In summer and autumn, any housewife strives to prepare as many different canned fruits and vegetables as possible for the winter. After all, those canned foods that are sold in stores, and even more so in markets, do not always satisfy the taste, much less the beneficial properties, of what we are going to treat our family to in the cold winter. And if the housewife has her own garden at her disposal, then it’s simply mind-blowing how many tasty, aromatic and healthy products she can prepare for the winter.
But for many novice housewives there is one problem - many of them have heard about sterilizing dishes for canning, but not everyone clearly understands what it is, why it is needed and what is needed for it. The period of time required for complete sterilization raises especially many questions. Sterilizing jars by steaming is one of the most traditional ways of disinfecting dishes before preservation. It is about it and the features of its implementation that will be discussed in the article.
Sterilization: why is it needed?
In canning food for the winter, sterilization is one of the most important stages. After all, if you neglect it, then not only will your efforts to make vitamin and aromatic preparations be wasted, all the products may be hopelessly spoiled.
After all, thoroughly washing dishes before preparing food for storage is not enough. A myriad of different microorganisms can remain on the surface of jars and lids, which, when left in a space without air for a long time, accumulate various products of their vital activity. They are the ones that can cause quite serious harm to the human body if they accidentally get inside. One of the most dangerous substances is botulinum toxin. When a person is infected with botulism, even death cannot be ruled out. That is why sterilization of winter preparations is the most important stage in canning, the features of which you need to know and understand everything in order to enjoy summer and autumn fruits, vegetables, and herbs in winter without much worry.
Preparatory work
Before you begin sterilizing steamed jars, you must prepare the following:
- A saucepan or tank of water;
- A special metal plate with one or more holes for cans;
- Several cotton towels;
- Jars and lids for them in the required quantity.
A container for boiling water can be used in almost any convenient shape and size, literally anything that is at hand, especially if you only need to sterilize one or two jars. But if you are determined to produce a serious product and we are talking about sterilizing dozens of cans, then it is better to choose a wider pan so that as many cans as possible can fit on it at the same time.
Many housewives, in the absence of a metal lining on the pan, use a large flat colander or even a mesh in the form of a splash divider to sterilize jars at home. As a last resort, you can use these devices, but with these options a good half of the steam will go into the air and therefore the heating of the cans will not be as good. And the air humidity in the kitchen will increase significantly. Therefore, if possible, it is better to purchase a special overlay in advance, especially since they are quite inexpensive.
Cotton towels should be clean and thoroughly ironed at the highest temperature on both sides. With one towel, folded two or three times, you will remove the jars from the stand-pad, and place them neck down on another towel.
The jars themselves must be carefully checked before use to see if they have cracks, chips or stains that cannot be washed off. In all these cases, for the sake of your safety, you should throw the cans in the trash, or use them for some decorative purposes, but they are no longer suitable for making canned food.
Before sterilizing, jars should be rinsed thoroughly. It is better to use laundry soap or ordinary soda in combination with hot water.
After washing, the jars are rinsed under running water.
Most often, disposable tin lids are used for preservation. If you use threaded lids, check that they are absolutely smooth and without chipping the enamel.
Features of steam sterilization
So, first fill the pan or any other container with water.How much water to pour depends on the number of jars you want to sterilize. If you have large three-liter jars or the total number of jars exceeds 10 pieces, then it is better to fill the container to half its volume. A metal lining for cans is placed on top of the pan. Place the pan on high heat so that the water in it comes to a boil as quickly as possible. The first batch of cans can be placed upside down on the rack even before the boil begins, so that they warm up gradually. After boiling, the heat can be reduced slightly so that the water in the pan does not boil, but boils moderately.
Many novice housewives have the greatest doubts about the question: “how many minutes does it take to sterilize jars with steam?” After all, some cooks are satisfied with holding the jars, regardless of their size, over steam for 5-10 minutes and believe that this is quite enough. However, they can be understood. After all, every extra minute of sterilization increases the humidity and temperature in the kitchen.
But, unfortunately, this approach is not entirely justified, because if, despite all the efforts spent on making canned food, they ultimately turn out to be spoiled, then you will only have yourself to blame for this situation.
How many minutes does it take to fully sterilize canning jars? The time the cans remain above the steam is directly proportional to the size of the can. The largest jars, 3 liters in volume, must be kept over steam for at least 30 minutes.
For 2 liter jars, 20 minutes will be enough.Jars, the volume of which varies from one to two liters, must be sterilized, respectively, from 15 to 20 minutes, no less.
If the jars are small, their volume varies from half a liter to one liter, then they only need 10 minutes of exposure to steam.
And finally, the smallest jars, less than half a liter in volume, can be sterilized in only 5-7 minutes.
If for some reason this is not possible, try using other sterilization methods.
However, cans for preservation are sometimes sterilized over an ordinary kettle, which is heated on the stove. In this case, you can either put the jar directly on the spout of the kettle, or carefully remove the lid and place the jar in its place, bottom up.
But even in this case, the number of minutes for complete sterilization remains the same.
Despite the sufficient simplicity and versatility of the steam sterilization method, its use causes strong heating and humidification of the room in which sterilization occurs. However, this drawback does not prevent this method from remaining one of the most popular among housewives.
