A flaw it the recipe

Asked on 6 Aug 2020 by RedJoe

Hi - there appears to be a flaw in the Giardiniere Pickles recipe. At one point it says "Next, pour a thin layer of vinegar into the bottom of the hot, sterilised jars and add a bay leaf, a sprig of rosemary and a sprig of thyme." If you do that, the glass cracks as a result of temperature difference (I know, because I tried it last night just to make sure!). Either the vinegar needs to be heated, or the jars need to be rested until they are warm, not hot, neither of which is mentioned in the recipe.
Thanks.

Lindsey, Food Editor replied

Hello,

Thanks for your post.

I’ve never had a problem with this recipe before so today I’ve sterilised several jars and added vinegar.

Every time I took the jars out at 5 minutes and added vinegar, they were fine. Increase the time to 10 and they cracked so I’m going to suggest to the team the word minimum gets removed from the recipe as a precise 5 minutes seems to work.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention,

Kind regards

Lindsey

RedJoe replied

Thanks, Lindsey - that's fascinating, that the precision of the timing should make such a difference. I will adjust my practice accordingly!