Wax Circles / Discs for Jam making anyone?

Penelope_Penguin

My, what a lot of jam making questions today :j I'll merge this thread with a previous one on waxed discs, to keep all ideas together.

Le_Foot wrote: »

Has anyone got a recipe & method for making strawberry jam.

Of course we have Several recipes here - homemade jam.

Penny. x

EagerLearner

Hi everyone, I just wondered if I do make my first attempt at jam, and I want it to last a while (more than 4 weeks) - shall I place the closed jar in boiling water for 20 minutes?

I have some tomato chutney last weekend and I know from reading on MSE that that should last around 4-6 weeks just in a jar in the fridge without boiling.

If others have had success with just closing the jar whilst contents and jar still hot, and it lasts a few months, I won't bother boiling - just wanted to know your thoughts? I want to give these as gifts and not poison anyone! x

PS: Whilst I am on here - can anyone cure my misery on how to get sticky label residue off jam jars?

thriftlady_2

EagerLearner wrote: »

Hi everyone, I just wondered if I do make my first attempt at jam, and I want it to last a while (more than 4 weeks) - shall I place the closed jar in boiling water for 20 minutes?

I have some tomato chutney last weekend and I know from reading on MSE that that should last around 4-6 weeks just in a jar in the fridge without boiling.

If others have had success with just closing the jar whilst contents and jar still hot, and it lasts a few months, I won't bother boiling - just wanted to know your thoughts? I want to give these as gifts and not poison anyone! x

PS: Whilst I am on here - can anyone cure my misery on how to get sticky label residue off jam jars?

Naah, you don't need to bother with boiling. I never have and I have jam, jelly and chutney on my shelf (in a cool garage) that is at least a year old. I assume you have sterilised the jars in some way -I just put them in a 100 degree oven for about half an hour, but I believe you can do it in 5 mins.

Preserves do not need to be kept in the fridge unless you are making some sort of low sugar version -which isn't really a preserve. The art of preserving pre-dates refrigeration -that's really its point;) Bugs can't grow in the presence of vast quantities of sugar, vinegar or salt.

Sticky stuff -put a blob of washing up liquid on the glue and rub under a hot tap with wire wool. Failing that -try dry cleaning fluid or WD40 ?

Butterfly_Brain

I use the waxed paper from cereal packets and keep all my old jam jars this is fine if you sterilise well in a solution of milton

thriftlady_2

You really don't need to use milton, soap and water will get the jars clean enough.

EagerLearner

thriftlady wrote: »

Naah, you don't need to bother with boiling. I never have and I have jam, jelly and chutney on my shelf (in a cool garage) that is at least a year old. I assume you have sterilised the jars in some way -I just put them in a 100 degree oven for about half an hour, but I believe you can do it in 5 mins.

Preserves do not need to be kept in the fridge unless you are making some sort of low sugar version -which isn't really a preserve. The art of preserving pre-dates refrigeration -that's really its point;) Bugs can't grow in the presence of vast quantities of sugar, vinegar or salt.

Sticky stuff -put a blob of washing up liquid on the glue and rub under a hot tap with wire wool. Failing that -try dry cleaning fluid or WD40 ?

Fantastic :beer: I shall commence my jam and preserve making in earnest! Yes I have definately been sterilising by placing the metal jar lids (sometimes plastic ones too from peanut butter jars) in a bowl of boiling water and leaving for 10 mins, and the jars in the dishwasher, then in the oven to dry off on 100°c for around 10-15 mins.

Presume the plastic lids are as safe to use - can I also keep them on a shelf for a year?

And a beginners question - what is the difference between jam and jelly - you say you have made both and have them in jars? I guess you mean like redcurrant jelly? Sorry - this is from a person who had only ever eaten Branston pickle and mango chutney in terms of savouries (I am half foreign, might explain a bit...), yet I made my first 5 delicious jars of tomato and onion chutney this Saturday! x

sandraroffey

jam is as it comes, fruit and all and jelly is strained through a muslin (after cooking it all in water) and then according to what juice you have, you add sugar and boil until set point is reached. dont squeeze the muslin or you will get cloudy jelly. when making a jelly you dont have to peel or core the fruit because it all gets left behind in the muslin.

on the subject of jars, always hang on to all your empties and get everyone else to save theirs for you. on here somewhere someone suggested going to the cheaper supermarkets and buying cheap jams and anything else cheap thats in jars and ditching the contents, its certainly cheaper than buying jars from lakeland!!! good luck!!!

all home preserves should be stored in a dark, cool place.

bridiej

malamute wrote: »

On the television programme about Village Shows and competitions the judges when selecting the winning preserves frowned on the inclusion of the waxed disks and marked down those entries they said they were not needed as the jars are fully airtight.

That's good to hear as I cant seem to find any here in Aus!!!

thriftlady_2

I must say I've never bothered sterilising the lids.

I like making jellies better than jam as they look so gorgeous when finished. You do need something to strain the cooked fruit through. I have a jelly bag and tripod like this.

I make jelly out of marmalade oranges too. My OH doesn't really like the bits and I don't really like chopping the peel so it works out well and still tastes of marmalade.

Fruit jellies are more versatile than jams because you can spread them on bread and toast but you can also use them as a sauce for meat -redcurrant with lamb, crab apple with pork, quince with goose, rowanberry with game. They melt easily so can be added to gravy and casseroles.

How to make jellies.

Chutneys are a mixture of vegetables, fruit and spices cooked slowly with sugar and vinegar. Branston Pickle is more like a chutney than a pickle. I find chutney lasts forever unopened on the shelf. It improves with age. They are best left for 2-3 months before eating.

They are a great way of using up gluts of garden produce and less than perfect specimens. You really get more with less when you make a batch of chutney because the finished product is so superior to bought stuff, much cheaper and it transforms simple food like cold meat and cheese into a feast.

A pickle is a veg or fruit that is preserved whole or in small pieces in spiced vinegar -like pickled onions.

Pip-squeak_3

Just another idea to help/confuse! I put lids in a saucepan of water and boil for 10 mins. I sterilise the jars in the microwave by putting about an inch of water in them and heating them until the water boils. They have been dishwashed before storage. My jam keeps for well over a year.