the jar seals are intact. Mark the one that lost most of the liquid to use first as it has the weakest seal. 

Can't say what caused the problem with your applesauce without more details. Applesauce normally isn't done in a pressure canner.


----------



## strawhouse (Aug 7, 2010)

judylou said:


> What she meant is that your local county AG extension office usually has a certified canning instructor on staff to teach canning classes and to answer questions on canning. You can find your local extension office listed in the county section of your phone book.
> 
> I am one for our local county here in Arkansas and what I would tell you if you called my office is that what you experienced is called "siphoning" and while it does happen now and then it can also easily be prevented. The main cause is too many adjustments of the heat source while the pressure canner is processing and other causes are listed at the link below.
> 
> ...


Ah, a county thing. I don't think we have those is Canada. Atleast I've never heard of it. I'll check though, it sound really usefull!

Thanks for the reasurrance. I'm so happy not to have to re-can!!

The applesauce wasn't pressure canned, it was water bathed.... I dunno went wrong but I think it was too thick for sure. (I've seen you post on that mistake before!)


----------



## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> Ah, a county thing. I don't think we have those is Canada.


strawhouse - in Canada it is your Provincial Ministry office, usually the Agricultural subdivision that provides this service. Most of the provinces have their own website with contact numbers listed. And you also have a good resource in Bernardin at homecanning.com

Hope this helps.


----------



## catinhat (Aug 26, 2010)

strawhouse said:


> I noticed that the beans really swelled alot during the canning process, do you think maybe I had too many beans / not enought water?


Were you following a tested, safe recipe and instructions? The beans have to be soaked first, which brings them up to 'normal' size. If you started with dry beans (not pre-soaking them) then that is at least part of your problem...and they may not be safe to eat. 

Do you have the Ball Blue Book, or one of the other books that have safety tested recipes? Also, if you're more than 1000' above sea level, you have to adjust pressure (pressure canner) or time (water bath) for canning as well.

When you mentioned that your applesauce was sealed and failed later, that makes me think that you got the jars hot enough to seal, but not hot enough to kill microorganisms. You can put hot water in a jar, put a lid on and put a ring on that, leave it on the counter and it will seal, but it is NOT the same as when something has been properly canned. You have to get the temperature inside the jar hot enough to kill off microorganisms and bacteria. You also have to make sure that the rim of the jar is perfectly clean when you put the lid on, or else bits of food will dry out over time, let air in and ruin the seal (and the food).

I hope you're able to figure out what to change - canning is a lot of work, and it's frustrating when it doesn't work out!


----------



## strawhouse (Aug 7, 2010)

judylou, thanks, I'm trying to look it up on the ministry website right now....

catinhat, thanks for the tips. I did follow directions from the USDA link posted my judylou in another thread. And I'm gonna order that famous Ball Blue book everyone is talking about this week!


----------



## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

You can order the Bernardin edition instead - they are the same book but then you won't have to pay the US to Canada heavy shipping. They don't sell it on the Bernardin website but you can order it from http://www.goldaskitchen.com/

Bernardin is the Canadian equivalent of Ball in the US but both companies are owned by Jarden. Check out all the recipes on Bernardin's site too: http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/recipes/3.php

Here is a direct link to the book: http://www.goldaskitchen.com/merchant.ihtml?pid=11561&step=4


----------

