When
I forget to add the butter (about 50% of the time), I just wait till I remove
the jam from the heat, let it sit for a minute or two and then skim the foam off
with a ladle.
ust
pop it into a microwave for 30 to 60 seconds or so on high. Be sure to
watch it the entire time, or it may boil over. You want to get it hot
again and to boil up a bit. 
- Everything you need to get started with waterbath canning (fruits,pickles, jams, jellies, salsa, sauces and tomatoes)
- 21-1/2 qt. enamel water bath canner
- Funnel, jar lifter, lid lifter, bubble freer spatula
- Ball Blue Book
PickYourOwn.org
|
| |||||||||
|
|
What To Do About the Foam on Your Jam! Your
are happily making jam, following the direction in a book or box of pectin...
until it says "skim the foam, or add 1 teaspoon of butter to prevent foaming".
Foam? Foaming? What is it? Does your jam have rabies?Nope, the foam is just the result of bubbles from the boiling jam coming up through the viscous jam. Just like a child blowing bubbles, the boiling jam produces bubbles. Why remove it?Well, it just doesn't taste very good. It doesn't taste bad, but it is not the consistency most people like in jam. It certainly won't hurt you, though. It might somewhat shorten the storage life of the jam. According to Janet Hackert, Nutrition Specialist, Northwest Region at the University of Missouri Extension: Foam contains a lot of air. In canning, the jars are not filled to the top of the jar. This gap between the lid and the food is called head space and it gives the canned food room to “breathe.” The food can expand during processing and form a vacuum as the jar cools. Foam in a jar of jam increases the head space. According to the Food Safety Information Service, this is not a problem if the jam is stored in a cool place and is eaten relatively soon. The extra head space does increase the chance of the jam molding after prolonged storage though. What can I do about the foamBesides making a B-grade horror movies with it, You can either prevent it or remove it. Prevent it1 teaspoon of butter, margarine or vegetable oil, added before you heat the mixture will almost eliminate it. On the downside, some food scientists worry that the small amount of butter could cause the batch to spoil sooner. I suspect this particular group of scientists probably still live at home... Remove it
I save the foam in a microwavable container. See below for why!
What can I do with the foam?
When I am done making jam for the day, I usually have about 1 cup of congealed foam. Looks a lot like a healthy lung. That's not very appealing to most people, so.... J
Once you remove it and it cools, it will look, act and taste like regular jam again! Rather than attempting to put this back into a batch for canning, this is the jam I stick in the fridge to use fresh!
Blake's Easy and Illustrated Jam and Ice Cream DirectionsI've got some other pages for specific types of jam, too: Jams and jellies:
Ice Cream, Gelato and Sorbets with your own fruit
Can't find the equipment? We ship to all 50 states!Use our Feedback form!
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Remember to ALWAYS call the farm or orchard BEFORE you go - weather, heavy picking and business conditions can always affect their hours and crops! PYO Farms in Other Countries: [ Australia ] [ Canada ] [ South Africa ] [ New Zealand ] [ United Kingdom ] Our other free, informative sites you may like:
EHSO.com - Environmental health and safety information and guidance for the
home Care to Donate to help me keep the website going? Donate to me at Benevia here: Use the
feedback form for questions, comments and
feedback about farms - Use this
form suggest a farm to add to the website?
|
