| OCR Text |
Show It's time to prepare for conning With a new fruit and vegetable canning season upon us, now is the time to check your pressure canner and supplies, said Charlotte Bren-nand, Bren-nand, Utah State University Exten- ! sion food science specialist. Check jars for hairline cracks and small nicks that could cause sealing failures and breakage in the canner. Jars and metal screw bands are usually estimated to have a 10-13 year life; if yours are old, you may want to consider buying new jars. ' Canning jars can be reused if they are not rusting or bent, but the metal flats cannot. Some types of sealing compounds may deteriorate over time. To be on the safe side, purchase new flat lids each year, Brennand said. Also, check your pressure canner. Be sure all vents and openings open-ings in the lid are open. Use a cord or fine wire to clean the openings, : 4 f Check all gaskets. Most earners have a removable flexible ring inside in-side the canner. Old rings get hard and will not form a good seal with the canner. When that happens, it's hard to reach and maintain the correct cor-rect pressure. Also, a hard ring allows moisture to lead between the lid and the canner. Test your canner to see if the gasket holds the pressure. If it's old, replace it. Also replace the over-pressure plug, especially es-pecially if it has not been replaced in several years. Weighted or rocker-type pressure regulators cannot be adjusted and will usually remain accurate. However, pressure canners with dial-type pressure gauges should be tested Check with your county USU Extension office about when they do these tests, or check .it yourself with a special maximum temperature thermometer. |
