Canning, Jam question.

[Firefyter-Emt]

I seem to be hit or miss at my Jam. Sometimes it sets up just right, sometimes it is full soup! I have four pints of Strawberry-Rhubarb that I have to re-do now. I have some tips from Ball on how to re-set jam that did not take, but is there a way to really tell it is ready to pull off the stove?

Oh, and while I am at it.. Is there a good way to process the jam from the pot to the jars AND keep the jam from separating and having the fruit float to the top?

I am new at this myself and want to get in some practice before the harvest is canned this fall. And, I mean.. come on! Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam, Duh!

 

[freemotion]

We don't call it soup, we call it syrup....for pancakes, ice cream, etc!

Do you give it a couple of weeks to set up?

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Not yet, it's only been a week, but the last batch was firm the same day.

 

[Iceblink]

I would also love to know how to keep fruit from floating. Last year I made the most delicious peach blackberry jam/jelly and the peaches all floated unattractively to the top.

 

[Frosting]

I would also love to know how to keep fruit from floating. Last year I made the most delicious peach blackberry jam/jelly and the peaches all floated unattractively to the top.

I had the same problem until my SIL told me the trick.

Every so often, as the jam sets, gently shake or tip back and forth as the jam is setting. Make sure you do it gently so as not to disturb the seal.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Did you put a spoon in ice water, dip it in the jam, let it cool to see if it had set? this is what I do. If it does not set, add more pectin, (1/2 a pack), bring back to a rolling boil for a minute or two, continue to stir afterwards, test again. Keep doing this until it sets on the spoon. I have found that I needed a pack and a half of pectin for strawberry jam, and be generous with the lemon juice.

to keep the fruit from floating, I let it cool about 5-10 minutes, then stir it to bring the fruit back down, then I scoop into jars. My fruit is always suspended in the jam-not floating on top.

 

[patandchickens]

To Test For Jelling Point:

safest method IME: put several saucers into the freezer. When you think the jam is ready, take one saucer out and put a scant tablespoonful of jam on it. Return to fridge or freezer for several minutes, til jam is cool to touch but not seriously cold. Is it jam yet? (Wipe your finger thru it - does it wrinkle up and stay 'parted', and does it seem like jam on your finger? or is it still syrup?). The reason for several saucers in freezer is so you can test several times if it wasn't ready the first time.

quicker method that takes more experience before it will work right for you: put several heavy (I use silver) spoons in freezer. When you think jam is ready, take one spoon out and take a quick spoonful of jam out of the kettle. Tip the spoon and see how the jam runs off. Ignore what books say about 'when it forms two drops that run together', you just have to putz around with it over a number of batches of jam and eventually you will develop an eye for when it looks right.

chemistry-lab method: there is a third method that involves mixing a certain amount of jam with a certain amount of denatured alcohol and seeing if it (immediately) jells. I could look it up for you, but I've only done it once myself and that was a long time ago.

To Get The Darn Fruit To Not Float So Much:

main thing is to let the jam sit (OFF the heat!) for 5-10 minutes before ladling it into your jars. That REALLY helps.

you can do the tipping or inverting thing (after an hour or two) but be prepared to lose a few seals, not always dramatically. Sometimes it just causes oozing all inside the canning ring and then seems to sort of semi-re-seal itself. Messy, and not 100% reliable, but worth experimenting with if you are really trying to make your jam look like it came out of a commercial factory.


Pat

 

[Firefyter-Emt]

Thanks all, I will try some of these tricks the next time as well as letting the jam sit for a bit. I do not think the flipping the jars would be a good idea though, way too much of a chance to cause a failed seal. Why take the risk and waste the entire jar if the seal failed down the road.

PS, to share a trick, I used MS Word and some card stock to make "lid labels".... I found a clip art photo of what ever is in the jar and pasted it on the doc. I added wording and messed with the size until I got it right. I printed them on normal paper first to see if the opening in the ring would show the whole design and then made as many on a page as I could, and still be able to cut them out. I then printed them on card stock and used the rings to trace out where I wanted to cut them. (trace the outside of the ring with it centered) If you want to be very fancy, you could laminate them and then cut them out. That way you can save and re-use them. All you need to do is to place them under the ring and gently tighten the ring. I tend to leave the rings loosely in place as I am afraid my kids will pop a seal in the cabinet.

Here is a photo from one of my jams... (Yes, I do know the clip art is pie... it dawned on me a couple days later~ I have a really nice clip art with just strawberries and rhubarb now) .

PS, if you are REALLY good, create a second doc. and add any thing on the back side... IE: please return jars, what's inside ect.. Then place the cardstock back in, and upside down to print this info on the back of the lable so that it can be read with the ring removed.

 

[freemotion]

How cool for gifts!!!!

For just us, I print out boring but readable labels on address labels. I keep a page or two already printed out in my canning notebook of the ones I can a lot, like catfood, broth, etc. Then on canning day, I print out small address labels with the date. Much more visible to these poor eyes than writing on the lid.

I like yours better, though! Laminating, huh? Sounds like a nice winter day project!

 

[Frosting]

I use address labels that I stick on the lids but, basically do the same.

As for breaking the seal with the tip method, I've yet to loose one but, if I did it wouldn't go to waste. Not the way my crew eats jam.