I'm canning some crushed tomatoes, using Mrs. Wheelbarrow's method from NPR. My canner's instructions say to place the lidded-up jars in the canner, make sure they're covered by more than an inch of water, and bring to a "vigorous boil."

I've got the stove up as high as possible, and after 30 minutes it's nowhere near a vigorous boil. Can I just lid up the canner and proceed as instructed?

adashofbitters
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6 Comments

adashofbitters
adashofbitters September 12, 2010
Amanda, Cathy:

Thanks to both of you for your advice. I think the tomatoes turned out okay, and I didn't make a huge batch, so even if they didn't, we have room in the fridge.
 
MrsWheelbarrow
MrsWheelbarrow September 12, 2010
You definitely want to put a lid on the canner while the water comes up to a boil. When you hear the boil, turn the water down a bit, to keep it from being overly vigorous and spilling water everywhere. Kooky instructions - not to clearly state Cover The Canner.
 
adashofbitters
adashofbitters September 12, 2010
At this point, I agree. I'm going to top it up with boiling water to replace what's simmered away, and then lid it up.

When I'm trying something like this for the first time, i tend to follow the device instructions until I have a good reason not to. In this case, I think I have a good reason not to. :)
 
Amanda H.
Amanda H. September 12, 2010
I don't see why not -- seems like you'd want to keep the lid on until the water boils, not the opposite.
 
adashofbitters
adashofbitters September 12, 2010
The instructions say to let it come to a vigorous boil and then lid it up.
 
Amanda H.
Amanda H. September 12, 2010
You might want to try doing it in 2 batches (not what you wanted to hear, I'm guessing!) -- so the water can boil. May be a dumb question but do you have the lid on the pot?
 
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