5 tricks for safe preservation: how to avoid scalding your hands and draining the first boiling water from a jar

Summer is the harvesting season. Despite my busy work schedule, I try to prepare as much as possible for the winter. In order not to collapse from fatigue and not to get burned by boiling water due to negligence, I resort to tricks. For compotes, I pour fresh berries into a jar and pour boiling water over them for 5 minutes. Then I drain it through a lid with holes.

5 Tricks for Safe and Quick Canning

Getting burned while canning vegetables and fruits is a matter of seconds. It’s enough to grab the jar once without putting on an oven mitt, or forgetting to wrap it in a towel. There is no way in this matter without attentiveness. The right tactics are also very important. I’m sharing tricks that help me close canning quickly and safely:

1. Lid with holes for draining boiling water. One of the most dangerous moments during canning is pouring boiling water out of a jar. I used to wrap it in a towel and slowly drain the liquid using a spoon or small colander. It was a miracle that I didn’t scald my hands, although it was very hot. Another thing is draining boiling water from a jar through a lid with holes. The water flows out smoothly and the fruit does not fall out. You just need to hold the jar tighter.
2. Can holder. Lately I’ve been rolling it into jars up to 2 liters. Tumbling them while pouring boiling water is much more convenient and easier to hold. If the jar is very hot, you can clamp the neck with a key and easily turn it over.There are also special holders and tongs:

3. A saucepan with a spout. I heat boiling water in a large saucepan and pour it into jars with this saucepan: It’s light and convenient. Water never spills past. I've never scalded my hands yet.
4. A knife with a thick blade. Before pouring boiling jam or just boiling water into a jar, I place it on the blade of a knife so that the bottom does not touch the table. I pour boiling water exactly in the center onto the fruits (vegetables). This eliminates the possibility that the glass will burst due to temperature changes.
5. Cheerful mood. Always when I was making preparations when I was very tired or in a bad mood, something wrong happened. Either the can will slip out of your hands, or something else will happen. Now I close it for pleasure, little by little, and when I have the strength and time for it. If the food is already disappearing, I make jam, freeze it, and salt the cucumbers and tomatoes in a barrel. There will always be options!

Beautiful and quick compotes for the winter

I rolled my first compote into a jar at the age of 12 - my grandmother taught me. Since then I have never changed her recipe. I just improved the technique a little. That's what I'm doing:

1. I pour cold water over the berries (chopped fruits) for 1-2 hours. This is necessary so that the air escapes and the canned food does not explode.
2. I put water to boil in a large 5 liter saucepan.
3. I sterilize lids and jars. I do this in the microwave. I mainly use screw cans, 1.5 liters. I fill them with filtered water on my finger and turn on the microwave at 800 W for 5 minutes.
4. I fill the jars halfway with berries.
5. I pour boiling water over it and let it sit for 5 minutes.
6. Now, attention! I put an old screw cap with holes on the jar of berries.
7. I pour the boiling water back into the pan (I put it in the sink just in case), and add 2.5-5 cups of sugar per 5 liters of water.For sour cherries I add as much sugar as possible, for sweet cherries and strawberries – as little as possible.
8. I boil the syrup and pour it into jars. It cooks very quickly as the water is still hot. I boil it for 3 minutes.
9. I fill the berries in jars with syrup and twist them tightly. Compote is prepared for the winter!

Not counting the time of soaking the berries, I spend 30-40 minutes on rolling 4.5 liters of compote. In two approaches you get 9 liters in six 1.5 liter jars.

P.S. Fruits and jars with lids, of course, must be clean and whole!

Crispy cucumbers and juicy tomatoes

I use the same method to preserve cucumbers and tomatoes. But instead of sugar syrup, I cook brine from the drained water.

1. For 1 liter of water I take 1 tbsp. a spoonful of coarse table salt and 2.5 tbsp. spoons of sugar.
2. In a 1.5 liter jar I put garlic cloves, dill umbrellas, currant and cherry leaves, horseradish.
3. Place the vegetables tightly and pour boiling water over them for 5 minutes.
4. I pour it back into the pan and cook the brine.
5. I pour it into jars.
6. I add vinegar at the end (2 tablespoons per jar).

I pour boiling water over vegetables only once! I know many people do this 2-3 times. But then the cucumbers don’t turn out so crispy, and the tomatoes don’t turn out juicy.

Where can I get a lid with holes?

Before I switched to twist-off jars and lids (with a wide neck), I successfully used store-bought lids with holes and a spout. They are sold in almost all hardware stores. They cost mere pennies - something like 10 rubles. But the problem is, they are not suitable for wide-necked jars. And they very often get lost. Not finding a special lid at hand, I used to take a regular nylon lid and make holes myself using a hot nail.

For the jars, Twist-Off made a lid for draining boiling water from an old lid with a partially broken thread. You can make holes with a grinder.But my husband was at work, and I used a regular kitchen knife with a thick blade. After struggling for a couple of minutes, I made 3 holes. You can do more if you have the patience. The main thing is that water flows through the lid calmly and the berries do not pass through.

I love it when the pantry is full. You go into it, and there is plenty of space: aromatic compotes, lecho, adjika, squash caviar, juicy tomatoes, crispy cucumbers. And most importantly, everything is homemade, made with your own hands, with love. Colleagues at work are constantly surprised and consider canning to be hard work. I will say this - if you approach the matter wisely and use tricks, then everything will work out quickly and without excesses like scalding with boiling water.