Do you need to can jam?

Shamrock · #1 06/14/10, 01:25 PM

If you use it right away? Or can you make it, cool it, and use it whithin about a week and be okay? Or do you need to can it anyway?

Shamrock

JuliaAnn · #2 06/14/10, 01:29 PM

If you keep it in the refrigerator, it will be ok. For storing in an unrefrigerated situation, like in your pantry, it is best to water bath can it.

I know in the 'old days' jam and jelly would be covered with a layer of hot wax and then set on shelves. Sometimes it was ok, but sometimes it would develop mold all the way through the jar, and be inedible. I remember my grandmothers sealing the jars with wax. I would never do it because I can't afford to risk wasting the jam/jelly or my time by having it spoil. I'm too stingy to risk it.

Hope this answers your question.

ChristyACB · #3 06/14/10, 01:54 PM

If it is in the fridge, it is usually okay for a bit. I usually put a big jar in there after I put up a batch to use right away and I've never had a problem.

My great grandma used lids without the rubber stuff. Instead, it was just metal and she painted the inside rim of it with something, I think it was beeswax maybe, then water bathed it then it "popped" and sealed like normal. Then she painted wax (but it was white) all around the outside of the top of the jar before storing it.

She did it that way all her life...

Patt · #4 06/14/10, 02:01 PM

It will be good in the fridge for quite awhile.

Course that's assuming it actually lasts for any length of time, we go through jam like crazy here.

Shamrock · #5 06/14/10, 02:03 PM

Okay, got it. Thank you!

shamrock

Cyngbaeld · #6 06/14/10, 03:47 PM

I always hot pack it in sterile jars. Never had any trouble with it.

Aintlifegrand · #7 06/14/10, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patt

It will be good in the fridge for quite awhile.

Course that's assuming it actually lasts for any length of time, we go through jam like crazy here.

You are not kidding... I cannot seem to can enough.. we can hardly wait the 24 hours for it to set...we put up 12 blueberry and 12 strawberry a month ago.. we have went through almost half of each one since... we are a big group but still...ummm that strawberry on home made bread was better than dessert.

Joshie · #8 06/14/10, 04:17 PM

My mom never canned it. She made the most wonderful strawberry rhubarb jam. She put it in a small glass jar, poured hot wax over the top (maybe 1/2"), and put it in the freezer. She stored all her jam in the freezer. It was wonderful. I wish she'd still make it. It lasted a good long time in the fridge after you took it out of the freezer.

culpeper · #9 06/14/10, 05:54 PM

If you mean 'hot water bath' it, no it's not necessary. In fact, as far as I can ascertain, it's only done in America, and not elsewhere. I've never done it, nor seen it done.

If you put the boiling hot jam into a jar and fill it right to the brim, then put a lid on it immediately, as the jam cools, it draws down the lid creating a complete vacuum, and hence a hermetic seal. With no air in, and none able to get it, the jam can't 'go off', and will keep, unrefrigerated, for years.

I use recycled jars - and I prefer those jars which have a little 'button' in the centre of their lids. When you open the jar for the first time, the button is a groove which pops up. When you use it for jam, that button is pulled down again during the cooling process, and so you have a visual guide as to the effectiveness of the method. When you open the jar, you'll hear a distinct 'pop' to indicate the air getting in. I need a strong man's muscles to break the seal!

HINT: when spooning the boiling jam into the jar, make sure to have an all-metal knife standing in the jar to absorb the shock of the heat on the glass and prevent the glass from shattering. And make sure to put on the lid immediately - don't let the contents cool first.

Of course, once the jar is opened, the jam needs to be refrigerated, but it will keep for many weeks - even months. Sugar is a preservative, you know.

BTW, I have never used pectin in jam, so I don't know if that affects the storage time or not. For fruits low in pectin, a squeeze or two of lemon juice or apple juice does the 'jelling' job nicely for you.

Callieslamb · #10 06/14/10, 05:57 PM

I think the issue with jam is did the mixture boil long enough to kill all those little germies. With most recipes, I would say it is a resounding 'no'. But I don't water bath any cooked jams anyway. If you don't seal the jars, consider it just like any other jam and keep it in the fridge for as long as it lasts. I have kept jam in the fridge for months.

GrannyG · #11 06/14/10, 06:01 PM

Sometimes I try to take a little short cut if I know the jam will be used within just a few weeks. Make sure all the jars are sterile. Put in your hot, cooked jam and then the hot lid, the band and tighten it good...then turn it upside down on a flat surface. It will seal...so if you don't get it used up right away, you don't lose any jam.

jwal10 · #12 06/14/10, 09:17 PM

We make freezer jam all the time, bring to boil with sugar and put in any plastic container (cottage cheese, margarine) leave out on counter until cooled and put in freezer, we keep it for more than a year. Mom and Grandma made jam the same way but put it in sterile glass jars and put parafin on top and kept it in the fruit house, lasted many years. We make strawberry, raspberry, peach, blackberry and Youngberry jam....James

MELOC · #13 06/14/10, 10:41 PM

i have been using the water bath for several minutes direction for a couple years now, but i am ready to just forget it. i think i have over-cooked a few batches because of the water bath. i think mold is indeed the biggest threat and only because you could lose the batch in long term storage. much like maple syrup, we always just scrapped of the mold and enjoyed the rest. my dad would laugh at me as a child when i refused to eat kings syrup that had gotten just a smidge of mold on the top.

a few things to remember are that when the jelly actually reaches a boiling point and then bubbles up, it is hotter than boiling water. so how could a 5 or 10 minute water bath really help all that much as it will only boil at 212 F? another thing to consider when worries of little germies come to mind is that botulism would be the only real fear after storing the jelly as anything else would have been destroyed in the initial boil. most fruits i know of are acidic, so that is another plus that would hinder any botulism growth in storage...and that would most likely only happen if the berries got soil on them before processing. making jelly and jam the old fashioned way by not adding pectin (which only requires you to boil for one minute) is probably the best bet. however, when i have used pectin in the past, i recall the recipe calling for added lemon juice...which would boost the acidity and help with safety.

i wouldn't sweat it much. my mom made a ton of grape jelly when i was young and used paraffin to seal small juice glasses and jelly jars. there were no lids. the only bad thing that happened was when we had an infestation of ants and they chewed through the wax to get the jelly, lol.

if mold is a concern, make small batches and pack it in hot jars asap and be sure to turn the jars upside down so that the hot jelly (still hot because you are working fast with small batches) will further sterilize any mold spores that may have fallen on your already well prepared and sterile lids.

lisa's garden · #14 06/15/10, 07:39 AM

Botulism is possible if you don't can properly. That is why the Extension Office tells people not to use the hot wax or the method of pouring the hot jam into a sterile jar and just putting the top on, without canning with the hot water bath.

If you are putting the jam in the refrigerator or freezer right away and using it up soon, you do not need to can the jam. There are recipes for freezer jam that are good, but the use more sugar than the canned type. If I am in a hurry, or I only have enough fruit for one batch of jam, I will make the freezer jam and save some time.

I know that my Grandparents just used the hot wax and they survived, but I would not want to take a chance with botulism. There is no cure, you just die.

MELOC · #15 06/15/10, 08:03 AM

this is odd, though. if i water bath my corn or beans for 3-3 1/2 hours, i am gonna die from botulism. if i water bath my jelly for 5-10 minutes, i will be ok? so i guess the fact that jelly boils hotter than water, has acid and coupled with the extra 5-10 minutes at 212 F means everything is ok? i'm not really trying to be argumentative here, but i would like to know the specifics. temps of what...240 F- 256 F will kill the spores if present? i am pretty sure the boiling jelly is higher than 212 F, but not quite in the 240 F - 256 F range.

lisa's garden · #16 06/15/10, 01:10 PM

Meloc...the beans and corn don't have acid and that is the difference in canning techniques. From what I have read, most fruit has a high enough acid content that you can use the hot water bath, but with low acid veggies, you have to use a pressure canner. Now if you pickle your veggies, that raises the acid level and you can use the hot water bath. I do that with some stuff, but I can't eat just pickles all winter. So far I have done a lot more freezing with my low acid stuff. But I think I will break out the pressure canner next year, when I have a decent garden, so I will have things canned in case the electricity goes out or something like that.

beaglebiz · #17 06/15/10, 06:43 PM

I put my jam up in jelly glasses with wax on top up until about 15 years ago.
Now I wb it, but I have the wax in my preps for just in case (can also be used for candlemaking)

MN Gardener · #18 06/16/10, 12:50 PM

If you are going to use it up in a week or so there is no use in water bathing / canning it. I always put the jam that doesn't quite fill my jars in the fridge and use it first. If you don't like to can, you can also make freezer jam. I make strawberry freeze jam all the time. I use the recipe on the pectin package. For some reason strawberry jam is better frozen then canned!