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Help with marmalade...again!!
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Deedee



Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 9:50 am    Post subject: Help with marmalade...again!! Reply with quote
    


I am sooooooo cross!!!
Someone came to see me yesterday and while I was distracted with the boys she started messing around with my marmalade I made.It was sitting on the kitchen table as I hadnt made space for it anywhere yet.To cut a long story short I came back into the kitchen and saw her sitting there opening EVERY pot sniffing them 3 x 1lb jars and 8 x 8oz jars question is now will they keep or are they going to spoil as I sealed them all when they were hot.I was so gobsmacked by the time I realised what she was doing she was on the last jar..has all my hard work gone to waste???

Fee



Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I'd be fuming!!! Why do people do things like that!!!

Can't help you though I'm afraid, I've only made marmalade once a lot of years ago...

bagpuss



Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 10507
Location: cambridge
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Never made jam before so this might not work and is a lot of work but

could you empty all your jars, heat up the jam to ensure its sterile again and reseal them?

Cathryn



Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

My family do that sort of thing to me - but at least I can scream at them I keep my jams in the fridge and I havenot had a problem. Perhaps you could keep some of the bottles because you are going to get through some of them quickly enough and risk it and resterilise the rest? (What a chore though)

Bugs



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

ruby wrote:
I keep my jams in the fridge and I havenot had a problem


We do too - and use a lot less sugar than normally recommended - and often accidentally open a pot - and never had problems that I can recall.

Would marmalade be one of those things that if it's off, you can see the mould? So that it would be worth finding space in the fridge for as much as possible and seeing how it goes?

What about the thing some people do with a whisky/brandy soaked paper disc, does that help?

Oh, and Deedee - be careful who you invite to tea in future

Deedee



Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Well its just me and OH who eat it so I thought I'd make enough for a year til the sevilles come out again.I reckon we'll easily eat a jar a month if not more so I'll stick it in the fridge and hope for the best I will try reboiling one jar to see if its ok,was wondering though what about if I hot water bath them would that work??

Deedee



Joined: 10 Jan 2005
Posts: 250
Location: Surrey
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Bugs wrote:


Oh, and Deedee - be careful who you invite to tea in future

she's one of these 'friends' who appears when she wants something unfortunately...am still fuming about it I just think she's a jealous type,she knew what she was doing which makes it worse ! Did make some nice plum jam yesterday though and hid it well!!!!

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

A hot water bath would probably do the trick. It is essentially the mould spores that you want to kill off - 20 minutes or so in the water bath would do that and reseal the jars for you.

moggins



Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

And then next time she approaches your door aim a shotgun at her

judith



Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

moggins wrote:
And then next time she approaches your door aim a shotgun at her


Or hurl jars of mouldy marmalade at her if the hot water bath doesn't work.

Sarah D



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

|I would just put new covers on the jars and stor as normal. There shouldn't be any problems. I've done it before with no ill effect.

cab



Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 11:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You'll PROBABLY get away with putting new covers on, but to be sure I'd pour a slosh of high alcohol spirit (something like Polish spirit, or at least a good strong brandy) on top of the marmalade in each jar before re-sealing.

If you do get mold, it'll probably only be on top and you can scrape it off.

Have you used paper discs under the lids?

Cathryn



Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I remember home made jam in the past made with paper discs and covered with greaseproof paper and an elastic band. Presumably it got eaten so quickly it never had a chance to grow anything. (But there was also my Nans cold larder)

Pilsbury



Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 5:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

dont see why a water bath wouldn't work cos all you are trying to do is get the lids airtight again. Only problem might be as you warm up the marmalade it peel in it might sink through the runny marmalade and you could end up with it all at the bottom.

cab



Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 06 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

When you bottle marmalade, you're dealing with a sugar solution that has been heated, with some acid, to 105C for a period of time. Its pretty much dead. When someone opens it at room temperature, then immediately mold spores have found their way in. If said spores can cope with the sugar content and the acidity (less of a problem on top!) then they will, eventually germinate.

Putting the caps on top when the marmalade is still hot means that the marmalade will contract, the hot air will contract, and you've now got a rather low partial pressure of oxygen in there. That means that not only is nearly everything dead, but any meagre survivors have to be able to cope with that too.

Now you CAN put the marmalade in hot water and heat it again; might work. But that isn't in any way the equivalent of proper cooking of the marmalade, and actually getting the marmalade hot enough right through the jar to kill spores off is unlikely.

So... I'd go for sterilising the top, exposed surface and rely on the fact that the body of the marmalade isn't a good place to live. That ought to do it.

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