Minimum procedure for sterilizing mason jars for canning

Before filling the jars, you should do the following:

• Place the jars (right-side-up) on a rack inside a boiling-water canner
• Fill the canner and jars with water to one inch above the jars
• Boil for 10 min (or more for higher elevations)
• Remove and drain the jars, one at a time

I toss the lids and rings in there as well, since the lids seal best when the rubbery-stuff is softened first anyway.

I have read that some people use their dishwasher's "sanitize" cycle instead, but you should contact the manufacturer (or check the user's guide) to see if it really gets hot enough. I don't know much about using the dishwasher for this purpose; perhaps someone else can elaborate.

If you're looking for great canning instructions, check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They will explain how to can safely, botulism-death-free.

Washing them in hot water is most certainly not enough. Sterilization via boiling under pressure is guaranteed to kill every harmful pathogen, particularly Clostridium botulinum, the beastie responsible for botulism. The "hot" water from your tap is not enough to kill the spores. C botulinum spores must be heated to 250 F for at least three minutes to guarantee they are killed.

Please do not compromise here under any circumstance. Canning requires sterilization, not sanitization. Botulism can paralyze and kill you.

You do NOT need to sterilize jars that will be processed in a pressure canner or processed in a boiling-water bath for more than 10 minutes. (Jars that you will process in a boiling-water bath for less than 10 minutes DO need to be sterilized by boiling them for 10 minutes before filling them with product.)

In any case, you need to wash the jars, lids, and rings in hot, soapy water before filling them -- and be sure to rinse them well so that no soap residue remains.

This is just my opinion, but if you're going to go to the trouble of canning in the first place, it seems worth it to properly sterilize the jars so that the food you're putting up will last. The boiling step is the easiest part of canning, really, and it doesn't hurt to do it. It would be terrible to spend the afternoon canning, skip the sterilizing part, and then have all your work be for naught if the stuff goes bad quickly later.

http://missvickie.com/canning/jars.htm

It says here that presterlization is not needed for tomatoes.... Never doubt the wife ;D

I always use freshly scrubbed jars, dip them in boiling water for 1 minute, then can using the water bath 10 minutes+. I don't want to take a chance and it only takes a minute. I seriously doubt if my jars are well cleaned, stored dry for a year that there will be much bacteria if any. I don't live in a 3rd world country...