Wax Circles / Discs for Jam making anyone?

daska

I just use the lids that come with the jars. Much cheaper and easier than faffing around with wax discs. Also keeps the dust out of the jars while they're in storage

PipneyJane

What the others said.

I've never had any success using the wax-disc-plus-cellophane-cover method of sealing jam. Always end up with mould growing. Far better to use a proper lid.

(To hijack your thread for a second, tonight I'm going to try to sterilise my latest jars full of jam a la the USDA "water bath canning" method. This is an experiment because I'm using regular jam jars and not Kilner jars with their 2 part lids or Le Parfait clip ones. 20 minutes in boiling water and they should keep forever. I'm doing this because I doubt the sterility of my jars.)

Chris25

I use wax discs if I'm using a cellophane circle & a material top, but not if I use metal lids. The pretty fabric ones tend to be the ones given as presents & the metal lids, for us

Chris25

Lizzieanne wrote: »

www.jamjarshop.com are really good for jars, I buy all mine from them. They also sell lids on their own, so if you are using your own jars and want them to look uniform, you can just get new lids.
!.

thanks lizzieanne, they seem reasonable for bottles for liqueurs.

Butterfly_Brain

Pam Corbin doesn't used waxed discs, she fills the jars to the top and after putting the lids on she turns the jar upside down.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/river-cottage-bites/4od#3213742

wondercollie

PipneyJane wrote: »

What the others said.

I've never had any success using the wax-disc-plus-cellophane-cover method of sealing jam. Always end up with mould growing. Far better to use a proper lid.

(To hijack your thread for a second, tonight I'm going to try to sterilise my latest jars full of jam a la the USDA "water bath canning" method. This is an experiment because I'm using regular jam jars and not Kilner jars with their 2 part lids or Le Parfait clip ones. 20 minutes in boiling water and they should keep forever. I'm doing this because I doubt the sterility of my jars.)

http://masonjarss.livejournal.com/
Got to chime in on this. North American canning (aka preserve making) uses the water bath method because most home canners use mason jars. These jars have standard size two piece lids. There is a lid and a metal ring that screws onto the jar. The waterbath seals the rubber on the lid to the jar. When the jar is opened the rubber ring seal is broken and jar can only be closed by putting the lid back on and using the screwy bit to keep it there. Every couple of years there is a lid shortage as they have to be replaced every canning season, so only the jar and the screwy band thing can be reused.

When I learnt to make jam in home ec class we used jam jars from home, poured parrafin wax on and then sealed it with the lid.

The entire water bath method terrifies me. You have to have a pot big enough to submerge your jars in and then very strong tongs to pull them out. There is also no guarantee that the seal will take. Botulism arises every year from improperly sealed waterbath jars.:eek:

I do have friends who can. Everything from jam to salmon and homemade stews.

make-do

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies I've managed to find some for £1 at Wilkinsons so may pop them in before the metal lids as I am uber paranoid about mould.

Just out of interest, I am planning to make the Delia Smith mincemeat recipe which makes 3lbs, has anyone made this? How many average jam jars does this recipe fill?

Cheers

PipneyJane

PipneyJane wrote: »

(To hijack your thread for a second, tonight I'm going to try to sterilise my latest jars full of jam a la the USDA "water bath canning" method. This is an experiment because I'm using regular jam jars and not Kilner jars with their 2 part lids or Le Parfait clip ones. 20 minutes in boiling water and they should keep forever. I'm doing this because I doubt the sterility of my jars.)

It worked! In the end, I used my pressure cooker and processed the jars at 8lb of pressure for 5 minutes. Followed some instructions in Marguerite Patten's book. (My PC has 2 settings - vegetables and a chicken. I had to email Tefal to ask what they translated into. Turns out it's 8lb and 13lb.) The jars survived and sealed well.

zippychick

ive merged this with an older thread which should help

Zip