Comments on: How to stop pickles and fruit from floating when preserving

By: Betsy

Betsy — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:46:51 +0000

Joel, Sorry about the typos in my comment yesterday about preventing fruit from floating in jars. I was typing on my teeny phone and between my fat fingers, a touchscreen, iphone’s willful spell check, and my own lousy eyesight – this is what happens. …

By: betsya@hotmail.co.uk

betsya@hotmail.co.uk — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 06:33:08 +0000

floats in jars mostly when:
1. Fruit contains more air than the liquid. I don’t mean air bubbles, though of course that’s a problem too. I mean air in the flesh of the fruit. Hot packing with a light precook expells air.
2. The syrup had too much sugar. Sugar concentration of syrup should match that if fruit and most fruits do best in a light or light-medium syrup.
3. Too much headspace (air) in jar.
4. Screw bands are too tight with result that air is not expelled during processing (too much air in jar again).
If floating occurs in jar that’s been properly vented during processing, top fruit may discolor. If jars are fully vented, then floating fruit may wind up looking like a bad science experiment.
I’ve never heard of sat belting; a great idea!!!

By: Lactofermented Apple Slices « Well Preserved

Lactofermented Apple Slices « Well Preserved — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:14:16 +0000

[...] Pack a clean mason jar with the apples. Use large slices last and wedge them in the thin opening to stop them from floating. We stop fruit and veg from floating all the time like this and call it seatbelting. [...]

By: Naturally Pickled (Fermented) Jalapeno Peppers « Well Preserved

Naturally Pickled (Fermented) Jalapeno Peppers « Well Preserved — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:00:33 +0000

[...] ‘seatbelt‘ (this is my term for stopping all fruits and veg from floating while preserving) the top [...]

By: Preserving Brandied Peaches – What to do when a batch goes wrong « Well Preserved

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:01:46 +0000

[...] you struggle with having fruit and vegetables float when canning, check out our article on “seat belting” which can be used with peaches to keep them buckled in! Advertisement [...]

By: Canning Apricots | Plan to Can

Canning Apricots | Plan to Can — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:42:39 +0000

[...] that a lot of my apricots floated up, so I probably should have packed them more tightly. Read this interesting article over at Well Preserved, to learn more about how to stop your fruit from [...]

By: Preserving Vegetables – Ideas for July « Well Preserved

Preserving Vegetables – Ideas for July « Well Preserved — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:13:48 +0000

[...] How to stop pickles from floating [...]

By: June Preserving Ideas « Well Preserved

June Preserving Ideas « Well Preserved — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:15:22 +0000

[...] – How to stop pickles from floating (works with other veggies too). We’ll have to get a post up on how to pickle beans (one of [...]

By: Maryalice

Maryalice — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:32:19 +0000

Thanks so much. This “floating”, especially with green beans, has been a source of embarassment and frustration for me so I REALLY appreciate the information. I just made spicy pickled green beans and I may have cut them too short because they have floated up at least an inch from the bottom. When the recipe talks about head space, does that apply to both the brine and the produce? I always worry that it won’t be safe if the beans (or other veggies) get above the brine and I keep whittling away at the beans.

By: Your Most Important Tip – or Question – About Canning « Well Preserved

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:16:12 +0000

[...] Seatbelting – this is how to stop veggies from floating in your jars when pickling or canning in general. [...]