How and how much jam can be stored, necessary rules and conditions

Summer and fall are the perfect time to preserve all kinds of nature's gifts. Homemade vegetables and fruits harvested from their garden are made into a variety of treats. Food lovers can feast on their favorite types of jams with the most incredible combinations of ingredients. How to store homemade jam without changing its taste - optimal conditions, useful tips.

How to properly prepare jam and containers for storage

Proper storage of jam at home is a guarantee of product quality while preserving all useful substances. How do you protect your creation from mold and deterioration? This question is asked by every housewife who values ​​her work.

Experienced specialists have developed basic tips for storing jam:

1. The most suitable container for jam should be a glass jar with a volume of 0.5-1 liters.
2. Before sewing, the container must be sterilized by steam or water.
3. It is strictly forbidden to fill a wet jar with jam. You should leave it upside down on a towel until it dries completely. You can also use the lowest temperature oven drying method.
4. Choosing the right cover deserves careful consideration. Defects are not allowed on it, the surface must be smooth. White caps are the most suitable for screwing due to less oxidation. You can also use twist-ups, they are easy to use, easy to sterilize and can be reused. But the ideal solution would be to purchase a set of vacuum caps that reliably protect the product from air penetration.
5. To protect the jam from mold, the level of sweetness of the ingredients must be taken into account. The lid is most likely to explode with lots of sugar. In such a situation, it is necessary to reduce the amount of added seasoning.
6. The consistency of the jam is also of great importance - the thicker it is, the longer the shelf life.

If short-term storage of jam is needed, about 2-3 months, plastic lids can be used. For greater reliability, seal the neck of the container tightly with several sheets of parchment.

Choose a place in the apartment

The most suitable conditions for storing jam are the lower shelves of the refrigerator. The product prepared according to the instructions can be stored under normal ambient conditions. A dark pantry with a temperature of 20 degrees is also a good option. A cellar is not the best option for storing sweet winter preparations. There is a high probability of freezing or damage - a glass jar breaks with sudden temperature changes.

Look at Also

How and how much can you store peeled walnuts at home

You can store ready-made jams on the balcony. This option is suitable for glazed loggias. If it is not insulated, does not have glasses, then in winter, during severe frosts, the product will flow out of the cracked jars.

How long can you keep

The optimal shelf life of homemade jam is 6-36 months. The storage time is influenced by various factors - packaging, type and quality of the product. The preparation method also affects the shelf life. Sugar is a natural preservative, in order for the sweet preparation to keep for a long time, it is necessary to mix the fruits with sugar in equal proportions. Bringing the mass to a boil increases the shelf life of the finished product several times.

Seedless blanks, welded and sealed according to the instructions, can be stored without problems for up to several years without changing their properties. But the shelf life of raspberry jam is 6-12 months. If the fruit has seeds, the shelf life of the jam is slightly reduced - up to only six months. This is because the kernel contains a dangerous poison that permeates the contents of the pot.

After 7-8 months, the accumulation significantly exceeds the norm that is safe for the human body. All sweet preparations, in which bones are present, fall into the risk zone. Five-minute jam without heat treatment, made from fresh berries and fruits, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. After opening the jar, pitted desserts can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month, with pits - no more than 14 days.

Storage in PVC utensils

Long-term storage of jam in plastic containers is inconvenient.In them it can last no more than 4-6 weeks, after which it should be poured into a glass container or simply eaten. Longer storage will lead to deterioration of the product, the appearance of mold. When stored in PVC containers, the product is quickly saturated with harmful carcinogens.

Plastic containers do not tolerate sunlight, hot temperatures, quickly crack and burst.

Flavored jam can be contained in food containers only if it is a special plastic - polyethylene. These containers are usually labeled PEND or HDPE. In plastic containers, a fruit and berry treat can exist for a short time, and the container itself should not be used for more than a year and then discarded.

Can I freeze in the freezer

Fruit or berry desserts are one of the most popular delicacies around the world. But in addition to the traditional version, there is also a more exotic type of product - frozen jam. Such a dessert will surprise all gourmets; you can enjoy it on a hot summer day instead of ice cream. It is a healing and appetizing sweetness, composed exclusively of natural products rich in vitamins. Jam can be stored for a long time without changing its taste.

How to freeze:

1. Wash and dry high-quality berries or fruits for future jam.
2. Sprinkle with sugar, for 2 parts berries 1 part sugar.
3. When the juice appears, knead with a mixer until mashed.
4. Put the mixture in a plastic bag and place it in the freezer.

Look at Also

How much and at what temperature can meat be stored in the freezer, shelf life

You need to freeze the seedless berry dessert.It can be consumed immediately after freezing by cutting it into pieces and adding it to tea, lemonade and other beverages.

Possible problems

Even an experienced housewife may have a situation where the canning has begun to ferment, the jar is cracked, or the lid is swollen.

Sugar

Candied jam indicates that too much sugar was added during cooking or simply overexposed to the heat.

It's not a problem, it can be rehabilitated. There are several options for this:

1. Move the container with smoothness into a deep container with water. After boiling, leave the mixture on low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Add 50 ml of hot water per 1 liter of finished jam product. Boil for 5 minutes.

Such sweets should be eaten as soon as possible, since their long-term storage is contraindicated.

Mold

Even if a small area is affected, you can be sure that the whole product is also infected. Most often you can observe a similar situation with jam, tomato paste, dairy products. Methods for dealing with an unpleasant substance are not complicated. Heat treatment, unfortunately, will not bring the desired result. The high temperature will not affect the toxins in any way, so there is no point in throwing contaminated food into the microwave. The best option would be to completely get rid of the spoiled product.

Fermentation

Unfortunately, even experienced housewives have trouble with home canning. And it seems that the necessary norms and instructions were followed, but the lid is swollen or a strange smell is emanating from the finished product. It is easy to fix the situation. To begin with, using a colander, you need to strain the contents of the jar, separating the juice from the berry mass.After that, add 200 g of sugar per 1 liter of liquid, boil.

When the syrup holds its shape, put the berries in a bowl, simmer on the stove for 20 minutes.

Storage characteristics of certain types

How to protect the dessert from spoilage in the winter, protect it from negative influences? A moment that excites every hostess.

Cherry with seeds

The shelf life of jam depends on one important factor - the place. The correct location of the finished product is a refrigerator with a temperature of + 10 ° C.

To increase the shelf life of pitted cherry jam, you need:

1. Open the jars of last year's dessert.
2. Pour the syrup into a separate container.
3. Remove the seeds from the berries.
4. Mix fruit and liquid, bring to a boil over low heat, boil for a few minutes.

A low temperature will not do the berry dessert good, and can also damage the jar. Cellar conditions are only suitable if the temperature is maintained at +10°C.

Look at Also

How best to store peaches at home, principles and rules

Apricot

Proper storage of apricot jam involves the following conditions. The most preferred place is a basement, cellar or refrigerator. If there are no suitable options, you can make a fruit dessert by mixing berries and sugar in equal proportions. In this case, you need to put a little juice and the zest of one lemon.

If the jam is spoiled, the moldy product should be immediately removed in order to avoid poisoning.

pine cones

The healing pinecone dessert should be stored only in the right container - glass jars, sterilized and completely dry. The best place is the refrigerator. You can use a dark, cool room without direct sunlight.The acceptable temperature for cone jam is 0-20 degrees and humidity up to 70%.

Cassis

Currant delicacy for 1-2 years can be stored at a temperature of + 6-12 degrees. Under ambient conditions, the shelf life is 1-3 years. The pantry will allow you to store jam at a temperature not higher than +20 degrees. It is not recommended to keep the product in the cellar.

With gelatin

The addition of gelatin for accelerated hardening allows the jam to retain its shape and gelatinous consistency perfectly even at room temperature. Therefore, it is not necessary to refrigerate. A cool place is suitable for storing berry specialties - a cellar or basement.

Jars with a sweet mass prepared in this way will not explode.

What packaging is still possible

Storage of jam in a bottle is allowed, but for a short time. You can pour jam only into cold plastic bottles.

For this, you can use PET (lemonade-based) bottles. This option is the last. It is quite likely that at the slightest fermentation, the released alcohol will react with the harmful substances in the plastic.

In such a container, sweetness can only be transported. Retaining the taste of jam is possible only by using glass jars.

Tips & Tricks

To avoid problems with mild winter preparations, you need to carefully approach the process of choosing ingredients, preparing and storing the finished product.

Simple recommendations should be followed:

• do not place finished products near heating systems;
• an increased level of humidity is also undesirable - this will lead to the appearance of mold;
• avoid sudden changes that can damage the container;
• suitable conditions for wintering are ventilated cabinets or a pantry;
• the balcony and the basement are not suitable for storing jam; when frozen, sweet preparations lose their taste and nutritional properties;
• do not let direct sunlight hit the cans;
• maintain the temperature in the place where the jam is stored in the range of + 5-15 degrees.

Everyone independently decides on the correct storage of the prepared jam. However, if you take into account the above rules, the jam will remain tasty and healthy for a long time.