Kitchen Safety Tip: Home Canning Tip To Check Seal

When canning and preserving it is very important to make sure that the lid is sealed properly to the jar. It is important to allow the jars to cool between 12 to 24 hours before removing the screw band and testing the seal. There are a couple of ways to do this the first way is to simply press the middle of the lid with a finger or thumb to see if the lid springs up when you release your finger the lid is unsealed. The second way is to tap the lid with the bottom of a spoon. If it makes a dullsound the lid is not sealed. The dull sound is caused by food being in contact with the lid. If the jar is sealed it will make a ringing high pitched sound. The last thing to do is to hold the jar at eye level and look across the lid. If the lid is curved in the center it is sealed propersly. If flat or bulging then not sealed.