Jars For Canning

[cecil39]

I have been given a nice recipe for ginger and lemon marmalade, but told that it don't keep very long and would be better to 'can' it in a water bath, I have not done this before, can I use the sort of jars that I use for jam? the ones with a dimple that pops up when the jar is opened or won't they be strong enough,do I need killner jars?

[Elina]

Cecil, looks like they have used just ordinary jars/ lids in this video x ..

[Elina]

Oh, watching further .. now I'm not so sure. May be they're specialised. Someone will come on I hope to confirm that x

[Elina]

Jam recipe sounds delish by the way! I used to have a set of Kilner jars ... I bought them on the car boot years ago. I used to make jam with my children ;0)

[Elina]

.. Didn't make jam out of my children! :0? .. ha ha x

[cecil39]

thanks elina, I am glad to hear it, kiddie jam don't sound so tasty, yes the plum jam sounds lovely, but why is she canning it? surely plum jam keeps for years without that process, I think it is maybe the ginger that affects the keeping qualities of my marmalade recipe as other marmalade recipes keep ok without canning.

[Elina]

Well Cecil, not a definitive answer for you. I hope someone more knowledgeable will come along x

[woofgang]

What normally affects the keeping quality of jam/marmalade is the amount of sugar in it. preserved ginger in syrup keeps for years even after the jar is open so I don't think it can be the ginger.

[cecil39]

thanks for your answers, I think I will have to look up other ginger jam recipes, maybe I might get a clue, I remember my mother used to make rhubarb and ginger jam but I never concerned myself with its keeping qualities, I just ate it.

[losgigs]

I have made orange and ginger marmalade successfully with normal jam jars and the usual jam-making method - no water bath involved! As woofgang says, the sugar in the syrup will he;p with preserving. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[LyndaB]

I wouldn't need to worry about how long a lemon and ginger marmalade would last in this house. It would have been wolfed long before it went off I'm sure

[Retrochic]

'canning' is a North American word for sealing the jars. You can use ordinary jars with lids (even recycled ones as long as they have no holes in). It just takes the air out and makes the jam keep longer -the old fashioned UK way was/is to put grease proof paper disks on top of the jam then lid while the jam is hot -I've found the canning method works better.