I am new to canning and just found this sub (which rightfully has me worried enough to seek out information from the right sources in my future canning processes).
The question is: Do I need to reprocess these jars of peach X ghost pepper jam? I processed these 4 oz. jars in a water bath. I started my time when an agressive boil was reached. I boiled for 6 minutes, removed from heat, and let the jars sit in the water for another 10 minutes. I am at an elevation just under 4k feet above sea level and the jam has set up, undisturbed, overnight. All lids have pinged. At 12 hours (10 minutes ago), I removed all rings and the jars have all sealed properly.
The assumed answer in my head is “yes, I do need to reprocess”, as I see the recommended processing time on the NCHFP website is 10 minutes in boiling water at my altitude. But I am not 100% sure about how to do it properly.
I realize I will need to use new lids, but
do I need to pour all jam into a pot and bring the jam itself back to a boil while I warm the clean jars? Or can I remove all existing lids, replace with new lids, put rings on (fingertip tight), place in my canning pot with room temp water, and bring to a boil, processing for the correct duration in a water bath?
I am having a hard time finding this specific information, as most info I find on trusted websites refers to resetting runny jams. My jam is the ideal consistency, so emptying jam into a pot and bringing up to a boil seems unnecessary. Is this wrong? Does the jam need to be hot, the jars hot, and place into hot water that I bring up to a boil?
If the recipe is needed for any reason, this is what I used:
3.5 – lbs. Peeled and pitted peaches
2.6 – oz. Stemmed and seeded ghost peppers
2 – tsp. Vanilla extract
2 – cups Sugar
2.5 tbsp. Bottled lemon juice
Boiled jam for 15 min. on high. Poured hot jam into jars that had been boiled and inside wiped clean with paper towels (it seems my hard water precipitates calcium and deposits this onto all surfaces in my canning pot), while jars were still hot. Boiled jam in jars for 6 min., let stand for 10 minutes in hot water. Removed from water, quickly tipping pooled water from lids on jars, let stand for 12 hours before removing rings.
by badgerxavenger
3 Comments
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A couple of things.
> 3.5 – lbs. Peeled and pitted peaches 2.6 – oz. Stemmed and seeded ghost peppers 2 – tsp. Vanilla extract 2 – cups Sugar 2.5 tbsp. Bottled lemon juice
Where did you get this recipe? Because you added low-acid ingredients, you need to make sure that there is still enough overall acid to prevent the growth of botulism bacteria.
> Boiled jam in jars for 6 min., let stand for 10 minutes in hot water.
Processing for six minutes is way too short at 4000 feet elevation, even with pre-sterilisation. If you had sterilised, you would have needed to process for ten minutes. Otherwise, you do it for fifteen. The rule for reprocessing only applies for food that was correctly processed to begin with. You would also have to heat everything back up, which is detrimental to jam set.
> Poured hot jam into jars that had been boiled and inside wiped clean with paper towels (it seems my hard water precipitates calcium and deposits this onto all surfaces in my canning pot)
There’s no point in boiling jars and then wiping them with a towel, since that could re-introduce microbes onto the glass. If mineral deposits are a problem, just put a splash of vinegar into the canning water. Otherwise, no need to bother with pre-boiling if you process for the full fifteen minutes. You can otherwise heat up the jars in simmering water.
> Removed from water, quickly tipping pooled water from lids on jars, let stand for 12 hours before removing rings.
It’s better practise to lift jars straight up from the pot. Don’t tip them over because product can get under the lid and prevent a seal. The pool of water will evaporate by itself.
Your peppers look amazing