Kitchen Garden Forum

Can somebody advise me please.

Would it be ok to sterilise jars for jams and pickles by dunking them into a solution of Miltons? The stuff that's used for sterilising baby's bottles?

What do others think please?

Hi Lizzie,
I sterilize by wine making stuff with milton, but my jam jars, I run them through the dishwasher, then just prior to filling, put them in the oven for 30 minutes at about 120 C. With the milton on the wine equipment, I rinse it off with freshly boiled, cooled water.
Hope this is useful,
Emma.

Lizzie

My wife always washes them in hot water, then, as Emma says, puts them in the oven for half an hour. No need for anything else.

Alan

Maybe it depends what you're putting in the jars Lizzie?

The finishing off in the oven approach described above always seem to tie in well with making jam & marmalade.

I'd have thought that if you're adding something that isn't already hot, it might be fine to use the sterilizer you and Emma suggest. For example, we make Morrocan preserved lemons from time to time and all the ingredients are all cold - it would be a pain to wait for jars to cool from oven temperature.

That was my thought too, Colin. I usually do the oven method for my jars. I also end up burning myself cos my grip isn't always what it should be. That's why I thought about using the Miltons.....

As you say, depends if something hot or cold is going into the jars.

Maybe someone else will have another view too

Well, I wash them in a Milton solution, risnse in clean water, then bake them in the oven.

No help really, am I Lizzie?

Hi Tigger,
I suppose once a Nurse always a Nurse!
JB.