I have just found two jars of Black Doris plum jam from 2008, and the top of each jam is covered in mould. They were in a hall cupboard, not kept in a damp atmosphere, and I filled the jars with hot jam andscrew the lids on once the jam is cold. Can anyone tell me why they have gone mouldy, is it just age ?
cookessentials,
May 1, 12:56am
Some people say it is perfectly fine to remove the mould and eat the jam underneath, some do not reccomend it. I had that problem with a couple of my jars of apricot jam year before last. This year, I used the cellophane seals which you dip in water ( I used boiled water) and put onto the jars while hot. I also filled the jars as close to the top of the jar as practicable so there was not too much air space at the top. As the jars cool and the cellphane cover dries and tightens, it gives a good, tight seal and so far my jams and chutneys etc have been fine. The argument against removing the mould and eating is that some moulds have tentacles that can penetrate further down into the jam, however, I have removed small spots off the odd jars i had and at the jam and had no problems.
eastie3,
May 1, 1:16am
I have removed small spots of mould in the past and eaten the jam, I'm not squeamish about it :D
This was major mould and covered the top of the jam. I had a taste and it was tainted, to the point where I wouldn't even use it on Mr E's toast, and he will eat virtually anything.
I have had a lot of conflicting info as to cause. On googling, Food Lovers site had several responses, covering sterilising methods and reusing jars. I haven't used sealing wax and I didn't fill the jars to the top, nor have I used cellophane covers so will try those as well. Thanks for your help.
lilyfield,
May 1, 1:18am
if you are still worried after removing the mould, use the jam up in your baking.
daleaway,
May 1, 1:22am
Maybe the mould spores were in the air, or already on the jar lids.
When making jam, I cover the full jars with a sheet of waxed paper till it cools a bit. When jars are a bit cooler, I remove the paper and top the jam with a good layer of culinary wax. Never have any mould problems. Preserving wax is excellent stuff and I don't know why it is not more widely used.
cookessentials,
May 1, 1:23am
I think the fact that it had a "taste" would be indication enought that you should bin it.
eastie3,
May 1, 1:32am
Yes it was, I binned it. Is preserving, or culinary wax available in the supermarket ?
cookessentials,
May 1, 1:35am
You used to be able to get the preservig wax in a yellow box ( I still have a box) i cannot remember the name of it off the top of my head and I have had the preservig was discs here as well. I did find the cellophane circles (Waugh is the brand name) really good as they became lovely and tight once they dried, then I put the lid on over the top.
eastie3,
May 1, 1:39am
I have just found it online at Woolworths, it is National brand and very reasonably priced. Thank you so much.
cgvl,
May 1, 7:22am
I occasionally get mould on jams in my pantry and have put it down to the fact that that cupboard is on a north facing wall and during summer it gets hot and muggy in there, which increases the liklihood of mould. I have found moving all my preserves to another cupboard has stopped this problem. Also another thought is if you perchance used less sugar this can have an effect on the keeping properties of the said jam etc.
elliehen,
May 1, 7:27am
If you keep your paraffin wax in a metal teapot, it's easy to melt and pour when you need it.
biker_69,
May 1, 1:06pm
Sheesh... I just mix it in and eat the lot!
peter148,
Mar 22, 3:15pm
A bit of mould on top is okay, just scrape it off, but to prevent bacterial infection throughout the jam please ensure you use at least 50% sugar. The high concentration of sugar stops bacteria from growing. Cheap supermarket runny jams which use less sugar rely on preservatives to stop bacterial infection. If you preserve with all the windows closed, and sterilize your lids, then you should cut down on most mould. my Mother used to bake her jars dry in the oven for a long time to sterilize them, but nowadays the lazy way is just to soak them in boiling water.
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