This time of year, people are canning apple and pear sauce. Makes sense, being that it’s fall and all. It’s a particularly satisfying product to preserve because so many families have these sauces in their regular mealtime rotation, so they give you the feeling that you’re truly replacing the grocery store with your own work. It’s a pretty nice sensation.
The only issue with these fruit sauces is that they are far more viscous than the jams of summer. As you pour them into the jars, no matter how diligent you are at removing the air bubbles, it’s inevitable that a few will slip by. This can sometimes lead to a bit of product loss as the jars cool and seal (though I’ve heard that if you keep the applesauce hot the entire time, from cooking to food milling to jarring up, it won’t do it). It can also result in the presence of tiny little air bubbles distributed throughout your finished product.
If you look closely at the picture above, you’ll see that the applesauce I canned recently has a scattering of tiny bubbles. These remaining bubbles are no big deal. The jar was processed for the proper amount of time and has a firm seal. It is just fine.
The only time you need to be concerned about the presence of tiny bubbles in your product is when they are active, start moving or fizzy up to the top of the jar when you open it. If that occurs, your product may be fermenting or contaminated. But if the bubbles are inactive, they are totally benign.
could you describe more specifically how “active bubbles” might look like or behave in a glass canning jar of tomato sauce? I have been canning tomato sauce for some years and this is the first year I noticed any air space .I canned in September following instructions for boiling water bath (as in previous years) and was just planning to use one of them now in November when I noticed the air pockets and went to read more on line. I read here that some air pockets are normal but “active bubbles” are a concern. Does that mean they are fizzing? If I open the jar, will I know if it is bad, be able to detect botulism? I hate to throw away 4 jars. I could open them, boil the contents and freeze . Please advise!!
Active bubbles means that the bubbles are moving on their own when the jar has been at rest for some time. You could think of it as fizzing. However, botulism doesn’t fizz. There is no way to determine if it is present in a jar and that’s why we take so many active steps, like proper acidification or pressure canning, to ensure it doesn’t occur. If your jars of tomato sauce are showing signs of fizzing, that means that the product is fermenting and off-gassing. It’s not deadly, but you don’t want to eat it. However, if your product has trapped air pockets that are just hanging out and not moving around on their own in any way (other than if you move or shake the jar), they are fine and you don’t need to worry about them.
LOL you are an angel for answering all these questions. It’s almost like they could have just read the article and not had to ask..
That would have been nice!
I made pear/apple piefilling and canned it in quart jars. I was trying to be careful and get all the air pockets out. Waterbathed for 30minutes and all the lids sealed. 3 of 4 jars have air pockets in them. Are they ok?
As long as the seals are good, they are fine. Once jars are sealed and cooled, we only worry about air pockets if they are actively moving while the jar has been at rest for a while. Active bubbles or air pockets can be a sign of microbial activity.
Made waterbathered peaches for 1st time, I used honey vs sugar. I had alot of siphoning but only list about 1/2 inch liquid in jars. Lots of sticky jars. My question is after 24 hrs there’s lots of bubbles in jars I’m terrified! I’ve never done this stuff before. Help please
Siphoning is normal. As long as the seals are good and the bubbles aren’t actively moving on their own, your jars should be fine. Just wash the stickiness off before putting the jars away.
We live in Colorado Springs at an elevation of 6100 ft. I just made six 8-ounce jars of crabapple jelly. After processing them in boiling water for 15 minutes, I placed them on a towel on the counter. After a few minutes, I noticed bubbles rising inside the jars, like large champagne bubbles. This has never happened to me when making jelly. The jars pinged and the tops are concave. Is this Jelly able to be stored on a shelf or should I keep it in the refrigerator?
It’s totally fine. That happens sometimes. As long as the seals are good, the jars are shelf stable.
Hi Marisa I Canned some strawberry jalapeño jam and there were tiny bubbles on the top of the jar that I canned
. I’m wondering if it’s OK to eat
the jam I boiled for the amount of time needed. Did everything the book told me to do so I’m just wondering if it’s OK to eat they look like bubbles, but it could be foam not sure please help
Thank you
That’s totally normal. Sometimes the foam of the jam settles into bubbles on the top of the product. It’s entirely safe.
I recently canned apple jelly and most of my jars have lots and lots of tiny air bubbles.
I’ve read that this is safe for apple butter, but what about apple jelly.
The apples were fresh & cleaned organic Fuji apples.
I did add Ball Fruit-Fresh to the apples to keep them from browning.
Thank you for your help!
That is normal. As long as the bubbles aren’t moving independently while the jar is at rest, you should be just fine. Once jars are sealed, air bubbles are only an issue if they are active and moving.
I canned hamburger and this morning I noticed bubbles in a few jars. Are they safe?
As long as the bubbles remain still and motionless when the jar is resting and undisturbed, they are fine. Once the jars are sealed, air bubbles are only an issue if they are moving independently when the jar is at rest.
Thank you for your help. After I filled the jars with apple sauce I stirred them a bit with the handle of a boiled, wooden spoon. I had air bubbles coming out of the filled, lidded jars shortly after I placed them in boiling water.
I hope this is ok. I will boil the jars the appropriate time and maybe a bit more.
That all sounds normal!
First time canner here . I was worried about my apple sauce – it was morr thick and chunjy when canned- but it had small air bubbles for awhile now the bottomes are more slurry and if I tilt it the air bubbles will merge.. but lids are firm , popped one it was difficult but inside looked fine and smelt fine it was as if all thebjuice went to the bottom of the jar instead and once mixed was back to normal… thoughts or opinions on how to help/prevent ? Do I trust the rest of the jars (made quite a few pints !)
What you’re describing is within normal applesauce behavior. The juice and pulp will sometimes separate if you cooked the applesauce, then cooled it, and reheated it.
Hello , please help ! I canned sweet potatoes about a week ago. Today, I decided to just go take a look and noticed I have active bubbles in my jars . This is my first time canning , is this normal ?
That is not normal. Did you use a pressure canner? Sweet potatoes can only safely be canned under pressure as they are a low acid food. I would suggest you throw them out.
Hello!
So I have canned some salsa and I did remove air bubbles before water-bathing them. But after they have sat undisturbed for a few days, when I lift the jars and turn them on their sides there are tiny bubbles that move and even bubble to the surface. When left stationary they did not move. Is this a problem?
Those bubbles are fine. The bubbles you need to be concerned about are ones that are moving as if the product is carbonated. If they’re only moving because you’re tipping the jar, the are fine.
Wow THANK YOU!! I thought I was going to have to toss all my cherry jam that took me 3/4 day to can ughhh I’m so frightened of making someone seriously I’ll 🫣
THANK YOU
FOR THE EDUCATION!!!
You’re so welcome! I’m so glad that this post was able to calm your worries!
Can they be recanned if there are active bubbles? I just canned for the first time ever and two have active bubbles and two don’t. Can the active bubble jars be recanned?
How long has it been since you canned the product? And are the bubbles moving on their own after the jars have been undisturbed for a period of several hours? Because if it’s only been a short time since you took the jars out of the canner, there’s very little chance that the food could have fermented/spoiled to the point of getting bubbles.
I jarred pinto beans with fried bacon 3 days ago. When I shake the jar or turn it over a few times it has large air bubbles inside. I did process for 1 1/2 hours in pressure canner. There are no bubbles when they are on the counter. What do I do?
The only time you need to worry about the bubbles is if they are moving independently when the jar has been sitting still for some time. If the bubbles are only moving when you are shaking the jar, you don’t need to worry.
Lately when I canned chopped chicken, my lids blow off and the chicken ferments.
What if there are bubbles that move freely in the liquid of separated applesauce? My sauce was properly processed, but separated and there ate some bubbles in the thick sauce and also in the lquid.
Applesauce separates because it was heated, cooled, and heated again. Even if you did your processing properly, it’s normal for there to be a few bubbles. Are the bubbles moving independently when the jars has been undisturbed for awhile? That’s the sign of fermentation. But if there are just bubbles in the sauce, that’s normal.
My daughter canned apple pie filling on Tuesday. Today is Saturday and I can see bubbles – not tiny, but not huge either, throughout the sides of the jars. There is no headspace left. I’m concerned that the sticky pie filling may give the appearance that the jar is sealed, when it really isn’t. I don’t see the bubbles moving. Is the pie filling safe? The lids do not move up or down in the center – so it appears they are sealed…..
That it totally normal with apple pie filling. It expands to fill every inch of the jar and loves to trap air bubbles. As long as the seals are good, it is fine.
Hi there, I just canned chicken and rice soup and when I turned the jars sideways with the lid pointing down big air bubbles came to the lid and the food was literally hitting the lid back and forth, as if I was shaking the jar back and forth but I was holding the jar still. The lids are sealed good but worried that this may cause botulism? with air build up that much that it caused the food to move inside the jar when I tipped it, I’m concerned that I should just open them up and put them in the fridge? So strange.
Have you heard of this? What are your thoughts? Thank you!
Huh. I’m a little confused. The food was moving around violently when the jar was still? Or was it just continuing to slosh in response to your movement. Could you elaborate?
Thank you. I don’t usually have this problem. My grandsons and I have started picking apples, making applesauce (I make the applesauce by myself as they are almost 3 and 5.) and then together we make applesauce muffins. I was hoping the air bubbles would not prevent this batch from making muffins together.
You can absolutely use the applesauce in your muffins. Applesauce is notorious for retaining air bubbles.
I processed peaches twice trying to remove air bubbles . Still a small amount at the top . Is this ok ? Don’t want to get anyone sick
Air bubbles don’t make people sick unless they are actively moving on their own after the jar has been untouched for at least an hour. Your peaches are fine, though they might have a slightly softer texture given that you processed them twice.
I canned applesauce and did it to the T following the Ball book. I left 1/2 in headspace, (measured it with the tool) removed air bubbles, wiped the rims clean, etc.
After 24 hours cooling time, I checked the seals, they looked fine and I put them in the pantry. A few days later, I noticed there was no headspace in the jars. The jars are sealed, the sauce looks a normal color, but it appears to have expanded and there is no headspace. Nothing oozed out of the jars though.
I was about to throw away the sauce, thinking with no headspace something went wrong and it may be unsafe.
Is it safe to eat – if the jars are sealed – if there is NO headspace in the jar? Please advise, I’m afraid to eat the sauce.
That is totally normal. Applesauce often expands a little. Don’t worry about it, it is safe to eat.
Yesterday I did a batch of dill pickles….put them in clean jars …pored over boiling liquid….sealed with sterilized lids…..cooked in a water bath for about 15 minutes.
They sealed/snapped…..This morning there are bubbles on top….some appear to be moving…..I put them in the now but are they safe to eat or do I need to throw them out?
Thank you……
I would be very surprised if your pickles were fermenting after that water bath process. Leave the jars alone for 24 hours. Then look at them. Are the bubbles moving like its carbonated? Are the lids starting to bulge? If not, they are probably fine.
I never have troubling with siphoning. My problem is the mold. Maybe when I put the applesauce in the hot
jars, the applesauce has cooled some. Could that be my problem? Not sure what I’m doing wrong.
Are you doing a water bath process on the applesauce? If not, that’s why the jars are getting moldy. It’s no longer thought to be acceptable to simply fill and seal.
I am new at canning… well a total novice. I forgot to de-bubble my jelly. I looked at the jars. The jelly is clear. I do not see any bubbles at all. I did a water bath can and I am going to trust it that it is ok based on your message to your audience.
You are fine. Removing bubbles is more important when you’re canning pickles or whole fruit. Jellies hardly ever need to be bubbled because by their nature, they’re not going to trap many bubbles in the first place.
I just finished making Bread and butter pickles, I use a steam bath to process them. I have one jar that has about a 1/8 inch of foam along the top is the side. The jar is properly sealed are they safe to eat?
Hmm. I’d probably wait to see if the foam subsides after 24 hours or so. If it does, I wouldn’t worry about it. If it remains or gets increasingly foamy, I’d discard.
Hi hope you can help. It’s my first week of canning. I am getting better lids and jars but at the moment I’m seeing around 50% fail. All I am doing is raw packed chicken. I have covered all safety tips
Push chicken down leave one inch to inch and a quarter space
Wipe rim with vinegar
Vent for 10 mins
Keep at right pressure for right time
Don’t cool down too fast
Finger tip tight
All I can think of is if I’m slightly putting in too little or too much. I expect complete meals would be easier but with dice chicken maybe I’m not quite putting enough in at times.
I’ve read different recipes that say one inch , inch and quarter and inch and a half.
Do you know if it’s better to ere on the side of an inch rather than going over an inch and a quarter?
So is slightly more better than slightly too little? I’m not sure how sensitive the fine line is?
Here’s where I think you’re going wrong. You need to tighten the rings more tightly for a pressure canner than you do for water bath canning. The intense heat and pressure of the canner and loosen the rings and I bet that’s what’s leading to your seal failures.
I canned applesauce in jars in October 2019 and at that time I tried to make sure that there were no bubbles in the jars. Now March 2020 I noticed that there are bubbles and the sauce has expanded in the jars. Is this okay to eat?
Applesauce is a product that often expands in the canner and loves to develop air bubbles during processing. If the seals are still good and the bubbles aren’t moving actively, chances are good that the sauce is fine.
Just did 2 big batches of pearsauce a couple weeks apart. Did all I could to remove air before processing in the water bath both times. All are quarts and I processed 20 min both times. Left 1/4 inch headspace on first batch, and 1/2 inch on the 2nd batch. BOTH batches have these big air pockets after processing – not tiny little bubbles like you talk about in this post, but bigger blobs and long sideways cracks, like crevasses, so to speak (wish I could show a pic) All my seals are good. I read thru all the other comments, and am I correct in thinking that these bigger air pockets are ok as long as they’re not moving on their own (without me turning the jar over)? Thank you!
Sometimes fruit sauces catch a lot of air bubbles. It should be fine.
Ditto to Sandy D. i have not canned in 30 yrs and am now happily back in the country w/ my own trees. Adjusted head space , re-bathed and still have some bubbles so happy to be reassured and also what to look for .
Thank you for your information. I was worried about bubbles in my pear sauce so i of course Googled it and your site popped up. Worried no more. Thanks for being there!!
Is the air bubble problem the same when u can homemade cooked salsa? I have air bubbles in some of them but not all and also the salsa is separeting, I think I putted to much liquid in it .
The same air bubble troubleshooting applies to salsa. If your salsa is separating, it’s because the tomatoes were heated, cooled, and heated again.
ok, same thing here bubbles. So I understand from the other answers you gave there is not a reason to worry. But here is my question. Since all my apple slices are floating on top and the syrup is on the bottom is it ok to lightly shake the jars and mix the apples and syrup up a bit? I am afraid that my apple slices will get dry since all the liquid is at the bottom of my jars.
You can do that. However, there’s no way to prevent the apples from discoloring and drying since they’re floating.
I canned pickle beets today. It’s my first time. I did everything it said to .I put a knife in it to get air bbbles out. Cooked it . And when I got the jars out it show little foamy air bubbles in it . Is it still good or do I need to redo it.
It’s fine.
We recently canned applesauce and 3 weeks later Im noticing the caps are under pressure and when i opened one the applesauce boiled out of it. Do you know the cause of this and is our applesauce no good(its only 3 weeks old)?
Your applesauce is fermenting. It’s not good any more and should be tossed. It’s hard to say what the problem was but either the contents were not sterile or the jars never sealed correctly in the first place. To get a good seal and good preservation you need boiling hot product, clean jars, brand new dome lids that have been heated in a bowl of hot water, rings that are only fingertip tight (not clamped down as tight as possible) and finally the filled, lidded jars need the correct amount of time in a boiling water bath for the jar size you are using.
I’m new at canning and have tried apple pie filling and peaches – in both cases my fruit sits on top of at least an inch from the bottom of the jar after processing. All the fruit is at the top of the jar – what am I doing wrong? The jars seal correctly just not very pretty.
It’s just a normal part of canning fruit. Sometimes, cooking the fruit a little longer will help avoid that float, but it’s just something that happens sometimes!
I am making apple sauce. When I boil Jonathan apples a white foam appears on top. After boiling, I washed the apples to remove the foam. Then I put the cooked apples through my Foley mill and the apple sauce had white foam mixed with it. I cannot remove the white foam for it is mixed with the apple sauce. Is this white foam bad for the sauce? I have never encountered this white foam before with Granny Smith or Red Delicious apples. Is this foam a spray they put on the apples trees? What can I do about this white foam, or should I just can it with the foam? Please help.
I have never experienced white foam in applesauce before, so I have no idea what to do about it. So sorry.
I just canned apples in a light syrup and all had white foam almost like soap bubbles. I never seen this before. I don’t know if they are ok either. Have you found a reason yet?
Thank you for this post. I am new to canning. I spent many hours yesterday slow cooking peaches using your vanilla peach butter recipe and then MANY of the small hours of this morning worrying about the air bubbles that appeared during processing… Cheers, Blythe
I recently made strawberry lemon marmalade dated 8 – 16 all 6 of my jelly jars sealed about 15 minutes after being pulled out of the canner. I went down to my pantry and noticed there are small bubbles throughout the jelly they are not moving around. Is my jelly ok to give as gifts and eat or should I throw that out I followed all directions to a tee. Any advice on the matter would be great for I am new to canning
Like I said in this blog post, the only bubbles that matter at the ones that are moving and active. If your product has some air bubbles shot throughout the product that are stationary and static, the product is perfectly safe.