Try it!

Monday, October 28, 2013

My chili done blowed up

I've been working on canning chili. I have to admit, the first effort did not end well. This post has few photos because I didn't intend to post on this and so did not photograph stuff at first. Once it got interesting, though, I decided a few photos might be in order.

I initially tried to can some chili using the water-bath method that I use on tomatoes and other high-acid fruits and vegetables. I did this because a co-worker said her mother used the water bath to can her father's chili. When I was done, the seals looked good and I liked my chances for a good result. It is possible she was wrong, and it is possible that I didn't subject the chili to enough time in the water bath, because that shit blew up. Literally. Inside of the cabinet where the jars were stored looked like this:


Like a volcanic eruption, only messier. So I did another couple jars, but this time I did them in the pressure cooker. Once again, seals looked good, and I felt good about the prospects. Nonetheless, I hedged my bets and took precautions against any possible explosion:


Anyway, it's been about a week, and the first jars exploded before this. Doesn't mean I have successfully canned chili, of course. Might taste like shit when I open it. We'll see.

No comments: