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Mouldy jam!

In September my OH made some blackberry & apple jam (free apples and foraged berries of course!) and it was delicious. It's been stored in our pantry since. He opened a jar today and it had quite a lot of mould growing on it. On checking the other jars they appear to be the same. I am assuming he boiled it for long enough so the jam should be ok. He sterilised the jars and screwtop lids by steeping them in Milton and then drying them out in a hot oven. The jam was covered with a disc of greaseproof paper. I noticed that the jars do not appear to be filled to the top though OH assures me he filled them almost full. Could the jam have 'shrunk' or perhaps he just didn't fill them enough and the gap has caused the problem? Could storage conditions have caused mould?

He's very disappointed and I don't want this setback to put him off OS!

Any ideas on what's gone wrong? Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have.
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Comments

  • doddsy
    doddsy Posts: 396 Forumite
    Super, when you put the lids on it should be when either a) straight away while the jam is still boiling hot or b) when completely cold. Done in between the top of the jam can go mouldy. However, it is only mouldy on the top where the oxygen is, so when this happens to mine occasionally I just scoop off the top, underneath is fine - honestly!

    regards
    doddsy
    We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.
    – Marian Wright Edelman
  • Did your OH cut down on the amount of sugar called for in the recipe? If so, that could be the problem, since the sugar acts as a preservative. Jam made with less sugar needs to be stored in the fridge and consumed within a few weeks, or frozen for longer storage.
    :)
    I want to move to theory. Everything works in theory.
  • super41
    super41 Posts: 245 Forumite
    Pandora123 wrote:
    Did your OH cut down on the amount of sugar called for in the recipe? If so, that could be the problem, since the sugar acts as a preservative. Jam made with less sugar needs to be stored in the fridge and consumed within a few weeks, or frozen for longer storage.
    :)

    He followed a recipe closely (so he says!) and so I'd need to look at that. He now seems a bit vague about how full he filled the jars and I'm wondering if that's the problem - surely jam can't 'shrink' can it?!
  • super41 wrote:
    He followed a recipe closely (so he says!) and so I'd need to look at that. He now seems a bit vague about how full he filled the jars and I'm wondering if that's the problem - surely jam can't 'shrink' can it?!

    I don't make a lot of jam, but I wouldn't think it could shrink in the jar, at least not to any noticeable extent.

    This is from a preserving book I have by Marguerite Patten:

    Why do jams form mould on top?
    * The fruit was picked on a wet day and was damp.
    * Too little sugar was used when making the preserve.
    * Too short a boiling time, so the completed preserve lacked the right proportion of sugar through too great a yield.
    * The preserve was stored in a damp place.
    * The jars were inadequately covered.
    * Too large an air space was left in the jars at the top of the preserve. The smaller the airspace, the less possibility of mould forming.

    AND:

    Covering the preserves
    Place the wax circles from packs of jam pot covers on the hot preserve immediately after it is spooned into the jars. These form a seal. If you are able to put the final transparent covers or lids over the preserve immediately after putting on the waxed circles then do so. This makes a good seal and the jar will be virtually airtight. If you have to delay this stage because you are filling a number of jars it is better to wait until the preserve has become absolutely cold before adding the transparent covers or the lids. It is wrong to cover half-warm preserves; these are likely to produce a certain amount of condensation in the jar.

    Filling the jars
    Fill to within 3 to 6mm (1/8 to 1/4 inch) from the top of each jar. This is very important for the less air space there is in the jars the better the preserve will keep.

    [Pandora here] If the jam has not formed an airtight seal, then when you press down on the centre of the lid it will "click" and pop back when you let go. If the seal is airtight, on the other hand, when you press down on the lid there will be no "give"; also when you open the jars they will likely emit a satisfying popping sound, which is the airtight seal breaking.

    Also from the same preserving book:

    Can one safely eat preserves that have gone mouldy or fermented?
    * If there is just a thin layer of mould on top of the preserve, remove this completely. Taste the preserve and if there is no unpleasant flavour then it can be eaten. Use as soon as possible.

    * If the mould permeates through the preserve then it is inedible. Fermented preserves taste far too unpleasant to eat.

    super41, if I were you, I'd scrape the mould off all the jam, taste it to make sure it's okay, then freeze the jam in the jars. When you thaw a jar for using, keep it in the fridge. When I made jam this summer, I halved the amount of sugar and then froze all of it. It's fine when frozen and thawed.

    Tell your OH not to get discouraged... it's all a learning curve and he'll be able to correct his mistakes next time!

    :)
    I want to move to theory. Everything works in theory.
  • Queenie
    Queenie Posts: 8,793 Forumite
    Ditto Pandora's advice, but with one teeny addition ...
    Pandora123 wrote:
    ... Filling the jars
    Fill to within 3 to 6mm (1/8 to 1/4 inch) from the top of each jar. This is very important for the less air space there is in the jars the better the preserve will keep.
    ......
    super41, if I were you, I'd scrape the mould off all the jam, taste it to make sure it's okay, then freeze the jam in the jars. When you thaw a jar for using, keep it in the fridge. When I made jam this summer, I halved the amount of sugar and then froze all of it. It's fine when frozen and thawed.

    If you go down the freezing route, do make sure you leave enough of a gap at the top to allow for expansion caused by freezing!!

    Give your dh a well earned pat-on-the-back for his endeavours :T :T :T Most of us have learned *through* our mistakes, not by never making any ;):D
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  • mrs_baggins
    mrs_baggins Posts: 1,290
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I must admit also to scooping the mouldy bits off and eating the rest! God I am such a house !!!!!!!
  • crawley_girl
    crawley_girl Posts: 2,010
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I must admit also to scooping the mouldy bits off and eating the rest! God I am such a house !!!!!!!

    Ditto that!

    :heartpuls CG :heartpuls
    Ever wonder about those people who spend £2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward.
  • Queenie wrote:
    Ditto Pandora's advice, but with one teeny addition ...

    If you go down the freezing route, do make sure you leave enough of a gap at the top to allow for expansion caused by freezing!!

    Thanks, Queenie, I forgot to mention that!
    I want to move to theory. Everything works in theory.
  • super41
    super41 Posts: 245 Forumite
    Thanks to you all for your replies. I think the gap has been the problem. I'll suggest to OH he tries freezing the rest. Glad to hear you can eat the jam under the mould as he has already done that!
  • MATH
    MATH Posts: 2,941
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Bleurggh!!!:D Never scrape off the mould and use the rest of the jar, although the rest looks ok the invisible mould spores will have contaminated the whole jar - bin it.
    Life's a beach! Take your shoes off and feel the sand between your toes.
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