Just wondering if anyone else has had this happen. Also maybe to generate a general thread on canning mishaps, as I couldn't find much with a search and we all can use the mutual support... anyhoo, I was canning a "mixed load" last night, in the water-bath canner. Two 8oz jars of pickled Biquinho peppers and four of tomato paste. (Because there are not enough tomatoes on the planet, let alone my garden, to generate a full canner-load of paste!) The recommended canning time for the peppers was 20 min, and 55 for the paste. So at the 20 minute mark I popped open the canner and lifted out the two pepper jars. The second jar immediately started spitting and sizzling like an overheated pressure canner. I mean, it was impressive, like a bomb about to go off! I hadn't even let go of it yet with the jar lifter, so I just walked over to the sink, put it down and let it do its thing. By the time the jar had calmed down there was only about an inch of liquid left. (Obviously that jar went into the fridge and will be first up for consumption)

I've been canning stuff for 25 years. Every once in a while when I empty the canner, some of the liquid levels in the jars are a touch lower and I think, "hmm, siphoning. Must have gotten the head-space wrong or something" and gone on with my day. But never something this dramatic. So, what do you think caused it? One thought I had was that I took the jars out while the canner was still actively being heated and so there was no "resting" time for the jar before hitting room air. Bad seal on the top? Loose screw band? Thoughts?

Please share your canning challenges too! (searches using "canning" and "siphoning" yielded mostly home improvement/remodel results. Gotta love Houzz's search engine)