y* = Questions

and Answers

Q. How should jars be sterilized?
A. Jars should be washed in hot soapy water, rinsed thoroughly in a pan of
clear water, scalded and then turned upside down on a freshly sterilized tea
towel.

Q. Is it necessary to sterilize jars and lids before canning?
A. For open kettle canning, jars and lids should be sterilized. When food is
processed in the jar, the jar does not require sterilizing but all jars should be
thoroughly cleansed. Screw bands need not be sterilized. Heating jars helps
to prevent breakage when packing.

Q. Why do some Screw Bands stick to the jars?
A. This is caused by food juices on jar threads. Juices holding screw bands to
the jar can be dissolved in warm water, or adhesions can be broken by tapping
screw bands lightly with a knife handle.

Q. Will jars boiled in water before canning be tougher?

A. No. Dominion Glass jars are fully tempered when made and boiling will
not increase their resistance to heat.

Q. Where should hot jars be set when removed from the canner?

A. Hot jars should be set on two or three thicknesses of cloth or heavy paper
or on a board. They should not be set in adraft or on tile or other cold surfaces.

Q. When using the pressure cooker for processing, is it necessary to have the
cooker filled with jars?
A. It is not necessary to have the cooker completely filled, but is more econom-
ical to do so.

Q. In Hot or Cold Pack Canning, when should one start to figure time of
processing?
A. When using a Pressure Cooker start from the minute the hand on the
pressure gauge reaches the required pressure. When using the Water Bath,
from the minute the water surrounding the jars, starts to boil.

Q. Are the keeping qualities of food affected when liquid has boiled out
during processing?

A. No.