I had two jars lose water in the pressure canner. There are no visible cracks in the jars and the lids are sealed tight. I have no idea how the water got out but it did. So they're sealed jars of green beans but they are half full of water at this point. Should we throw them out?
Next time hand tighten your lids just a hair more. They are probably ok, I agree with Mike Barkley, eat them first.
Anything I can that I am iffy on gets tossed in the fridge and becomes dinner within a week or so.
I'd either use them right away, or freeze them, in that case.
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At this point they are just cooked beans. So put them in the fridge or freezer and use them to make some dinner soon.
Your other worry seems to be that the jar is broken and you will be eating glass filled beans. You can add come water to the empty 'suspicious' and see if they leak overnight. If that turns out to be safe then go ahead and eat the beans.
Lastly there is stress. Life is too stressful as it is so if you will feel better just throwing away the two 25cent worth of dry beans vs 'risking it' by eating it then just throw it away. I would pay alot more than 50cent for peace of mind.
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"If in doubt, throw it out" applies extra to canned goods. Granted, if they were still fresh out of the cooker and haven't sat around at all then eat up.
If this happened a day or more ago, then dogs, chickens or compost to be safe.
I've lost a little water before, assumed it was just absorbing into the items being canned. But half a jar is a lot. Likely steamed its way out of loose lids and shouldn't be stored for later use.
S Bengi wrote:At this point they are just cooked beans. So put them in the fridge or freezer and use them to make some dinner soon.
Your other worry seems to be that the jar is broken and you will be eating glass filled beans. You can add come water to the empty 'suspicious' and see if they leak overnight. If that turns out to be safe then go ahead and eat the beans.
Lastly there is stress. Life is too stressful as it is so if you will feel better just throwing away the two 25cent worth of dry beans vs 'risking it' by eating it then just throw it away. I would pay a lot more than 50cent for peace of mind.
So I did a stupid. The pastor at our church was going to get some produce. Asked if anyone was interested in beans. I was like, sure get me some. $45 later I had a bushel of beans. I didn't expect either. Canning beans became necessary because of the quantity involved. I canned 25 quarts of beans. So each jar of beans is worth $1.80 which is far more expensive than the super market at this point.