Foodsaver pickle question?

[Michael Brinton]

I've been using ChefSteps low temp pickle recipe https://www.chefsteps.com/activities...s-on-the-quick with good results. The jars don't always seal. So I thought about taking them out of the bath after the cook time and immediately sealing them with a foodsaver ball jar attachment. Just placing it on the jars and pulling a vacuum. Can anyone think of a reason why this isn't good practice? The foodsaver attachment seems to pull a harder vacuum than just letting the jars seal, just going off how hard they are to open. This would be to shelve them not refrigerate.

[kmhfive]

I'd worry about the rubber seal on the lid if they're not sealing after 2.5 hours at 140F. Seems like something is off. When you heat the liquid in the jar up, some of the liquid escapes as gas (even though you're not boiling). Then, when the jars cool, the vapor and liquid remaining contract and should draw sufficient vacuum to maintain the seal.

That said, the pickles are pasteurized and if you keep the acid in the jar (by sealing with the attachment), they should be able to be shelf-stable. The acid is what really "preserves" the pickle.

[dtassinari]

Sealing hot stuff doesn't really work: you can't pull a real vacuum, and if you try you'll risk ruining your machine.

1. First of all sealing hot stuff, especially liquids, hardly works. The brine in the jar will start boiling immediately, so you'll have to stop after just a few seconds; (I think) the difference in pressure is so small compared to just leaving them be that it's not worth the risk of the brine boiling over and ending up everywhere.
2. Hot liquids give off water vapour in buckets. That liquid will condense inside your machine and potentially damage it (and contaminate it). I'm not sure how dangerous that is for a food saver: I know it's really bad news for a chamber sealer.

Forgive me for asking a silly question, but are you tightening the lids properly as soon as you pull the jars out of the bath? They need to be "fingertip tight" when they're in the water being pasteurised, but you have to tighten them all the way as soon as they come out (wear your bbq gloves).

Since I'm betting you knew that already, the fault might be in the lids, as kmhfive said. I suggest only using new lids all the time (or new rubber rings if they're replaceable).

[JCGrill]

Agree with what has been said here, along with the condition of the jar around the lid - no chips, free of any foreign substances. I'm guessing it isn't your first rodeo, so maybe we are missing something here.

[Willy]

Not sure what to think. When we can we do the finger-tight thing--to the point of "very" finger tight, then, upon removal from the bath and with NO further tightening, they start sealing (audible pop) almost immediately. Within a minute, maybe less, all have sealed with maybe a 5%-ish failure rate. We never reuse lids, FWIW. Also, once the jars are cooled (next day) we remove the rings for good. Somewhere I read that leaving the rings in place can lead to corrosion and seal failure due to trapped moisture.

[Michael Brinton]

I never keep the rings on past the cooling stage either. And I use new lids. It's a picky question. Traditional canning always goes well so I wouldn't bother. It's just the low temp procedure that's a bit harder to get a good seal.

[Willy]

Michael Brinton : Gotcha. I didn't pick-up on the 140°F bit. I would guess that the lower temp doesn't soften the seal material well enough.

[Michael Brinton]

It's more the low temp process you get really crisp results but it just doesn't seal as tight as traditional cannin. 80% or so close tight, but there's usually a few that don't ("put these in the fridge and eat them first" is ChefSteps answer) so I kind of expect that not all will close. I pulled three jars out and sealed the lids on. Using the ball jar lid attachment on the foodsaver you can seal liquids in the jars. I am a bit worried about the vapor ruining the unit, but is reconditioned/used anyway so I got it pretty cheap. I'm just thinking more of something I would miss safety wise. By force sealing them instead of allowing the heat to make its own vacuum.

[EdF]

I'd be concerned about the safety aspect too. My wife used to do a lot of canning, but she always used a high-temp / pressure canner method. With using the vac machine the result looks like the process was "pasteurized and immediately sealed", but there's an intervening step of moving the unsealed product around, fitting the jar sealer etc. Seems like a few opportunities for contamination.

Just speculating.

[Michael Brinton]

That's the line I'm on... while they are cooling, so waiting to seal, I put the machine on and seal them. I'm guessing forcing the rest of the air out instead of just waiting for it to happen?

[Michael Brinton]

I'm just curious what other people thought. I probably won't do this anyway, just because as dtassinari said the moisture will ruin the machine anyway.

[JCGrill]

If crispness is what you want, have you tried alum? Works wonders.

[johnec00]

Calcium Chloride like "Ball Pickle Crisp" also helps to enhance crispness.

[Michael Brinton]

Try the ChefSteps low temp canning and you will see what I'm after. You can pickle raspberries and have them stay together. Blueberries, cherries, even sliced cucumbers... It's a different texture than calcium chloride/pickle crisp can achieve.