Bottling in jam jars

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Bottling in jam jars
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quixoticgeek

Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 296
Location: Canterbury

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 4:31 pm Post subject: Bottling in jam jars
Can you bottle things like blackcurrants in ordinary jam jars, rather than kilner/weck/parfait jars? If so how? Thanks Julia

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 6:35 pm Post subject:
same way I always save the original lids. They can be re-used several times. Leave at least 1/2 inch of space, sit the lids on the jar. I process in an oven (typically 40 mins @ 150C for a 500ml jar), then remove from the oven and tighten the lid. As the jars cool, the lids will pop in, showing that they have a good seal.

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4640
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 7:01 pm Post subject:
Is this "bottling" as in what the Americans call "canning" and everything else says you need a special widget or at least a pressure cooker...?

stumbling goat

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1990

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 8:18 pm Post subject:
Aldi have preserving jars on offer this week. JIC anyone is interested? sg

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 8:23 pm Post subject:

NorthernMonkeyGirl wrote:

Is this "bottling" as in what the Americans call "canning" and everything else says you need a special widget or at least a pressure cooker...?

I suspect so. If the container, typically a can, is sealed prior to heating, it has to be heated in a pressure vessel.

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4640
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 8:30 pm Post subject:

oldish chris wrote:

NorthernMonkeyGirl wrote:

Is this "bottling" as in what the Americans call "canning" and everything else says you need a special widget or at least a pressure cooker...?

I suspect so. If the container, typically a can, is sealed prior to heating, it has to be heated in a pressure vessel.

Ah yes, I spot the difference now.
Would the oven method work for a tomato sauce/gloop (as in "tinned tomatoes" not ketchup or bolognese)? Given that my tomatoes are shoulder-height, I'm hoping for a good harvest!

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4640
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 8:31 pm Post subject:

stumbling goat wrote:

Aldi have preserving jars on offer this week.

JIC anyone is interested?

sg

What size / cost, if you remember?

12Bore

Joined: 15 Jun 2008
Posts: 9089
Location: Paddling in the Mersey

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 8:37 pm Post subject:

NorthernMonkeyGirl wrote:

stumbling goat wrote:

Aldi have preserving jars on offer this week.

JIC anyone is interested?

sg

What size / cost, if you remember?

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thursday-10th-july/product-detail/ps/p/preserving-jars/

stumbling goat

Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1990

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 8:38 pm Post subject:
Sorry, do recall that there were at least 2 sizes, and I think they worked out at about �1 each? If you go to their website https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thursday-10th-july/ you will find the details. sg

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 8:51 pm Post subject:

NorthernMonkeyGirl wrote:

Would the oven method work for a tomato sauce/gloop (as in "tinned tomatoes" not ketchup or bolognese)?

Yes.

However when bottling it is important that the produce is acidic. Just quickly checked my preserving book. The dry-pack method (just sliced tomatoes in a jar) includes adding lemon juice at the rate of 1 tablespoon of juice per pound of tomatoes.

(Mind you, with Bolognese type sauces I've never bothered.)

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 8:59 pm Post subject:

Canning is when something is heated and pressurised (pressure canners are just pressure cookers, only you can accurately measure the pressure in bars). My opinion is that this is the only safe way to preserve tomatoes in jars. Poorly bottled are a big cause of preserving related problems. Fruit with sugar is safe to bottle, because the fruit and the sugar are acidic. Vegetables without are not. Unless you can test the ph and know what the safe threshold is, it's a big risk. This is on the advice of my father in law, who is a food technologist by profession.

NorthernMonkeyGirl

Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 4640
Location: Peeping over your shoulder

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 9:12 pm Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

Thanks, for some reason I thought tomatoes were acidic / on the "safe" list?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46362
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 13, 14 11:26 pm Post subject:
120c and seal raw and acidic either are ok re botulinus of preserves n pickles the really dodgy ones are raw veg in oil,chilli in oil etc etc

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 14 11:41 pm Post subject:

NorthernMonkeyGirl wrote:

wellington womble wrote:

Thanks, for some reason I thought tomatoes were acidic / on the "safe" list?

I believe tomatoes are not nearly as acidic as they used to be, and they have been bred to be sweeter and less acidic over the years. I wouldn't do it personally with veg (I know tomatoes are technically a fruit. They are still a major cause of problems according to FIL. When I next see him I'll ask him for a reference)

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 14 7:10 am Post subject:
A favourite tomato of ours is "Gardener's Delight". They are a small tomato. We just bung any surplus in the freezer.

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