Relishments

Savoring life in the Berkshires

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Mixed Results

Published on July 31, 2013 By Emily. Updated on July 31, 2013

Yesterday morning Brian and I made blueberry jam with the berries we picked late last week.  I wasn’t going to write about it because I expected the process to look just like last year’s post, except in our new house.

But life doesn’t often go according to plan, does it?  For the first time in my canning experience, I had jars that didn’t seal.

So I did what any 21st century food blogger would do; I went to Twitter.  All my thanks to Julie and Marisa for quickly replying to my concerns about how long to wait before checking to see if the jars sealed. 

How long should I wait before checking to see if my canning jars are sealed? I’m concerned about some. @savvyjulie @foodinjars

— Emily P. (@relishments) July 30, 2013

@relishments @savvyjulie just until they’re cool enough to handle.

— Food in Jars (@foodinjars) July 30, 2013

@relishments I usually check after an hour or two, just by pressing on the middle of the lid. If it flexes, it didn’t seal!

— Julie Grice (@savvyjulie) July 30, 2013

Out of the 7 jars I processed, there were 3 that didn’t seal.  Unfortunately I can’t remember if those jars were the ones with the old lids from storage or the new lids from the supermarket.  Though that may have had nothing to do with it anyway.

blueberry jam

I hemmed and hawed for a little bit about what to do with the unsealed jars.  Reprocessing was an option, but I didn’t want to go through reheating the jam, rewashing and sterilizing the jars and reprocessing.  Also, there was some indication from the internet that the texture of the jam might change if I reheated the pectin.  Ultimately I decided to put the jars in the fridge, for the moment, and I will transfer them to another container today to be frozen.  I’ve never frozen jam before but as Brian and I will be the only ones eating it, if the texture doesn’t quite hold up that should be fine.  I wasn’t planning to giveaway too many jars this year, so the four that did seal should suit our purposes in that realm.

Besides the jars not sealing, canning in the new kitchen went really smoothly.  You may recall that I was worried about the lack of counter space adjacent to the stove, as a full half of our apartment’s counters were on either side of the stove and I did most of my canning work there.  But there was just enough room to fill the jars and it wasn’t a problem to carry them to another area of counter to cool.  I’m not even sure what I was worried about.

Related Posts

Canning Kick Off 2011
Lessons From a Galette
Highlights: Preserving
More Adventures in Canning
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Filed Under: food Tagged With: canning, mistakes

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Comments

  1. lisa fine says

    August 3, 2013 at 2:44 pm

    I remember a batch of strawberry jam I once made, and many of the jars didn’t seal. I ended up eating a lot of it and giving it away, telling people to eat it within a few weeks.

    I’ve made freezer jam too, and it’s really good and easy! I usually just let a jar at a time defrost in the fridge or on the counter, and eat it within 2-3 weeks.

    • Emily says

      August 6, 2013 at 6:39 am

      So nice to know that I’m not alone! Thanks for the tips.

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UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @aloh UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @alohr3!

 @thelazygenius' second book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen, is finally here and I'm so excited! I don't purchase many books, but I pre-ordered this last July because I knew it would be right up my alley and then I pre-ordered a second copy because I knew that I'd want to give one away.

Author Kendra Adachi has been one of my favorite voices in recent years. Her principles (shared through her first book, The Lazy Genius Podcast and her Instagram) have helped me focus my priorities and give myself more grace. 

This book is NOT a cookbook (it has just 2 recipes), it is a kitchen guide - to help you "have what you need, use what you have, and enjoy it like never before". It is beautiful (full color!) and thoughtful.

I'm very excited to send this book to one of you.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below with one of your greatest kitchen struggles. 
I'll draw a winner at 8 pm on Friday, May 6.
This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or The Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi.
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#LazyGenius #KendraAdachi #NameWhatMatters #TheLazyGeniusKitchen #TheLazyGeniusWay #BookGiveaway
This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berk This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berkshire Teacher and Social Worker Appreciation Day free admission. After enjoying the student Art Invitational exhibit, the 4 of us took in several of the other galleries. Mass MoCA always impresses and it was delightful to be able to be out in the world with my kids.
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Today I finally found my way into @plantconnector, Today I finally found my way into @plantconnector, in its new location on Main Street in North Adams. The shop is incredible - the displays are great and the plants are delightful. There's a refill station with bottles and jars for soaps, detergents and other products, a terrarium bar, and an abundance of sustainable and beautiful products. I'm now in the process of pondering who I can purchase Plant Connector gifts for in the coming months.
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My January and early February menu plans for my @m My January and early February menu plans for my @mightyfoodfarm vegetables are finally up on the blog. See how we're making use of these beautiful items, as well as the items from the other pick up we made in the past month. 
Link in profile.
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One of my favorite things to do is bake from scrat One of my favorite things to do is bake from scratch.
But, in the interest of full transparency, this pie was made with Pillsbury pie crusts and a $5 bag of Walmart Granny Smiths. I used the recipe on the pie crust box.
I am very excited to eat it.
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I can't remember the last time I baked bread, some I can't remember the last time I baked bread, something that was part of my routine for a long time. Today school was cancelled due to the extremely cold temperatures outside and I took the opportunity to make 8 loaves - most of which will be put into the freezer until they're needed. Baking more bread was part of my 2022 theme of "resume" and I'm so happy to be back to it.
Recipe, as usual, from @breadin5
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New on the blog: my first posted CSA menu plan sin New on the blog: my first posted CSA menu plan since September! I didn't intend to take so much time off, but I'm looking forward to the meals I've planned over the next 2 weeks using @mightyfoodfarm produce.
Follow the link in my profile to see the post.
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My blog post with my 2022 theme word is now publis My blog post with my 2022 theme word is now published! Click the link in my profile to read more.
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