Is it necessary to increase the hot-water bath processing times for larger-sized jars of home canned chutneys and fruit preserves? :o)

Specifically, if I double a small-batch recipe that gives instructions for filling 1/2 pint jars, but I want to put up pints or quarts instead, should I extend the time the jars are in the boiling water? Thanks so much, everyone. ;o)

AntoniaJames
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9 Comments

Zeldaz
Zeldaz September 10, 2023
So many dangerous ideas and bad advice in these comments! It depends upon the density of the specific food you are making. THERE IS NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL rule of thumb, as different products have different densities the heat has to penetrate. Botulism is no joke, people still die fom it evey year.
 
aargersi
aargersi May 31, 2012
AJ I am in lugging home the lugs mode too! It's all about peaches here right now - peach butter tonight! YUM! And peach chutney probably this weekend. It's really too bad we don't live closer so we could can together
 
Hilarybee
Hilarybee May 31, 2012
For pints, I usually process for 15 minutes, turn off heat, then let them sit in the hot water for another ten. As SKK said, quarts add 5 minutes to the processing time, turn off heat and then let them set for another 15. (with the lid on, of course). I really like this method, I got it from the book Put 'Em Up.
 
Zeldaz
Zeldaz September 10, 2023
That is untrue and completely unsafe. Processing times are based upon density, there is no one-size rule of thumb like that. Botulism is nothing to be played with. If the recipe has not beeen scientifically tested with a larger jar, it should only be processed in the size jar called for.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames May 31, 2012
Looking ahead a few weeks to when my blueberries ripen. It looks like another bumper crop this year, a month or so earlier than usual. I'll make at least a few quarts of blueberry chutney, which I'll break down into smaller jars for giving away in early December, if I like how the flavors have developed. And then there's that apricot mustard from Anne Pennington's "Urban Pantry" that I'll probably make this weekend, because the local apricots are simply gorgeous now . . . . . but wait, I have to make some pickled jalapenos and pickled onions for my son . . . not sure when I'll see green tomatoes, but that's on the list again for chutneys this summer, too. ;o)
 
aargersi
aargersi May 31, 2012
More importantly - whatcha makin'?
 
Zeldaz
Zeldaz September 10, 2023
That is the question. Different foods have different densities and different processing times.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames May 31, 2012
Thank you! That's just what I was looking for. (I've typically added 10 or more for quarts, just to be sure, but wanted to find out if there were a good rule of thumb, which you've provided!!) ;o)
 
SKK
SKK May 31, 2012
AJ, 1/2 pint and pints take the same amount of processing time which is 15 minutes. Quarts take 5 minutes longer - 20 minutes. http://pickyourown.org/mango_chutney.htm
 
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