You don’t need any special equipment to make jams, sauces, relishes, chutneys, fruits in syrup, conserves, cordials, jellies and pastes, just some preserving jars and lids. Jam can be made in an hour, and chutney or a batch of sauce will take about four hours. There are several methods for processing food at home to preserve it.
Preparing the jars and bottles
Sterilise the jars you intend to use by placing them in an oven heated to 120° for at least 15 minutes before they will be used, keep them hot, in the oven till required.
Pickling spice
Pickling spice is a combination of whole spices including allspice, cloves, peppercorns, dried chilli and a few other bits and bobs. You can purchase pickling spice from the spice section of the supermarket.
Use the tongs to position your hot seal or lid in place and screw it on. As the contents of the jar cools a vacuum will form and the seal will become slightly concave. Wash the jars well when cool and store away from direct sunlight. Any jars that do not seal should be used immediately or resealed.
How to fill the jars
Place a heatproof pan on your workbench to catch the overflow. Use tongs to carefully remove a hot sterilised jar from the oven. Ensure the sauce/preserve/syrup is piping hot (leave on the stove) and spoon a small amount into the jar, wait a few seconds for the glass to adjust to the temperature of your mixture and then pack the jar quickly, filling to the level described in the recipe. Slide a long bladed knife down the sides of the jar to release all air bubbles.
Trouble shooting
If your seal does not form a vacuum when cool, the filling was not hot enough. Remove seal and reheat in boiling water, reheat the filling and reseal.
To prepare lids or seals
Prepare brand new preserving seals by pouring boiling water over them until they become flexible. If reusing jam jar lids or preserving seals, boil them thoroughly – leave all lids, seals and screw bands in a pan of simmering water until required, this ensures they are sterile and hot enough to form a vacuum. Discard any lids or seals that have rust spots or damaged linings
How to use the ‘open kettle’ or ‘hot fill’ method
The ingredients are cooked in a saucepan and, while very hot, bottled into hot sterilised jars and sealed with hot sterile lids. The lids contract as they cool to form a seal. Whether a food can be safely preserved using this method, or whether it must be processed in a pressure canner or water bath depends on the acidity of the food itself.
The term ‘pH’ is a measure of acidity; foods with a pH less than 4.6 are deemed acidic foods and may be safely packed at temperatures around 100°C (the boiling point of water) and pressure equipment is not required. This includes most fruits and ‘added acid’ foods such as pickles and vinegar-based sauces, as they are sufficiently acidic to prevent botulism. The acidity level in foods can be further increased by adding lemon juice, citric acid, or vinegar. The pH must be lower than 4.6 to prevent botulism. Foods with a pH value greater than 4.6 are low acid and require pressure-cooking to make them shelf stable. They include red meats, seafood, poultry, milk, and all fresh vegetables, including many varieties of tomatoes, which may come as a surprise to some.
