Leaving Headspace
Cooking technique from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 10th Edition (1989), page 193. Vision transcription from the scanned page; needs review.
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Ingredients
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Instructions
- Allowing space between the top of the food and the rim of the container is essential when canning or freezing.
- In canning, headspace is necessary for a vacuum to form. Too little or too much headspace, however, can prevent a good seal. (See charts, pages 194–199, for recommended headspace.)
- In freezing, headspace allows room for the food to expand without breaking the container. If you're using freezer bags, press out the air. Allow headspace according to these guidelines.
- Sugar, syrup, or water pack: For wide-top containers with straight or slightly flared sides, leave a 1/2-inch headspace for pints and a 1-inch headspace for quarts.
- For narrow-top containers and canning jars, leave a 3/4-inch headspace for pints and a 1 1/2-inch headspace for quarts.
- Unsweetened or dry pack (no sugar or liquid): Leave a 1/2-inch headspace unless directed otherwise.
Source and image provenance
Historical recipe source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 10th Edition (1989), Meredith Corporation. View the cited page at the Internet Archive.
Image credit: Image attribution: "Pickled asparagus jar with proper headspace" by Nutrition, Food Safety & Health; license: CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/); source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/93936679@N05/35799870864. Cropped/resized.
Community edition: The recipe was transcribed and formatted for interoperability with Nextcloud Cookbook. Review the historical scan before relying on measurements or instructions.