Bottling Temp & Sterilization Question

[Baka]

Greetings Folks! New member and hobby guy from Vermont here. I have a question on bottling temp and sterilization. Filtering and bottling for me with my limited equipment is a royal pain when trying to keep a 180 or so temp. Since I only bottle a couple gallons at a time on weekends, in pints and a couple quarts, I was wondering if I could accomplish the same sterilization if I filled the bottles with boiling water for a few minutes, dumped the water thin filled with syrup and not worry about the temp dropping below 180. Would that result in the same sterilization as bottling with syrup at the proper temp? Appreciate any thoughts you all have on this.

[ecolbeck]

I suspect that the act of dumping out the water and then refilling with syrup would give mold spores an opportunity to infiltrate. It doesn’t take much. What is your canning process? Perhaps folks here could offer input to make it less of a pain.

[maple flats]

I wouldn't suggest that. The mold spores that are likely to cause an issue are in the top of the cap. Bottle at 185-190, fill the container, immediately screw the cap on and then lay the bottle or jug on it's side for 30 seconds or more. That will kill any mold spores. (mold spores are everywhere. The hot syrup will kill them) Keep an eye on the temperature, it will drop faster than you think. One thing that helps is if you warm glass bottles in a warm oven, not so warm you can't pick them up, but not cool by any means.

[maple flats]

If it's a problem for your operation, you might want to look into a steam bottler or a water jacketed bottler as you next equipment purchase. Some use coffee urns (new, never had coffee in them) Heated by an electric heating element, just make sure it can heat to over 180F.

[Openwater]

When I bottle, I usually put the empty bottles in a steamer pot on a burner and steam them before/during bottling. I pull them out of the steam and immediately fill with syrup at 180 degrees. Is the "bottle steaming" an unnecessary step if the syrup is 180+ ?

[DrTimPerkins]

When I bottle, I usually put the empty bottles in a steamer pot on a burner and steam them before/during bottling. I pull them out of the steam and immediately fill with syrup at 180 degrees. Is the "bottle steaming" an unnecessary step if the syrup is 180+ ?

Preheating bottles in some fashion doesn't hurt, especially if the bottles are small so the weight of the glass is high in relation to volume of syrup. Small bottles, especially if cold, will cool off the syrup very quickly and not result in good results unless preheated. Many people have trouble with mold when packing syrup into small bottles.

[DrTimPerkins]

1. Put the bottles in the oven at 160-180 deg F to preheat first (use oven mitts to handle them).
2. Start with a NEW coffee pot (never had coffee in it) to heat the syrup to 180-190 deg F. Monitor temp carefully and stir frequently to avoid hot spots from building up and forming new niter.
3. Put hot syrup into hot bottles.
4. Cap immediately.
5. Lay bottles on their sides to cool.

The entire bottle and syrup need to stay hot throughout the process of packing syrup in them, otherwise you'll have mold problems. Get the syrup too hot (above 190 deg F) and you'll end up with niter forming.

[Baka]

Thanks to all for your comments. My rather clumsy process now is to filter directly into an insulated beverage container with a spigot...like a coffee urn/percolator but without the heating elements. From there I fill bottles, and I'm pretty confident by time I fill a bottle its under 180. Any time I tried filtering, then re-heating to 180 - 190, the syrup looks like a kids snow globe with all the niter. So far I haven't noticed mold problems, but chances are my luck wont hold out forever. Dr. Tim included "Stir Frequently" in his suggestion, that might be the part I'm missing when I heat after filtering. Maybe I'll try again and pay better attention to the stirring.

[CTguy923]

Preheating bottles in some fashion doesn't hurt, especially if the bottles are small so the weight of the glass is high in relation to volume of syrup. Small bottles, especially if cold, will cool off the syrup very quickly and not result in good results unless preheated. Many people have trouble with mold when packing syrup into small bottles.
what would you consider "small" when it comes to glass bottles ??

[buckeye gold]

Aren't most bacteria (like 99.9%) and molds killed with just a few minutes exposure at 160 degrees F? So even if you get a little cooling your ok. I read this in a home food preparation and preservation pamphlet once put out by the dept. of Ag. My wife had it in her canning recipe book. I looked and it's gone but I remember reading it.

If someone know the answer to this please post whether this is true or not, I certainly don't want to mislead anyone.

[bill m]

what would you consider "small" when it comes to glass bottles ??My guess would be under 8 ounces. We package in glass containers from 1.7 up to 16.9 ounces and preheat every one. We use a microwave. Fast and a lot easier than an oven.

[GWebb]

Just FYI, I bottle in the kitchen and preheat 180 to 190. I preheat my bottles in the microwave. Cook a dozen or so bottles at a couple minutes. Seems to warm them enough that they are not too hot to handle and hasn't zapped my microwave yet. They stay pretty warm with the door closed (microwave is above my stove).

[Swingpure]

1. Put the bottles in the oven at 160-180 deg F to preheat first (use oven mitts to handle them).
2. Start with a NEW coffee pot (never had coffee in it) to heat the syrup to 180-190 deg F. Monitor temp carefully and stir frequently to avoid hot spots from building up and forming new niter.
3. Put hot syrup into hot bottles.
4. Cap immediately.
5. Lay bottles on their sides to cool.

The entire bottle and syrup need to stay hot throughout the process of packing syrup in them, otherwise you'll have mold problems. Get the syrup too hot (above 190 deg F) and you'll end up with niter forming.

My plan is to do everything in the kitchen. I would preheat the bottles in the oven to 160°+. I would have a kettle with a thermometer and spigot (like in the picture) and tubing. I would heat the syrup on the stove to 180° to 188°, stirring frequently, and then fill the bottles once the syrup gets to the correct temperature. I would turn the bottles upside down for 5 seconds and then stand them upright.

Is that okay?

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ddcAqb6cNEnNIMtULbSUrUpQ

[Pdiamond]

I also do my filtering/bottling/canning in the kitchen. I fortunately have a steam bottler that I use on the stove for re-heating and filling my jars. I have always heated the glass in the oven and it has worked for my operation.

[DrTimPerkins]

Thanks to all for your comments. My rather clumsy process now is to filter directly into an insulated beverage container with a spigot...like a coffee urn/percolator but without the heating elements. From there I fill bottles, and I'm pretty confident by time I fill a bottle its under 180. Any time I tried filtering, then re-heating to 180 - 190, the syrup looks like a kids snow globe with all the niter. So far I haven't noticed mold problems, but chances are my luck wont hold out forever. Dr. Tim included "Stir Frequently" in his suggestion, that might be the part I'm missing when I heat after filtering. Maybe I'll try again and pay better attention to the stirring.

Briefly, you want the syrup in the bottle to be at least 180 deg F when you put the cap on, but not more than 190 deg F. If it is colder than 180 deg, the chances of contamination increases. If it is above 190 deg, you will form NEW niter. Stirring frequently helps reduce hot spots where niter will form. If you're getting niter, you're overheating the syrup. A good thermometer is very helpful.

https://mapleresearch.org/pub/04hrt14a2/

[NoblesvilleIN]

My plan is to do everything in the kitchen. I would preheat the bottles in the oven to 160°+. I would have a kettle with a thermometer and spigot (like in the picture) and tubing. I would heat the syrup on the stove to 180° to 188°, stirring frequently, and then fill the bottles once the syrup gets to the correct temperature. I would turn the bottles upside down for 5 seconds and then stand them upright.

Is that okay?

I have always read that the bottles need to be on their side for 10 minutes. I don't know where I read that, so I can't give you a citation to verify. We are small (10-12 taps), so not bottling a lot at one time. We do a batch and then set the kitchen timer for 10 minutes. That also allows us to check for leaks :o

[Swingpure]

I have seen this video before, it does say to lay the bottles on their side for a few seconds, but more importantly it talks about the spacing of the bottles. For bottles greater than 8 oz, after they have laid on their sides, they should be spaced apart, so they can cool down, fairly quickly and not cause caramelization, resulting in darker syrup and for 8oz and smaller they should be spaced tightly together so that they do not lose their heat too quickly.

https://youtu.be/H09-hBUgqEU