I am not a newbie to jelly and jam making, I started with a box of Ball jars, a bottle of Certo (remember the brown bottles that held enough for two batches?), the instructions sheet from Certo, a bag of sugar and a bottle of Tropical Punch drink....way back in 1972 in a cabin on the side of a mountain in Evergreen, Colo. By the end of that summer I had 5 dozen jars of jelly and jam in the pantry.....I was having so much fun, I got carried away and made jelly from every fruit juice/drink I could find and jam from every fruit that showed up in the grocery store. And over the ensuing 39 years I have made gallons of jelly and buckets of jam. But never once have I used the water bath method on them. I keep the jars in a large pot of boiling water until ready to use, take the jars out, the water inside evaporates and I pour the jam/jelly mixture into scalding hot jars, seal with hot lids, put on the bands and set the jars on the table waiting to hear the 'ping' of the lid sealing. I also say Thank You with every ping, but that started with the excitement of making that first batch and thanking each one for sealing....quirky I know. I store the jars in a cupboard, give them to family and friends as gifts and we eat more than our share of them too and not once has anyone gotten sick. So what purpose does the water bath for jam and jelly serve?
I do it the exact same way :-D However, it has been quite some time since I made jam, just get too busy I guess :'( If I found a good batch of peaches I could be talked into making peach jam, my hubby's favorite I was always confused by the water bath too :-?
Toni, I really think it is no more than the usda RECOMMENDATIONS (saving us from ourselves) and any of the jelly jar companies being held LIABLE for ANYTHING that could or does go wrong with someone else's work/product failure.( BUT this is only my OPINION, just like everyone has a nose...most of have an opinion. )
I had a feeling it might be a C.Y.A. thing but wasn't sure. I guess most people do it because someone official told them they should. But I can see where a seller would do it to make it as safe as possible for customers.
................. I believe the boiling water bath serves two purposes; 1. sterilization and raising the temp of the food being canned high enough to kill any bad guys that might be present, and..... 2. heating, expanding, expelling as much trapped air as possible in order to effect a seal by vacuum as the container cools after being removed from the heated environment (boiling water or steam in pressure cooker). Both of those necessary actions are accomplished in your methods, evidence; your jars sealed (the ping sound) and nobody got sick from eating the end product. Home canning is one of the great self-sufficiency exercises. Hank
I can see where it would be important to use the water bath treatment when canning veggies or fruits. It just sounded like a superfluous step for jam and jelly. I love hearing the ping of the jars and the ones that don't ping go in the fridge to be eaten first. But I can't remember the last time one didn't ping as it should.
Toni, I'm with you. I don't see why jam or jelly needs to be processed in a hot water bath. I've made jellies for years, and occasionally branched out into jams, and have never had a problem using your method of sterilized jars, hot ingredients, and sterilized lids. I live for that "ping" also!
For jams and jellies, my grandmother and mom did not even seal them with lids. They were sealed with paraffin. First sterilized the jars, then put the boiled jam/jelly in the jar, then poured melted paraffin on top, and when the paraffin hardended, put a lid on it and kept it in the pantry. I think they may have even re-used the paraffin if supplies were low. I agree, making sure the space is very clean, boiling all equipment, and covering the jam immediately is fine for high acid, high sugar content fruits only. I would definitely use the hot water bath or pressure canning for tomatoes however, as the sugar content is not high, and high sugar content is a good preservative.
It's been at least 15 years since I've done any canning. It was fun to have all those jams, salsas, bbq sauce, etc stocked up in the pantry. Too bad it's so hot during harvest time here... or else I'd be tempted to do some more.
I sterilize the jars, put the lids in boiling water until needed. After I pour the jelly/jam in the jars and seal them I turn them upside down on a cloth on the counter for five minutes. Then, I turn them over and listen for the "ping". No one has ever had a problem with them. Well, they empty them pretty fast. Now, with just the two of us we have an over abundance of them so I didn't do any this year. I don't can other things. My mom did and she pressure cooked most things. dooley
There is no problem with using this method when preserving high acid fruits with lots of sugar. There would be a problem if trying a recipe with low sugar pectin or with sugar substitutes, because of the increased risk of bacterial growth. So I think the recommendations changed for all, as some people would not understand the difference.
@Toni: I actually was doing them the hot bath way, after sterilizing the jars, and came upon your way accidently . . . when the jars started sealing before I could get them in the pot of boiling water. I also do the quirky thank you thing, as did my mother. After an evening of canning, she would read to us. As the cans would give their "pop" to seal, we would all smile at each other for our success. Thanks for reminding me of this fond memory of childhood.
