I made a load of jam yesterday, strawberry and blackcurrant.
I put the jars in the oven on a moderate heat to sterilise as I usually do, for about half an hour.
I took them out and then put the jam in. The whole bloody load of jars cracked...all of them.
I know have a load of jam with no jars. Can I re-heat the jam when my new jars have come, and bottle as usual or have I lost the lot?
I'd appreciate the advice please. Thanks
Dodgy Jars
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
Oooer. Did you put a big spoon in each jar as you were pouring the jam in? That usually stops that from happening.
As for re-using the said jam - it depends on whether they broke cleanly. If they did, you're unlikely to have any particles of glass in the mixture. However, it's always a risk.
As for re-using the said jam - it depends on whether they broke cleanly. If they did, you're unlikely to have any particles of glass in the mixture. However, it's always a risk.
Hello Lizzie
Sounds like a bad case of thermal shock because something was too hot or too cold when you poured the jam into the jars.
Although I heat my jars in the oven I let them go cool and add jam to jars when they are both just hot to the touch. We do quite a lot of jam and marmalade and putting it all into jam jars and then finding space somewhere to keep them all is a problem. We store in 1 litre kilner jars and then fill a 1 lb jar as and when its needed.
As Tigger says you will have to be very, very careful to ensure that there are no glass splinters in the jam that you are going to re-pot. I think that its fine to reheat jam but stir all the time while heating to prevent it caramelising on the bottom of the pan - otherwise you'll finish up with a brown sludge. Also keep the reheating time to a minimum again to reduce browning.
Hope this helps.
John
Sounds like a bad case of thermal shock because something was too hot or too cold when you poured the jam into the jars.
Although I heat my jars in the oven I let them go cool and add jam to jars when they are both just hot to the touch. We do quite a lot of jam and marmalade and putting it all into jam jars and then finding space somewhere to keep them all is a problem. We store in 1 litre kilner jars and then fill a 1 lb jar as and when its needed.
As Tigger says you will have to be very, very careful to ensure that there are no glass splinters in the jam that you are going to re-pot. I think that its fine to reheat jam but stir all the time while heating to prevent it caramelising on the bottom of the pan - otherwise you'll finish up with a brown sludge. Also keep the reheating time to a minimum again to reduce browning.
Hope this helps.
John
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
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Colin_M
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Only two comments on this:
a) Was the jam nice and hot when you added it to the hot jars, or had it cooled much
b) Would you like us to come round with plenty of toast......
a) Was the jam nice and hot when you added it to the hot jars, or had it cooled much
b) Would you like us to come round with plenty of toast......
Last edited by Colin_M on Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks peeps
The jam i'm re-heating was not in the jars...i chucked all of that away......
Both the jars and the jam were hot to the touch and I didn't put the ladle into the jars either.
The only thing I can think of is that the jars were all recycled ones and had been kept under the stairs for the winter. I can only think that the glass had deteriorated.
I have just enough left to pot the jam I have left over, and have gone and ordered more jars from Lakeland this morning.
The jam i'm re-heating was not in the jars...i chucked all of that away......
Both the jars and the jam were hot to the touch and I didn't put the ladle into the jars either.
The only thing I can think of is that the jars were all recycled ones and had been kept under the stairs for the winter. I can only think that the glass had deteriorated.
I have just enough left to pot the jam I have left over, and have gone and ordered more jars from Lakeland this morning.
Lots of love
Lizzie
Lizzie
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Chantal
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Hi Lizzie
When I take jars from the oven I aways put them on a wooden board as I understand that putting them on a cold surface can cause a problem. The wood apparently absorbs the heat and reduces the shock. I leave them on the board whilst I fill them with jam and when they have cooled quite a bit I move them to another surface.
Good luck with the next batch.
When I take jars from the oven I aways put them on a wooden board as I understand that putting them on a cold surface can cause a problem. The wood apparently absorbs the heat and reduces the shock. I leave them on the board whilst I fill them with jam and when they have cooled quite a bit I move them to another surface.
Good luck with the next batch.
Chantal
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retropants
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Chantal wrote:Hi Lizzie
When I take jars from the oven I aways put them on a wooden board as I understand that putting them on a cold surface can cause a problem. The wood apparently absorbs the heat and reduces the shock. I leave them on the board whilst I fill them with jam and when they have cooled quite a bit I move them to another surface.
Good luck with the next batch.
that's exactly how I do it, and all my jars are recycled. I hope it never happens again for you.
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Primrose
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Lizzie - how gutting after all your efforts! I also recycle my jars - jam, pickle, coffee jars, (whatever) and reuse them year after year. In the past I've stored empty jars in a box in the loft which gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter and have never had a breakage so can't find any evidence why glass should deteriorate in this way, as we've even put glass jars of home-made pesto in the freezer. I wash my jars in warm soapy water, rinse clean and simply put them on a very low oven for 10 minutes to heat them through. Then I put them on a wooden board and pour the jam through a funnel while it is still warm but not too hot. Did you put the jars on a metal draining board by any chance - that may have caused the problem.
Can't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to gently reheat your jam and transfer it into the new jars. Just make sure it's well packed down so that you don't get any air bubbles.
Can't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to gently reheat your jam and transfer it into the new jars. Just make sure it's well packed down so that you don't get any air bubbles.
Last edited by Primrose on Sun Jul 20, 2008 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I also always use recycled jars and haven't ever had one crack. I wonder if you put your empty jars from the cold into a warm/hot oven, Lizzie? I put mine into the cold oven and then turn it on to very low (Gasmark 1) for about an hour or for however long it takes to make the jam.
Hello All
I put my jars straight from under the stairs and into the oven, then put the oven on. The temperature thingie on the oven is a bit knackered (i need a new cooker) so it could be that the temp was a little too high, it's hard to tell really.
I bought some jars from Lakeland. A box of 12 1lb jars is £4.99 and the lids are a pack of 12 for £1.89. I don't think that's too bad. I did try a firm that were cheaper but I couldn't contact their Customer Service line, so I ordered with Lakeland who were very helpful. The order was despatched in 3 days.
The only problem is that the lids were not in stock, so i'm having to freeze stuff that I want to preserve until the lids turn up. I have contacted Lakeland and they said it was a problem with the supplier. They'd had a batch that were not to Lakelands quality so were sent back, which I suppose is fair enough, although inconvenient for me
I put my jars straight from under the stairs and into the oven, then put the oven on. The temperature thingie on the oven is a bit knackered (i need a new cooker) so it could be that the temp was a little too high, it's hard to tell really.
I bought some jars from Lakeland. A box of 12 1lb jars is £4.99 and the lids are a pack of 12 for £1.89. I don't think that's too bad. I did try a firm that were cheaper but I couldn't contact their Customer Service line, so I ordered with Lakeland who were very helpful. The order was despatched in 3 days.
The only problem is that the lids were not in stock, so i'm having to freeze stuff that I want to preserve until the lids turn up. I have contacted Lakeland and they said it was a problem with the supplier. They'd had a batch that were not to Lakelands quality so were sent back, which I suppose is fair enough, although inconvenient for me
Lots of love
Lizzie
Lizzie
Glass will stand any high temperatures, it is sudden changes in temperature that will shatter it as it is a poor conductor of heat.
Glass which has had a sharp knock can shatter sometime later. The glass has been stressed but does not break until until it gets another shock. You can use this effect to cut glass - score it where you want the break then give it a sharp tap from below the score mark, hopefully it should give a clean break.
I sometimes sterilize jam jars by putting them through the dishwasher. They get very hot during the wash and at the end of the cycle they are warm (and dry and clean!) just ready for filling.
John
Glass which has had a sharp knock can shatter sometime later. The glass has been stressed but does not break until until it gets another shock. You can use this effect to cut glass - score it where you want the break then give it a sharp tap from below the score mark, hopefully it should give a clean break.
I sometimes sterilize jam jars by putting them through the dishwasher. They get very hot during the wash and at the end of the cycle they are warm (and dry and clean!) just ready for filling.
John
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
Ello Lizzie. I just came accross your post on jam jars. When I ran out of jars last year and needed them in a hurry, I went to Lidels and bought 10 jars of their 28p marmalade! The marmalade was dire so I didn't feel guilty chucking it away! The jars are brilliant and have no brand names on the lids to spoil the appearance. You can't go wrong for 28p 
Cheers, Elaine.
Cheers, Elaine.Happy with my lot