How to Sterilize Bottles

Fruit, vegetables and meat can be preserved for a long time when properly prepared and canned. Sterilizing bottles and jars before canning plays an important role, helping to prevent food from becoming contaminated. Follow the instructions in this article to learn how to sterilize bottles according to U.S. Department of Agriculture standards.

Table of Contents

Sterilize bottles and jars

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Prepare glass bottles suitable for the intended use. You should choose bottles designed to hold food. Also, choose one made from heat-resistant glass that won’t crack. ^{[1] X Research Source} Check to make sure bottles have proper lids.

It is recommended to use jars with flat lids, screw holes and sealing rings. The washer is reusable but you will need a new cap.
Bottles should be used with a good rubber stopper.

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Wash jars and bottles. Use hot water and dish soap to clean the bottles you want to sterilize. Make sure they don’t have food crumbs or dirt inside. Wash all lids. The lid must be thoroughly washed.

Place the bottle in the deep pot. Stand the bottle and lid upright in the pot. Place caps around bottles. Fill the pot with water until all the bottles are about 2.5cm deep.

Boil bottles. Heat the water until it boils. If you are at an altitude of less than 300 meters, boil the bottles for about 10 minutes. For every 300 m, cook for 1 minute more. ^{[2] X Trusted Source National Center for Home Food Preservation Go to source}

Use tongs to remove the bottle from the water. Remove each bottle and cap and place on a paper towel to dry. Avoid letting sterilized bottles come into contact with anything other than a clean tissue.

Store food and close bottles

Put the food you want to preserve into the bottle. Do this while the bottle and food are both warm. The jar may crack if you put warm food in a cold jar. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Pour the food into the jar, leaving a space of about 1 cm from the lid of the jar. ^{[4] X Research Sources}
Wipe the mouth of the jar to make it easy to seal.

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Close the bottle cap. Screw the cap in the grooves on the bottle and make sure the cap is screwed tight.

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Place the bottles on a rack in the deep pot. The holder keeps the jars from touching the bottom of the pot, helps the jar dishes to heat evenly, and ensures the lids are screwed on properly. Use the vial tongs to place the bottle on the shelf. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Boil bottles. Fill the pot with water until the bottle is about 5cm submerged. Boil bottles for about 10 minutes, then remove them with tongs and place on paper towels. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Wait about 24 hours for it to cool completely before placing it in the refrigerator.
Check the vial cap. Slightly dented lids are an indication that they are properly tightened. If you have a bottle with a lid that won’t dent, open it and use the food in it instead of in the fridge.

Advice

You can also use disinfectant solutions available at drugstores to sterilize bottles.
Washing bottles in the dishwasher with hot water helps to remove food particles very well. But you still have to sterilize bottles with boiling water or other sterilization methods mentioned in the article, because dishwashers do not reach the temperature necessary to kill pathogenic bacteria.

Steps

Sterilize bottles and jars

Store food and close bottles

Advice

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