As soon as you take jars out of the canner, complete seals if necessary.

Cool jars top side up. Put them on a rack or folded cloth to cool. Keep them away from drafts. Don’t cover.

When jars are cool, take off screw bands. Do not force bands that stick: loosen by covering them with a hot damp cloth. Wash hands and store them in a dry place.

Tin cans

As soon as you take cans out of the canner, put them in cold water. Change water frequently for fast cooling. Remove cans from water while they are still warm so they will dry in the air. If you stack cans, stagger them to allow air circulation.

Checking Seals

Check containers for leaks when jars or cans are thoroughly cool.

Occasionally, a can packed too full bulges at the ends. Set it aside and use within a few days. This will prevent later confusion with cans that bulge from spoilage during storage.

On the day after canning, examine each jar carefully. Turn it partially over. If jar has a flat metal lid, test seal by tapping center of lid with a spoon. A clear ring means a good seal. A dull note, however, does not always mean a poor seal. Another test is to press on the center of the lid; jar is sealed if lid is down and does not move.

Examine seams and seals carefully on all cans. Can ends should be almost flat, with a slight inward curve. Buckled or broken seams may be caused by cooling cans too fast or by not filling cans with enough meat.

Do not store leaky jars and cans. Either use the food at once or can it again in another container. Begin the second canning by heating meat through. Then pack and process it in a pressure canner for the full time recommended.

Do not open and refill jars that have lost liquid during processing. Loss of liquid does not cause canned meat to spoil. Opening would contaminate the sterile contents, and meat would have to be processed again to insure safety.

Labeling

Wipe containers after they are cool. Label each jar and can to show contents and date of canning. If you canned more than one lot on one day, add a lot number.