Canning Without a Rack - Risky?

[LetsBeSelfSufficient]

Hi all,

So I made some applesauce and canned it. I'm new to canning, and I didn't use a rack for the jars. Everything was fine, nothing broke, but now I'm worried that it wasn't properly sanitized (since boiling water wasn't running along the bottom of the jars).

Does this put the jars at a greater risk of contamination? I wanna give my dad a jar of applesauce for his birthday, and I don't want to give him botulism as well!

 

[Beekissed]

I can't imagine that this will cause a problem.

 

[freemotion]

Next time line the bottom of your canning pot with spare jar rings!

 

[LetsBeSelfSufficient]

But should I toss the stuff I've already canned?

 

[Beekissed]

When in doubt, reprocess!

 

[urban dreamer]

It should be fine. The heat in the canner is what kills the bacteria. The main reason for using a rack is to prevent jars from shattering. Your applesauce should be ok if the seals are nice and tight. I would use a rack next time though just to be safe.

 

[Emerald]

I have to say a big +1 on the extra rings on the bottom of the pot! I used the rings for a few years till I found a nice canner with the rack and jars at the flea market for $3. I used that cheap canner for years till last year it sprung a leak and drenched the kitchen with nice boiling water! Lucky for me my Mother's best friend when I called to borrow her canner, just out and out gave me her big pressure canner! Told me that she never used it and was glad it was going to someone who would! I love that woman!

+1 on the applesauce being ok..


And I have been lurking for awhile now and just gotta say
I LOVE THIS PLACE! Just couldn't pick a thread to jump in on!

 

[Beekissed]

Welcome to the forum, Emerald! You should have been here when the forum was younger....it was a real happenin' place then, with tons of info being conveyed each and every day. Its sort of slowed and mellowed now but some of the things you seek can still be found with a search or two.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

And I have been lurking for awhile now and just gotta say
I LOVE THIS PLACE! Just couldn't pick a thread to jump in on!

I like your avatar, Emerald.

Let'sBeSelfSufficient: I would think that your applesauce would be just fine. Seems to me that the bottom of the canner (in direct contact with the burner you are heating it on) would be hotter than the boiling liquid. Metal is a better conductor of heat than water, so the pan is likely hotter than the water, and it is hottest at the bottom, where it is directly contacting the burner and the jar bottoms. If anything, I would be more worried about scorching the bottom of the jar contents.

 

[sufficientforme]

In a pinch if I do a small batch in a pot I will just throw in a washcloth in the bottom of the pan. Being that your jars were on the hottest point of heat I am sure they are fine, you are lucky they did not break I would not worry about it, every time I have ever seen a bad jar of applesauce it was obviously moldy or compromised.