My first try!!

[chefddr]

I couldn't wait any longer so I went to KMart in search of just the tools to start my canning with a steam canner I borrowed, when I saw it, yes there it was, the waterbath canner of my dreams at the dreamiest price too, only $20- so I picked it up with the tools, and decided I would make Jam today with Jake, well Jake got sick right in the middle of me filling the jars, and I was yelling "one second honey, mommyis almost finished!"

 

Into the waterbath they went (I never knew how long it took to boil a huge pot of water!! and I am a chef!!) anyway they did their thing and even as I was just taking them out of the water they decided to start pinging away! I got 12 half pints and one full pint. With a little bit left over to pour over pancakes in the AM

 

Attached are pics, next time I will cook the fruit in a larger pot, and I hope I got enough of the foam off, I thought the entire thing was going to boil over on my stove. I even had fun cleaning up the mess. What a sense of accomplishment. Now to pray they taste ok. Next, Lime Pineapple Jam

 

BTW someone please tell me that this stuff firms up as it cools PLEEASEEE

[Prickle]

BTW someone please tell me that this stuff firms up as it cools PLEEASEEE

 

Looks great! What kind is it?

 

Yes, it does firm up as it cools. I've heard that sometimes it can also take a couple days. I haven't had that happen yet, but it's still early

 

I made blackberry jam last night and used a low sugar pectin for the first time and it set up fine, I was worried, lol.

[ol'momma]

Hurray!! for you....

anytime you wanna have fun cleaning a kitchen, I'll vollenteer my own.

[westbrook]

chefddr.... come over here!!

 

westbrook looks left and right.. making sure You Know Who isn't listening in... westbrook looks around the room.. nope don't see violet...

 

ok, keep this quiet.. a little butter will keep it from foaming.. well it will foam a little but nothing like you had.

 

WAIT!! is that? whew, close call! <wipes brow>

[Violet]

Ha ha, Westie ! Actually, a 1/2 tsp. of butter or oil is actually recommended in jams to keep down the foam. Oh, sorry, you thought you were going to be sent to the office for being naughty. Nope ! Not this time !

 

I bet your jam is wonderful, chefddr. If it doesn't gel right away, don't panic. It can take up to a month to gel. Then, if it doesn't set, you only relabel as syrup.

 

 

[Prickle]

Ha ha, Westie ! Actually, a 1/2 tsp. of butter or oil is actually recommended in jams to keep down the foam. Oh, sorry, you thought you were going to be sent to the office for being naughty. Nope ! Not this time !

 

I bet your jam is wonderful, chefddr. If it doesn't gel right away, don't panic. It can take up to a month to gel. Then, if it doesn't set, you only relabel as syrup.

 

I have a question about the foam. Is removing the foam an aesthetic thing or is it composed of little air bubbles of death?

[Violet]

It is partly aesthetic, but partly so the jam won't have excess air trapped, which can allow molds to grow. That is why you also process jams and jellies, so the air is expelled from the jars, causing a true vacuum seal. The heat processing also destroys mold spores and also the yeasts that can cause fermentation.

You won't get botulism from a high acid jam, but they can mold or ferment. That would mean all your work and ingredients in the trash. Molds cannot be safely removed and the jam eaten. Molds contain mycotoxins that can cause certain toxins. The mold you would see is just the tip of an iceberg of mold.

Ok, more than you asked, but teaching food preservation is my thing, LOL.

[chefddr]

Well it's like liquid, I opened the first jar and it's like soup. I will let the rest sit and see what happens. We will use this first one as syryp on pancakes I guess. It also has white stuff at the top, undisolved sugar is all I can think of? I am really disappointed in myself. But I did learn. I just hope it may firm up soon and it will be ok. I still don't understand the white stuff, it seems as though I cooked and stirred it forever and it should have disolved. This will be a lesson learned, but I was hoping for different results. I better not tell my mom, she will tell me I am stupid for wasting so much money. We'll see what time brings. I will put them away and store them and like mad. Thanks ladies, I will try something different next time. Funny, the 1/2 pts are wattery but the pint jar looks fine

PS It's Strawberry Jam

[Violet]

Did you use added pectin or not ? Is it the foam you didn't skim off that is white on top ?

If it doesn't have pectin added you can recook it. Another option is to open the jar, and then thicken with Clear Jell or cornstarch and heat it up before you serve it.

Clear jell is what we use for canning pie fillings, but it can be used instead of pectin. Use 7 T. per pack of dried pectin called for.

Even if you used commercial pectin, there are instructions to remake it. However, if you did use the pectin, it is WAY too early to tell. As I said, it really can take a month to get a gel.

Let us know more of the recipe you used, etc. and we will help you out.

You don't have to tell your mom, we will help you fix it !

[Prickle]

Clear jell is what we use for canning pie fillings, but it can be used instead of pectin. Use 7 T. per pack of dried pectin called for.

 

Me again. Can clear jell be used with low sugar jams and jellies? And can it be water bathed?

[westbrook]

use the plate test....... drop a wee wee amount on a plate. Tip the plate a little, if the preserves (no pectin or sure jell) firms up and slowly moves it is done, however if it runs... it needs more cooking.

[chefddr]

I used the Recipe for Quick Jams with Liquid Pectin in theBall Complete Book of Home Preserving on page 41.

7.5 cups of crushed strawberries

8 Tablespoonslemon Juice

14 cups sugar

2 pouches of Pectin

Combine everything in a large pot and bring to a full rolling boil that can not be stirred down. Stir in the pectin, and boil hard for one minute remove feom heat and skim off the foam. ladle into hot jars leaving 1/4 in head apsce etc..... well some has ben in the fridge, time to go get some ice cream but will wait to see what the ohters do.

[Violet]

Chef,

You doubled the recipe. That is your problem ! Never double jam recipes, they will not gel. So, you now have strawberry syrup. If you want it to gel, you will need to either remake using special instructions or just chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

Can I double a jam or jelly recipe?

 

 

Never double a jelly or jam recipe. If a double batch of jelly or jam is cooked for the usual time, it will be undercooked--which means the jelly or jam will be soft and runny. If boiled longer, it will have a caramelized flavor and dark color.

 

 

 

 

Barbara Willenberg, Nutritional Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia

 

 

 

As for using Clear Jell for low sugar jams, I would not do so due to the sugar in regular jams having a preserving quality. You would need to have enough added acid with the Clear Jell, just as in the pie fillings. If it is a reg. jam, then it would be fine. Yes, it would be done in the boiling water bath canner in that case. You could make it with low sugar and freeze it, though.

My recommended thing for low sugar jams is Pomona's Universal pectin. It will gel water ! It requires no sugar at all to gel. It has a second little package of calciium you mix with water and add to the jams. You order the pectin online or a few health food stores have it. Really great for no sugar/low sugar jams.

 

[Prickle]

As for using Clear Jell for low sugar jams, I would not do so due to the sugar in regular jams having a preserving quality. You would need to have enough added acid with the Clear Jell, just as in the pie fillings. If it is a reg. jam, then it would be fine. Yes, it would be done in the boiling water bath canner in that case. You could make it with low sugar and freeze it, though.

My recommended thing for low sugar jams is Pomona's Universal pectin. It will gel water ! It requires no sugar at all to gel. It has a second little package of calciium you mix with water and add to the jams. You order the pectin online or a few health food stores have it. Really great for no sugar/low sugar jams.

 

Thanks Violet!

[chefddr]

I think I found a way to fix it!!

 

If I take it all out of the jars, and cook it some more it reduces and gets thicker, then I can re-process it in the new sterilized jars with new lids. it worked for the one I opened - cooked it for about 10 min and it got nice and thick, I let it cool a bit and put it back into the jar and back in the fridge. Either way, it is still wonderful over ice cream!

[chefddr]

I think I found a way to fix it!!

 

If I take it all out of the jars, and cook it some more it reduces and gets thicker, then I can re-process it in the new sterilized jars with new lids. it worked for the one I opened - cooked it for about 10 min and it got nice and thick, I let it cool a bit and put it back into the jar and back in the fridge. Either way, it is still wonderful over ice cream!