In article >, "Christine"
> wrote:

> We have a glass topped range, so the extension office says I
> shouldn't use it for my water bath canners. So I purchased a type of
> outside cook stove/burner that runs off propane which is (again
> according to the extension office) a good choice. Last year my
> girlfriends were teasing me suggesting I just try the 'inversion
> method' listed in the sure-jell pectin recipes.
>
> Two weeks ago I made several batches of strawberry jam. Rather than
> haul my jams outside to boil them in the driveway, I admit I was lazy
> and decided to try the 'inversion method' listed in the pectin
> recipe. Well, ten days later I found little bits of mold in the
> headspace of twelve jars of low-sugar strawberry jam. The jars and
> lids were sterilized, the jam was boiled properly, and all the jars
> were sealed correctly. Three days before I found the moldy jam, I
> had made more strawberry jam, using the inversion method which seemed
> fine, but again it was only 3 days old. The spots of mold were only
> on the surface, and most of them were little bits less than 1/4 inch
> in size.
>
> I now realize that:
>
> 1. The inversion method stinks
>2. Low sugar and the inversion method is an especially bad
>combination.

>
> I promise to never do it again, so please be kind in your responses.

We're always kind. :-) Sometimes we shake our heads in the privacy of
our own homes, but we're always kind. "-)

Out of curiosity I checked the SJ web site -- in their full instructions
there, they use a boiling water bath to process the jams after sealing.
The inversion method for sealing is mentioned in a separate link and
clearly as an aside. Are they still recommending the inversion method
as a first choice on paper?

Bigger hmmmmmm: These are their instructions for jar prep:
"BRING boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars
and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling
water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water
until ready to use. Drain well before filling. "

What we preach here is that any jar that's not going to be either
waterbath or pressure processed for at least 10 minutes needs to have
been subjected to a 10-minute boiling water sterilization before filling.

I hope you'll ring them up and tell them of your experience.

>
> The problem is this--there were 24 jars of perfect jam without
> mold--most of which was only 3 days old. They were sealed and had no
> signs of trouble when opened. I emptied them into a stock pot in
> batches of 8 cups, added some pectin and reboiled and then processed
> in a water bath (for 15 minutes instead of the suggested 10). At the
> risk of the food police breaking into my pantry and running off with
> my jams, how bad of an idea was this?

It's not the worse idea I've ever heard. :-)

Is this safe?

Most likely. I think the official remake instructions involve the
addition of some sugar with the pectin, though.

> If I emptied out the top half of the moldy jam (it was only 10 days
> old) and reboiled and processed the bottom half of the jam, is having
> that on an English muffin considered living on the edge?

Officially? Probably. Practically? Probably not but I'd probably
chuck it if I'd had any thought of giving it as a gift. Keeping it
refrigerated would be a must, though. And I wouldn't be giving it as a
gift.

> I know people used to scrape off and eat moldy jam, but the extension
> office recommended I throw away every jar--even the ones with no
> signs of trouble, and even the three day old jam--just to be 'safe.'
> Of course, she also sounded like the type that actually sterilized
> her children's binkies so I am not sure what to think.

She's erring on the side of safety and the doctrine of CYA so that if
you get sick and die and from your hospital bed announce that "I checked
with the University's extension office and they said it was ok" your
survivors won't sue for the big bucks.
>
> Can I get your thoughts?

Well, sure. That's why we're here.

You've done me a public service with your post Christine. Last
Wednesday I posted a one-liner with the the subject line: I took a
preserving class last night. I didn't go into any details then. I'll
go into some now.

The instructor did a demo of pepper jelly with a recipe using Certo
liquid pectin. When we arrived in the classroom, she had half-pint jars
lined up and filled with warm water and a small saucepan with lids in it
on the stove over a low flame. Ninety minutes later, when she was ready
to fill the jars (the recipe did NOT take that long to do, let me hasten
to add; she spent an hour talking about other stuff before she got to
cooking), she emptied the water from each and dried the inside with a
dish towel. And she filled the jars and sealed them and used the
inversion method because "this is what Certo recommends." She mentioned
the USDA's recommended method for water bath processing but said that
that's hot, takes more time, and this is easier.

OK. One can hardly argue that the inversion is not a simpler thing to
do at the outset -- but look at what it got YOU: Mold in your product,
anxiety and angst, and a re-do that will probably render your jam safe
for your consumption.

None of which you'd have if the jars had been processed properly in the
first place. Which method ends up to have taken more of your time?

I've never thought the argument about waterbath processing being so hot
held a lot of water -- certainly not for processing sweet spreads. If
the pot's already been boiling for 10 minutes, what's another 5 or 10
minutes with filled jars?

> Thank you so much, and, as God as my witness, I will never inversion
> again!
> Christine

O My Child, go in peace and sin no more. I'll put in a good word with
the Father Inquisitor and Saint Vinaigrette.
-Barb
Mother Superior, Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of
Jella
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> An update on 6/27/04.