I use The Preserving book Its useful as it covers many areas of preserving,not just jam and chutney making, but also find my W.I (Womens's Institue) book of jam and chutney making good too.
"Today is the tomorrow that you worrried about yesterday" - unknown
"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast" - Red Dwarf
(Area 3)
I make jams, Marmalades, pickles and chutneys. They don't tend to last long (eaten!) but I do have a couple of jars of chutney from 2011 which are fine and some 2010 blackcurrant jam which is also fab.
My ol' Ma has jars of home made chutney from 1998! They're fine too!
As long as the jars are clean and sealed properly, and they're stored cool and dark they'll keep for ages - the worst that can happen is a bit of mould as the acid prevents bacterial growth.
(I also have the WI preserves book, it's a good un!
I have just opened a three year old jar of home made chutney, had in a cheese buttie for lunch and it was yum. With jams and chutneys I go with the look and smell. If it doesn't smell alcoholic, 'off' have a fur coat, doesn't have bubbles or has changed colour condierably then it's good enough for me. Pickles are a different matter. I never keep them longer than a few months.
Oh and my bible is the MAFF Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables. It's out of print now, but still a great book.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain~anon
The mother in law makes , strawberry jam , blackcurrant jelly and orange marmalade, there are jars in her pantry going back to 2009 , which taste as good as if it was made last autumn .
Be Prepared.
Plan like its the last loaf on the shop shelves.
Plan like its the last beer in the fridge.
Brambles wrote:I have just opened a three year old jar of home made chutney, had in a cheese buttie for lunch and it was yum. With jams and chutneys I go with the look and smell. If it doesn't smell alcoholic, 'off' have a fur coat, doesn't have bubbles or has changed colour condierably then it's good enough for me. Pickles are a different matter. I never keep them longer than a few months.
Oh and my bible is the MAFF Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables. It's out of print now, but still a great book.
Just picked up a used copy of the MAFF book from eBay for 99p plus a couple of quid p+p.....gotta be worth at least a look for that price!
Can anyone point me in the direction of some jars/bottles? I use old jam jars at the min for the stuff that we use day to day but would like to get some reliable 'long term' jars.
thetiggys wrote:Can anyone point me in the direction of some jars/bottles? I use old jam jars at the min for the stuff that we use day to day but would like to get some reliable 'long term' jars.
