When I first started canning in earnest, every few months, I’d wrap up a collection of full jars and ship them off to my parents. I just couldn’t resist sharing all the delicious things I was making with them. One evening, my dad took a moment to call and thank me for the orange marmalade I had recently sent his way. During that phone call, he also made a request. Could I possibly make grape jelly sealed with paraffin wax, like his Grandma Bartlett used to make?
I adore my dad and am nearly always willing to go pretty darn far out of my way to do something to make him happy. Sadly, this was one request that I had to turn down. The reason? It’s just not safe to do it the way Grandma Bartlett used to do it.
Some of the vintage techniques you should avoid include:
Open Kettle Canning: This is the sealing method in which you pour hot jam, jelly or other preserves into a hot jar, quickly wipe the rim and apply the lids and rings. Then you simply allow the heat of the product to produce a seal. While this will typically produce a seal, you don’t have the back-up of the boiling water process, which means that you run a higher risk developing mold or other bacteria in your preserves.
Paraffin Wax Seals: The method my father remembers so fondly. In this technique, you pour thin layers of wax over your jam, until you built up about 1/2 an inch of wax on top of your product. The primary issue with this method is that there’s no way to check your seal. Additionally, these seals have a high rate of failure. My mother remembers her aunt frequently opening jellies sealed in this manner, only to discover that they were furry with mold under the wax.
Upside Down Sealing: This is sealing method found most often in Europe and is a variation on the Open Kettle approach. In it, you fill your jars, wipe rims, apply lids and rings and then, instead of processing you invert the jars and cover with a kitchen towel until they’re cool. While this technique will give you a concave lid and a fairly firm lid, it does not always produce a quality seal (and again, you lack the safety insurance that the boiling water process grants you). Additionally, if you do this with a firm setting jam or jelly, you’ll end up setting your jam up against your lid and not down at the bottom of the jar where it should be.
Steam Canners: A steam canner is a piece of equipment that looks like a cake carrier. It has a very shallow base with a high domed lid. You place it on the stove, pour a small amount of water into the shallow pan, put your jars on top and then cover with the domed lid. The steam then circulates to heat the jars. However, while steam can be hotter than boiling water, it can also exist at much lower temperatures as well. Additionally, it doesn’t have the same heat penetrating abilities as boiling water, so the heat of the processing pot will not penetrate to the core of your jars. In 2016, Atmospheric Steam Canners were approved for home use. More info here.
The way I look at canning is this. We all invest our time, money and equipment into our canned goods. It just makes good sense to use the most reliable processing techniques available, to ensure the best outcome possible. As far as I know, the most reliable process (for high acid foods) is a boiling water bath for the length of time prescribed by your recipe.
I think even Grandma Bartlett would change her ways if she was canning in the 21st century.
The “approved” processing methods from the Extensions Police are overkill. They come from people who want to instruct others and are not in control and therefore want to build in a lot of margin in every step, and assume that previous steps may have failed. Not unlike how you would tell a child to use an appliance.
You mention investment of money. Consider resource usage during the canning process. Repeated boiling uses up a lot of gas and releases humidity into the kitchen, which can cause damage to walls, especially if done with a “rolling” boil as instructed. Here you see an example of margin because the smallest flame that maintains 100°C should be sufficient. The price of energy seems to be insignificant for people in America, which is an exception. You also have luxuries like a stove hood and room cooling that can’t be assumed as being present.
Suppose that 1 in a 100 jars would spoil with less strict measures. That is some loss of value. Most of what goes into a jar is water, salt and sugar. But it is still better than overpaying in the processing cost for the 99. A bit of mold can be removed as Grandma would have done.
Disposable materials, such as lids, should also be avoided. For this reason I would not use molten wax. At this point in time finding unscented wax would be difficult. It requires subsequent cleanup. Molten candle in contact with steaming food feels wrong.
Liquids can be canned with open kettle if you are working quickly and don’t let the material cool down. Molten, mashed jam is a liquid. You can skip wiping the rims to save some time if you use a liquids funnel with a long tube and avoid overfilling and dripping. The accuracy comes with practice. Heat should be maintained under the pot while filling. But here the instructor may have difficulty specifying what does “quickly” mean, so he assumes the worst case scenario that we have let the food cool down completely when specifying the ridiculous processing times. When working with viscous masses like apples, quick filling is harder or not possible.
Letting a bank of jars stay open on the counter and wiping their rims with a non-sterile cloth seems suboptimal. That is why you need to boil again. Vinegar also does nothing in the wipe. I sometimes use alcohol.
Sugar in jam and jelly is a preservative. Unless a pocket of low sugar concentration develops, perhaps where condensation was, nothing can grow there. An open container can be kept for a really long time. The universal instructions allow for the sugar to be lower.
Can you elaborate what is a “quality” seal? If the lid is concave and firm, what qualities is it still missing?
My mother used to make plum butter in a large pot, cover it with waxed paper, and keep it in the garage. When she wanted some she would take off the waxed paper, scrape off the mold, scoop some out, and recover the pot with fresh waxed paper. I’m aware this is anecdotal, but it worked for our family. This was in the 1950’s. I don’t preserve jam this way 😉
Yikes. I’m glad no one got sick!
Greetings from Lorna — to you and family.
Hello Lorna!
I just canned banana bread with the oven method and it works beautifully. Makes the bread shelf stable for a year.
That’s really not a recommended practice.
Sorry, no need for an answer after reading all. But I would like to say I didn’t see an answer to Louise’s question about after bath thinning solving. Thank you
The only suggestion I have for that is gently shaking the jars as they cool after the water bath. That can help redistribute the bits of peel.
I was just trying to find out the best way to seal jars. I have to heat the condensed sap to a temperature of 190-200 degrees until the syrup is done and then pour it into jars and seal it. I was originally planning to seal the jars with paraffin wax until I read this article. I’m expecting to recover about 8 -10 ounces but I thought I would divide it between 2 jars. I would seal 1 jar and keep the other to use. Sealing the jars with paraffin still sounds like the quickest way to do it.
I would suggest a boiling water bath process rather than paraffin. Additionally, I don’t believe that paraffin is a viable option for liquids like syrups. https://foodinjars.com/blog/new-to-canning-start-here-boiling-water-bath-canning/
Hi, there . I use a water bath canning method myself but my mother-in-law uses an open kettle method for making a fig jam every summer. My kids stay over at hers so now I’m really concerned about botulism and any other food borne danger. The jam is very quickly consumed but is that safe? If refrigerated closed right after made is it still a risk? Thank you so much for the valuable info
Canning methods can’t prevent botulism, only acid content can. Figs often fall into the acidity grey zone, so I’d be more concerned about whether your MIL is adding acid to her fig jam than with the method of preservation she’s using (not that I endorse open kettle canning, but with high acid foods, the worst that can happen is that the jam will turn moldy). If it’s consumed quickly or refrigerated, there shouldn’t be any major issue, but if there is visible mold, I suggest throwing the contents of the jar away rather than scraping the mold off.
Marisa, I hope you get this. I have a question about making birch syrup. What is the best way to preserve the birch syrup. I’ve condensed the birch sap and have it frozen while I am trying to find the best way to bottle it and preserve it. I’ve never canned anything before so I am a real novice. I will have a very small volume of birch syrup, perhaps 6-8 ounces. It takes roughly 128 ounces of birch sap to get 1 ounce of syrup.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience canning birch syrup. I’d suggest you look into how it’s done with maple syrup.
Marissa,
I know this is an older post, but I have a question in preserves. My grandmother always used a water bath to process, and so do I; but she always cooled chunky jams, marmalades, and preserves upside down. When I asked why, she told me it keeps the chunky bits from collecting in the top or bottom of the jar. True to her word. I have found a more even distribution of fruit using this method. Since everything is water bath processed anyway, does the cause a problem with seals or good safety?
If you’ve done the boiling water bath canning process, there’s no harm in cooling your jams upside down. The only danger is that occasionally the jam sets so that you have an air pocket at the bottom of the jar, which doesn’t look great (and I don’t like having my product pushed up against the lid).
Thank you for this article. I can’t believe all these comments from canners who believe they can safely continue to can the way their mothers and grandmothers always have because “they never had a problem”. I’m guessing one such person was responsible for the recent church potluck poisoning.
Thanks for this article. Very helpful.
Technically, I think the section on steam canning is not accurate. Steam penetrates better than liquid water, and transfers heat more quickly. BUT, vapors that you can see are NOT steam, which is why Marissa said that steam can be colder than 212. No, it can’t be. And it can only be hotter than 212 if you have a pressure seal (pressure cooker). In any case, your boiling water and your steam will be at the same temp.
I think that if you leave your cans in a steamer you will get them just as hot, and more quickly, than you would in a water bath. Because you will get steam long before you would have a pot full of water at a boil. That’s how the physics should work out. Just don’t start timing based on visible water vapors, make sure your jars are not touching the sides of the steamer, and start timing based on a thermometer in the steamer, but above the boiling water.
Lots of comments here about not having had issues with the old methods. I get it, but I haven’t had any issues with the new methods either. I’d rather be safe than sorry. I can remember my mother sealing jams and jellies with wax; however, we did occasionally find mold. Must we insult each other claiming that a person is lazy or filthy to have a method go bad? I think not. Thanks for current information.
My mother-in-law in France makes all kinds of fruit jams that she stores in their basement, not in the fridge. The only sealing process is that when the jars have been filled with the hot jam, she covers the jars with strong plastic wrap secured by an elastic (no lid, no nothing). She stores them for months outside the fridge and my partner’s family has been eating them their whole lives (and before, since that was how my partner’s grandmother also made her jams). As a North American I was skeptical at first (like I was skeptical of raw milk cheese at first, LOL!), but now I’ve been eating them all the time too. My mother-in-law says that as long as you put minimum 50% sugar and 50% fruit, there is too much sugar for anything serious to grow. True? It seems to be – nobody in her family’s ever gotten sick from it!
If she is using a ratio of one part fruit to one part sugar, what she’s doing is safe. Sugar is an incredibly powerful preservative and so is preventing spoilage from occurring. However, as soon as you drop the amount of sugar in your jam, the risk of spoilage goes way, way up.
I used wax to weal my jelly yesterday. It is seeping out on To the wax. Can heat seal it in a water bath with the wax on it? Also it is cold now. Can I still heat seal it in a water bath?
Wax sealing is no longer a recommended method of sealing. At this point, the only thing you could do would be to pull the wax seals off, empty the jelly back into the pot, reheat it, fill jars, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner. However, this action could potentially ruin the set of the jelly. Beyond that, the only other thing you could do would be to freeze the jelly.
Reading all the comments, I can see why people don’t know who to believe. I agree wholeheartedly with the earlier comments about generating fear and I think it is wrong to tell someone that what their Mothers and Grandmothers taught them is wrong. I myself am in my mid forties, have eaten my grandmothers, my mothers and my own open kettle canned products all my life and so has my family. No one has ever been sick. Someone else said this was just luck. That’s one heck of a winning streak I’d say. I will keep canning as generations before did and skip buying a $200 pressure canner because someone else says to.
Iris, there’s a difference between doing an open kettle canning process on high acid, high sugar and processing low acid foods in a water bath. The first is more prone to spoilage, but nothing bad will happen to you if your jams get moldy. The low acid foods processed in a water bath are actively dangerous because they could potentially harbor botulism. Additionally, a good pressure canner costs all of about $70 these days.
I was taught to open kettle can fruit jams and jellies by my mother who learned from her
mother. My mother was born in 1916 and her mother in the late 1800’s. They made delicious jams and jellies all their lives. My aunts, sisters, and cousins and I all can this way. We have never had an issue. As an attorney I realize that we have gone overboard to negate risk to such an extent that we have lost the finer arts and culture from past generations. The FDA and Extension websites include statements that their recommendations are because they are trying to eliminate all potential for a jam going moldy based upon some studies on rats that the mold may be harmful. Instead of scaring the next generation wouldn’t it be better to encourage common sense – that if it didn’t seal or has mold throw it out? Needless to say, I will be continuing to make jam the old fashion way and teaching our family’s next generation this lost art.
Trish, just know that the jams and preserves made in your mother’s and grandmother’s time often had far more sugar in them than today’s recipes. Sugar is a powerful preservative and so those items often had a greater chance of staving off the effects of mold. When you lower the sugar, you increase the chances of mold. The boiling water bath kills off those spores and ensures that your preserves will keep longer and better. So there is a reason for it.
New research has just been released.
The University of Wisconsin has published research which indicates that an Atmospheric Steam Canner may be safely used for canning naturally acid foods such as peaches, pears, and apples, or acidified-foods such as salsa or pickles, as long as all of the following criteria are met:
http://washburn.uwex.edu/2015/05/21/guidelines-for-using-an-atmospheric-steam-canner-for-home-food-preservation/
I am a Canadian living in Croatia…. no access to lids and rings. So what do I do now? All I can find are jars and all-in-one twist on lids. Thanks
Read these posts. They should help. https://foodinjars.com/2013/07/how-to-can-in-hex-jars-with-lug-lids/ and https://foodinjars.com/2012/10/canning-101-how-to-use-one-piece-lids/
Diane, I need to know about blackberry jam after it has been sealed and after a few weeks you opened it and there is mold on top of the jam is it safe to eat.
If the jam molded after processing, you should not eat it.
When in doubt; throw it out
what about open kettle canning or invert and seal method for fruit or fruit pulp without any sugar or preservative?
I do not recommend open kettle canning or the inversion method, particularly for fruit products without any sugar. Sugar is a preservative and those products will succumb to mold much faster when not done in a boiling water bath.
We did the inversion method with a pear tree we had in our front yard. 10 years later I found a can I had given my mother-in-law still with no mold or any issues whatsoever!