Jam making newbie (advice please!)

[GadgetGuy]

I think you are thinking about the procedure called double boiling canning. Everything will already have been sterilised once. Doing it again after the jam is in there is the second time it can be done. not everyone does it and it is not common in the UK. I think it is now an American custom than a British one.


Personally I only sterilise the one because having done the jars and lids, poured blisteringly hot jam into the jars and sealed them immediately ,that tiny amount of air in the space between the hot jam and the lid is going to get heated up very quickly to very hot temps before cooling down in a vacuum . I've never had an issue with an unopened jar going moldy.

Technically, I think that making that much jam for myself, it won't get used up within a reasonable time.
That is why I like doing it in the bread machine. It doesn't hang around that long, & I can always do it again when it gets low.

 

[Ellie]

Technically, I think that making that much jam for myself, it won't get used up within a reasonable time.
That is why I like doing it in the bread machine. It doesn't hang around that long, & I can always do it again when it gets low.

How much jam do you think is being made? You can double boil (if you want that method) with just a single jar of jam. You don't have to make much at all. Plus if you want to, making 2 half sized jars instead of 1 1lb jar (standard jars are 455g here in the UK) makes much more sense. I often collect those really small jars you get at hotels and cafes doing toast and jam ,so that I have a few handy. It allows me to make a few sample jars up when making a batch of jam and allows me to have just a touch of jam without opening a large jar. Plus there always seems to be a little left over that never fits into the jar and I don't like throwing things away. That small single portion jar works really well.
Also mustard jars are great because they are much smaller than standard jars and often fancy a well making great Christmas presents.

 

[Morning Glory]

I thought that making jam the normal way requires that the jars be sterilized - since it is strongly recommended for protection against bacteria, pathogens, Salmonella and food poisoning, as well as botulism.

Yes, of course you need to sterilise but I was referring to what @Catsat said:

Quick follow-up question: I've seen instructions on the internet for sealing jars in a water bath - the jars are completely submerged in hot water and then taken out to cool. When should I use that process? Not many jam recipes mention sealing the jars in this way.