In article ,
Pam Moore wrote:
On Sat, 7 Sep 2013 14:27:51 +0100, Janet wrote:
In article , says...
I was wondering, instead of wasting gas and electricity to sterilize the
jars, if citric acid and sodium bisulphite(as in winemaking sterilization)
would do the trick.
No, but you only need to have the oven on low for 20 mins so hardly a
vast expense.
Wash jars in hot soapy water, rinse, drain, pack the empty wet jars
standing upright in a roasting tin and put it in the oven. Turn oven on
to 120 C, once it's reached temp 10 mins should do it.
I've never bottled anything and only occasionally make jam.
When making small amounts of jam, I sterilised my jars ( washed,
rinsed and drained) by half-filling them with water and giving them a
few minutes boiling in the microwave. Is this good enough?
I (and many other people) don't bother with more than ensuring
that they aren't excessively grubby. Hot jam will kill most of
the heat-sensitive whatsits, and the nasty ones won't grow in
an acid, high-sugar product.
That being said, my strawberry jam (which I cooked lightly to
preserve its freshness) was a little TOO lightly cooked, and
has developed mould on top and fermented somewhat. Big deal.
Both are harmless to humans - and we consume both from choice
(e.g. blue cheese and real beer).
Regards,
Nick Maclaren.