processing jam?

[merkin]

I made jam, poured it hot into sterilized jars, sealed it with paraffin wax, and the jars made a pinging noise when they cooled down.
Will these keep outside the refridgerator?

[wekick]

There are lots of opinions but EDUCATE yourself about foodborne illness and it's possible consequences and proper canning methods. There is science behind methods on USDA website and Ball canning site, linked above. There are many methods that are "pretty safe" but why take a chance.

[Sooeygun]

Yes, if they made the ping sound they are sealed. You don't need to use a water bath with jam. Even the Certo instructions don't say to use a water bath and they are all about CYA.

[Sooeygun]

Certo link http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/migrati...

"Don't you need to process/boil the jars in a hot water bath once the jam is finished?
By properly pre-sterilizing jars and lids and having everything hot when filling - you don't need the boiling water bath process."

Oh, and yes, you can store them out of the fridge.

[shanagain]

I have been dying to try my hand at jam/preserves, and I think this may've sent me over the edge to making a shopping list today.

May have. For some reason, canning just scares the crap out of me.

[dct]

Note that the link above is to a Canadian site. US standards specify the need to process in a water bath. Clearly, there is some difference of opinion on how much CYA is needed :)

[Sooeygun]

I follow the Certo instructions and I haven't yet had a jar that didn't have a good, strong seal on it. I get the jars, lids, rings so hot that I can't touch them and the jam is blistering hot.

[Jennalynn]

It's not the seal that decides if it's safe...

You could be sealing in bacteria.

For the most part jam & jelly should be fine. But it's not 100% sure.

HWB canning is not that hard and it only takes 10 minutes. I'd rather take the time and not have to think about spoilage.

[zippy2u]

If you put paraffin in the jars over the jam, then submerged them with Ball/Kerr lids in a hot water bath and the lids created a vacuum seal, there will be no problem. If they failed to seal, store the jam in the fridge. I don't know what kind of jam you made, but most fruit preserves have enough acid to prevent the growth of bacteria. There is no need to reopen sealed jars and remove the paraffin, but don't use it in the future since it does not prevent spoilage--either from molds (mycotoxins) or bacteria.

[Jennalynn]

A Hot Water Bath (HWB) is really your only guarantee.

You may have sealed bacteria under the paraffin.

HWB are not difficult... here's the info: http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/...

But you can't now re-seal them. I'd refrigerate.

[morwen]

Actually they can be resealed. Open them up, discard the paraffin, pour the contents back into your jam pot. Wash and sterilize the jars. Use new lids. Bring your jam back up to the boil and boil/stir for at least 5 minutes. Ladle into the hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4" head space, carefully wipe the rims, and cap with the new lids that have been in a bowl with boiling water poured over them. Tighten the rings finger tight and process in a water bath for 10 minutes or as long as your recipe suggests. If you don't have a water bath one can be rigged with a deep pot or stock pot. Wire together (I use zip ties) enough lid rings to make a rack to fit the bottom of your pot. With both the rack and the jars in there, there should be enough water in the pot to cover the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring the water to a boil, lower in your jars, cover and start timing when the water returns to a boil. After the alloted time pull the jars out, listen for the ping, and when they've cooled tighten down the rings a little. Another way to check for the seal is to push down on the center of the lid. If there's no give the jar is sealed. If it moves back and forth it's not. I use my Le Creuset dutch oven or larger stock pot when processing small batches of preserves in half pint or 4 oz jars.

[Channa]

What went ping? Did you use both paraffin AND canning lids?

[merkin]

I poured the paraffin on to the hot jam, and then sealed with canning lids. When they cooled the I heard the lids seal when they cooled down.