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William R. Watt
 
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"Dwayne" ) writes:
> We made grape jelly 2 weeks ago and the jars didn't seal. The wife's method
> is to turn the jars over for 5 minutes after putting the caps and lids on,
> and then setting them upright. This year they didn't "ping". Will the
> jelly be OK since they haven't been opened, or can we HWB them now? If we
> HWB, do we have to replace the lids or will these work since they are still
> pretty new? Thanks. Dwayne


The lids are held on by the vacuumn created when the hot air under the lid
cools and contracts. I do not upturn the jars after pouring. I doubt
simple reheating of the filled jars will create a vacuum now. You could
just keep them in the 'fridge where they will keep for a year or so at
least. When I make jam and jelly I pour some into old jam jars for
personal consumption over the comming year and keep those in the 'fridge.
The ones I put away in the basement or give away are poured into the
sealed jars. I check the lids to make sure the seals look good and there
are no paint chips or rust. You could empty the jars, reheat the jelly in
a little water to the jelling stage, pour back into the cleaned jars, and
this time do not invert the filled jars. They should seal okay.

I sterliize the empty jars by putting the upside down in a large pot with
a couple of inches of water in the bottom. When the water comes to a boil
the heat is turned down to simmer and let the jars steam. If I start the
jars at the same time I start boiling the fruit juice the jars are sterile
when the juice is ready to pour. I got this method of sterilizing the jars
from an old Agriculture Canada booklet on making home preserves.



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