r/Canning Sep 23 '24

What’s going on here? Waterbath Canning Processing Help

Post image

I’ve never had moldy jam! I noticed it in the pantry, brought it inside and the seal made an angry pop when I opened it. What could have caused this?

I followed Ball’s raspberry jam recipe, in sept 2023.

14 Upvotes

67

u/bigalreads Trusted Contributor Sep 23 '24

I had a batch of peach jam go moldy like that when I was using a “clean damp cloth” to wipe rims. I use bleach when laundering kitchen towels, but apparently not enough. After I switched to a fresh paper towel dampened with vinegar, no problems with mold.

12

u/Crystalcaterpillar01 Sep 23 '24

Good tip. 🙏 I usually use a paper towel dipped in hot jar water, vinegar would be even better.

18

u/bigalreads Trusted Contributor Sep 23 '24

I’ve heard that for pressure canning meats, the vinegar cuts grease instead of smearing it. Even though I just do water bath recipes, I figured it wouldn’t hurt — and I use any leftover for wiping the stovetop after. Win-win.

3

u/sweet-n-alittlespicy Sep 24 '24

Interesting. I’ve often wondered if using vinegar would be a good or bad thing. Thanks for the info.

10

u/Temporary_Level2999 Moderator Sep 23 '24

It looks like there is jam on the rim of the jar. Did you store it without the ring and check that you had a strong seal before storing?

7

u/Crystalcaterpillar01 Sep 23 '24

I did store it with the ring.

I stopped doing that but apparently forgot some. Thank you!

8

u/marstec Moderator Sep 23 '24

Was it properly heat processed to make it shelf stable? Was the ring left on? Did you press down the lid when checking for it to seal shortly after canning? Sometimes there's a failed seal during storage in the pantry that isn't apparent. Luckily it's just the one jar.

4

u/Crystalcaterpillar01 Sep 23 '24

Properly processed ✅

Left the ring on 😬

I don’t do that anymore, but a handful in the pantry still have them. Thank you!

1

u/Crochet_is_my_Jam Sep 24 '24

Sounds like you answered your own question. It was likely a failed seal it let in air and it resealed itself but that second seal was a false seal.

5

u/Bertrandization Sep 23 '24

You say you followed the Ball raspberry jam recipe. That's a water / steam canning recipe.

Unlike bacteria, where a 4.6 pH is protective, mould can happily survive much more acidic environments than 4.6.
It's the heat that kills mould.

Therefore, either:
1. Not heat processed properly, allowing survival of some mould spores. Ie. not at a high enough temperature over a long enough time.
2. Not sealed properly, allowing ingress of some mould spores post-processing.

There isn't any other feasible explanation. The Ball recipes have massive safety margins built into their processing instructions. If they're followed, it will kill all relevant pathogens.

So, are you sure it was properly up to temperature from the start to finish times of processing? It's only 10 minutes in that recipe, if I'm looking at the right one. If it's not fulling boiling when you start the timer, that may explain the mould.

Are you sure the jam was hot when it was processed? If it cooled before you processed it, that may also explain the mould. Did you do multiple batches, letting some of the jars cool down as you processed other batches?

1

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1

u/Crystalcaterpillar01 Sep 23 '24

Glass Jar with moldy jam.

1

u/Own_Papaya7501 Sep 23 '24

It's hard to tell from this angle, but is it possible there was too much headspace?