HOW TO SEAL JARS?

[IMKENOBI]

This from a colleague: I do have a question, however! We cannot find any information at all online or anywhere (which is driving us nuts) about how to seal jars. There are hundreds of articles online about sealing mason jars (for home-made jellies, sauces, etc.), but how to companies like Smuckers and Ragu, etc., create that seal for their jars? There are thousands of sealed jars in the supermarket so I know this is a common practice, but for some reason we cannot find out how to do this. Is this a service that only a co-packer provides?

[IMKENOBI]

Here is one way: Hi Steve, The method we use is to heat the product to high temperatures (180 degrees or better) cap the product and cool it in a cooling tunnel, which creates the vacuum. We also have a capper that sprays steam across the cap before sealing the product, which helps create the vacuum. It really is a matter of equipment. Hope this is of help to you.


Ray Broderick
Champagne Sauces / Cahill Products

[IMKENOBI]

And another: steve- my impression is that the metal closures used by companies like ourselves and smuckers are designed to be applied by machines, not by hand - the process is called "hot fill" - the closures have a "plasitsol" lining that softens when the lid is put on to the jar - it then cools to form a good seal - most companies like ours also have an in-line "dud detector" that kicks out jars that don't have a good seal (i.e., the "button" will be popped up) - such closures are normally sold in cases of 750 to 1,500 and shouldn't be used at home - hope this helps, doug refro (Renfro Foods, Inc.)