Try this on the Harvest forum. That's where the canners hang out.

Open kettle canning has been deemed very unsafe for years now, sorry. 1968 was the last time it was approved for any home processing and then only in a very limited fashion with high acid foods. The temperatures obtained in open kettle canning are not high enough to destroy all spoilage and food poisoning organisms that may be in the food. Also, microorganisms can enter the food when it is transferred from the kettle to jar and cause spoilage.

Flora is right all the canning experts and discussions are on the Harvest Forum here (linked at the top of this forum's page).

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP - FAQ's

Allenwrench, I have recently done something similar, been consuming the product and we are in good health. There were some differences though. It was pickled peppers, I used 5:1 5% vinegar, water and pickling spices (5 cups vinegar and 1 cup water), but we did put the jars directly in the fridge, this is where they will live until the pickles are consumed.

About the rest of the processing, the vinegar/water/spice mix was brought to a boil, the peppers where lightly steamed just to get them hot, jars sterilized, punctured peppers packed in the jars, vinegar mixture poured in jars, covered and let cool. When cool refrigerate.

We also made other hot pepper pickles to keep longer (outside the fridge) but we pressure canned those.

Thanks!