When Things Go Wrong

   My days are filled with chores that come with living on the Bayou.  This time of year often finds me in the kitchen doing a lot of home-canning.  Vegetables and fruits from the garden, backyard fruit trees and a local "pick-your-own" market are all safely canned and the shelves restocked for the coming year.  This is not only as a method of having a ready resource of food in case of a hurricane but, also, because I am one that absolutely hates shopping.  I would much rather do a bit of work here than spend any time at all in a store.

  That home-canning was in full swing for the past few days.  Not only did I "put up" a bunch of stuff for us, I canned green beans for my daughter and son-in-law.  They do not have the time nor a pressure canner so I volunteered to do the bushel of beans for them.  Mark had gone to the farmers' market and came home with a truckload of goodies...beans included.  The process was going well with the first two canner's full.  Then...the mishap.  Even though Son carefully checked each jar, one must have had a tiny, hairline crack.  When the pressure canner was doing its thing, that hairline crack became a bottomless jar.  Once the processing and decompressing time was complete, I opened the canner to find beans floating around the other jars!  It was saddening to see those lovely beans ruined.  At least, the other jars in the canner were intact!  All in all, the kids now have twenty quarts of beans to stock their pantry.

  This is the second time a mishap of this sort has happened recently.  A couple of years ago, a jar exploded in the canner.  That jar was an older one that had been given (full) to friends.  When they returned it, the jar had apparently been treated a bit rough.  The breakage was a given. The one yesterday, however, was a brand new jar.  I have noticed that the jars nowadays are thinner walled and are much easier cracked.  Many come from the store in bad condition.  The canning lids are the same way.  Folks, if you do home-canning, check the jars carefully (even new ones) and inspect the lids for dents and scratches.  It is a shame but that is how it is.  Just be careful!  

  Still, the beans are canned, jams and jellies are made, peas and butterbeans are all frozen and I am a happy camper!  Now that the pantry shelves are all filled again, I can breathe easy!