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Most often, for homemade preparations, we use glass containers with a capacity of 0.5 to 3 liters. It is easy to clean, inexpensive, and its transparency ensures good visibility of the product. Of course, no one forbids making twists in larger or smaller jars, we simply indicated the most commonly used sizes.
But you can’t just use cleanly washed dishes for preservation; they need to be sterilized. Otherwise, the lid will swell and instead of a delicious salad or jam, we will get a spoiled product that is only suitable for the trash can. Sterilizing jars at home will allow us to avoid this.
Selection and preparation of jars
For winter preparations, you can only use jars without the slightest damage, since cracked ones cannot be hermetically sealed and the products will certainly deteriorate. It is especially important that there are no small chips at the neck that are difficult to notice.
Before sterilizing jars, wash them with baking soda, mustard, or any dishwashing detergent. After using chemicals, rinse the container with water acidified with vinegar or citric acid.
High temperature sterilization methods
There are many recipes sterilization of jars, we will try to tell you about them all, and you can choose the one that suits you.
Steam treatment
Our mothers and grandmothers also sterilized jars using this method. It is quite reliable, it just takes a lot of time, because each container is processed separately. You will need a vessel for boiling water and a special pad for sterilizing jars. It is a lid-like metal circle with a hole in the middle. Many housewives have adapted to using a metal sieve or grid for sterilization.
Pour water into the boiling dish, cover with a wire rack or cover and wait until the water boils. Place the jars on top; the sterilization time will depend on their volume. Boil:
- half liter jars – 10 minutes;
- liter jars – 15 minutes;
- two-liter jars – 20 minutes;
- three-liter jars - 25 minutes.
Lay a clean, preferably ironed, cloth on a flat surface and after steaming, stack the containers at some distance from each other, placing them on their sides. When removing hot sterile jars, hold them by the sides with both hands and use clean, dry oven mitts or rags.
Boiling water
For this recipe, three-liter jars should not be sterilized. It is good for small, odd-sized containers that can all be placed in one pan or basin.
Place a towel or wooden grid at the bottom of the dish for sterilization, place cleanly washed jars on top and fill with cold or warm water so that it covers them completely. Place on low heat to prevent the glass from cracking, boil for 5-10 minutes.
Oven
For housewives who do not have time to tinker with each jar separately, processing them in the oven is more suitable, no matter whether it is gas or electric. This way you can sterilize many containers of different sizes at once. Moreover, you use the same amount of gas or electricity as for sterilizing one jar for preparations, and there will be no need to constantly look into the saucepan and check whether the water has boiled away.
To do this, place well-washed glass containers on a clean rack with the neck down in a cold oven. Turn it on to 150-170 degrees, wait until the temperature reaches the desired level, and count 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and wait 20, or better yet 30, minutes before opening and removing the sterile jars.
Double boiler
Fill the steamer with water and wash the top nozzle clean. Place the canning jars in it with their necks down, put them on the fire, and turn on the electric one for 15 minutes. Using a dry oven mitt, carefully remove the container and place it on a clean towel.
Microwave
One of the recipes for disinfecting half-liter and liter containers is processing in a microwave oven. This sterilization method is especially good in hot weather, when the kitchen can’t get enough air.
Pour 1.5-2 cm of water into the bottom of the jars, place in the microwave and turn it on at full power. Processing time – 5-7 minutes.
Multicooker
Let us immediately note that this recipe is the worst (if you do not use the multicooker as a double boiler):
- firstly, you can’t put many jars in it, and the sterilization time is 1 hour;
- secondly, they need to be covered with lids, but, for example, nylon ones cannot be boiled for so long;
- thirdly, only small jars can be sterilized this way;
- fourthly, if the multicooker has been used for some time, it is very difficult to wash the rubber gasket in the lid so that anything in the device can be sterilized.
But since such a method exists, we’ll tell you how to apply it correctly.
Wash the canning jars, bowl and lid of the multicooker. Place the containers in the bowl, fill them to the top with water and cover tightly with the lids. Add water to the maximum level, close the lid. Select the “soup” program, and leave the time as default (it differs for different models).
Once sterilization is complete, the jars can be removed and drained.
Disinfection without heat treatment
We looked at ways to sterilize jars using high temperatures. It's hard to imagine that anyone would need to clean them without cooking them for canning. But just in case, know that it is possible to obtain sterile glassware in nature or in unsanitary conditions.
Potassium permanganate solution
Wash the jars and rinse as thoroughly as possible with a rich pink solution of potassium permanganate. It is advisable to protect your hands with medical gloves during sterilization.
Pure alcohol
Pour 100 ml of 95% ethyl alcohol into a clean jar, close the lid or press it tightly with your hand to the neck. Shake vigorously several times so that the liquid gets onto the lid and wets all the walls. Pour the alcohol into the next container, cover the sterile one with a lid and set aside.
Sterilization of caps
Housewives often carefully sterilize jars, simply pour hot water over the lids, and then are surprised that the jars have spoiled. They blame poorly washed products, high temperatures during storage, and sigh that salt 20 years ago was saltier and vinegar more sour. We have looked at many recipes for sterilizing jars, and now it’s time to pay attention to the lids.
First, they need to be thoroughly washed and only then subjected to heat treatment.
Metal
For lids made of metal and tin, it is enough to simply boil for 3-5 minutes. They can be placed together with the jars in a slow cooker or double boiler.
Nylon
Often, sterilization of these particular lids confuses housewives. The task is actually simple. Plastic covers or nylon, place in a clean small saucepan, pour boiling water. Remove it no sooner than the water has cooled down enough to allow you to put your hand in it for a few seconds.
Glass
The lids, made of glass and secured with iron clamps, are sterilized together with the jars, and the gaskets are boiled separately.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many simple ways to sterilize containers for winter preparations. Choose the one that suits you best.
