Rinse new bottles

[Toblerone]

I know this has probably been asked before, but I can't seem to find the thread. Do you guys rinse or wash your glass bottles before canning or do you just open the box from the factory and start filling. One of the women who run the place where I sugar was surprised that I didn't rinse the bottles and I didn't know what to tell her. Help me out.

Thanks,
Dave

[Maple Restoration]

Hi Dave Bottling your syrup at 180 degrees will sterilize your bottles and once caped laying them on their side for a minute or so will sterilize the cap we have never had to pre-wash our bottles, others may have, just seams like extra work.
Just my 2 cents. hope this helps.

[MaplePancakeMan]

I went through this same question a month or so ago. I used to wash with hot water before bottling, however i came to the knowledge that if canned at 185-190 it self sterilizes, thus no need for the extra step.

[mapleack]

One thing you need to be careful of, particularly in small glass bottles, is the temperature of the glass itself. If you're filling something small like a 50ml maple leaf and the glass is only 40 degrees, that 180 degree syrup may not be hot enough to overcome the cold glass and totally sterilize and seal the bottle. Either hotter syrup or preheated glass can be a good idea.

[Toblerone]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll just tell her that the syrup sterilizes the glass, that they come clean from the factory, and it's standard practice.

Well, I canned 4 gallons of syrup today (from 3 separate boils). I had the syrup at around 180-190 degrees in the canner and I checked the temperature as I bottled and came to the conclusion that heating the glass in a water bath is a MUST. Without heating, the syrup dropped to 130-140 degrees in an 8oz bottle.

So I started pre-heating them in a water bath. Hopefully we won't get any mold.

[mountainvan]

Syrup won't stay at 180 in any container very long. !80-190 is the kill point at contact. If there is microorganisms in the bottles they die very quickly. I put up lots of little glass, heat syrup to 190 and never had a problem. With rinsing, I rinse the liter moonshine glass. There's always dust in them which clouds my syrup.

[Toblerone]

I guess I should be heating to 190 just to be safe, but I'm a little afraid of more sugar sand developing or my density going up. Come to think of it, I don't think you can have one without the other.

What is moonshine glass? And is it common for bottles to come from the factory (sealed box from bascom) with dust in them?

Dave

[mountainvan]

You're from Ohio and you don't know moonshine glass? Guess you never get down in the hills from Columbus. Heck I know a guy in London who used to make some. The glass is the only one in 1000ml.