How to close the jam for the winter. Sterilization of jars and the correct seaming of jam

The season for preserving fruits (vegetables and fruits) begins by mid-summer and ends, as always, in autumn. And we can enjoy the results of it all winter and even the next few years. But you should always remember that a low-quality lid / container / twisting technology can cause swelling and, as a result, irreversible spoilage of the product.

Causes of swelling / explosion of canned food:

Without going into details, in fact, problems arise either due to dirt that has got inside the container, or excess air. But if we analyze this issue a little more in detail, then the following factors are obtained, and they can lead to damage both individually and in combination:

poorly washed or poorly sterilized vessels;
low-quality lids that do not fit well to the neck and allow air to pass through;
dirty covers;
poorly processed product - undercooked berries, little sugar and other cooking errors.

Proper sterilization helps to avoid food spoilage, so do not forget to wash each container with a washcloth with detergent, and then “boil” in boiling water for at least 2 minutes (you can steam or sterilize in the microwave).

But most often, all the same, difficulties arise due to covers, so their choice must be approached very carefully. Now in almost any hardware store (and not only) you can find several types at once - tin (the most familiar, but requiring special skills and even special equipment when using), metal screw, plastic. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages. Gradually, screw models are gaining popularity due to reusable use - see in more detail the characteristics and, if you wish, buy Twist Off lids in the Dnieper http://istr.com.ua/products/dlja-konservirovanija/kryshki-tvist-off/.

Is it possible to roll jam with iron lids?

Yes, tin is great for this (because tin is cold rolled steel). A versatile and inexpensive lid allows you to twist whatever you want, whether it be salty or sweet canned food. But there are nuances: some are covered with a special varnish, others are sold without it. It should be taken into account that products made of unvarnished white tin should not be covered with acidic products, because they will oxidize tin, which gives an unpleasant "metallic" taste and dark color. Therefore, always choose yellow models so that during the preservation process you do not puzzle over which lid to use.

Better choice - varnished. Although they are more expensive, the risk of spoiling something is much lower. You can always check the quality of the varnish - it is not washed off with acetone and will even withstand scratching with a fingernail. The shelf life of this product is 3 years.

Screw models, or Twist Off, also belong to the category of iron covers, although such products look somewhat different, and there is clearly more metal in them - the difference in thickness can be seen even with the naked eye. They are also suitable for preserving jam, but the technology of use is different. They stand out from the background of "competitors" in that the expiration date is not limited to the state of the gum + there is no need for a seaming key. In terms of price attractiveness, the tin lid wins, but the difference is quite small, and, in principle, it does not hit the pocket. You can roll them up with anything. There is only one drawback - you need to choose cans ONLY with a suitable thread, but then you can use the product TWICE if the thread remains intact. It should be noted that you need to purchase goods that are varnished from the inside.

Is it possible to close the jam with plastic lids?

Yes, but it is worth remembering that they are prone to damage, they can give an unpleasant "plastic" smell due to the poor quality of the material. But the advantage of these products lies in the lower price and the ability to reuse, although this cannot be a good excuse.

THERMAL COVER - contrary to popular belief, it can be used not only AFTER depressurization. The technology is extremely simple and even primitive: I threw it into hot water for 15 seconds and then pulled it over a jar - you're done! It is with such that it is better to close JAM and COMPOTE. Also, after cooling, a small depression should appear in the center of the lid - this is an indicator of the vacuum inside the container.

The VACUUM model is a modern miracle. The price, of course, bites like a service shepherd, but it's worth it, since the service life is up to 200 times! You will also need a pump, which is also not very expensive compared to a regular wrench. However, the ease of use justifies everything! Before use - boil, and can be installed on ANY type of jar.

Is it possible to roll up kapron caps?

They are cheap and everyone has them, but they do not guarantee a sufficient degree of sterility and sealing, they are more used for “temporary” covering products, for a very short period of time from 1 day to 1 month.

HOW TO CHOOSE A ROLLING KEY?

There is no great assortment and variety, but still no one wants to make a mistake.

The snail key is a whole complex mechanism that consists of grooves and a spring along which the key probe moves towards the larger can clamp. And as a result, you can achieve the most uniform compression on all sides. For removal, the process is the reverse of the spin procedure, that is, unwind. Takes more time.

SEMI-AUTOMATIC key for rolling - very simple. It is only necessary to press the lid well to the neck and scroll a few times (5-11) until it clicks - this is an indicator of readiness.

There is also a special MACHINE for rolling up, its feature is 2 rollers at the base, which helps to perform the work more reliably.

AUTOMATIC key for rolling - does not require special skills and attention. There is nowhere easier: we put it on the lid and press the levers. Sits very tight, thanks to the springs. Absolutely anyone can cope with these, even those who try it for the first time on their own.

The main thing is good quality material and assembly each key, durable construction will last you much longer than a Chinese fake made of thin plastic. It will not be superfluous to evaluate your own strengths, because when there are a lot of products, and time is limited, your hands will simply get very tired of turning the mechanical key endlessly, especially if it is very tight.

Much also depends on cooking method what will be inside the bank. Jam should be cooked only according to proven recipes, since there are simply an infinite number of them, there are even delicacies from vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, eggplant, zucchini.

The choice is always yours - salt / sugar or even close without anything in your own juice.

Work in autumn and summer always pays off with delicious canned food on the table, which we love so much and regret when stocks run out ... So we always think ahead, do it in reserve, and enjoy the process, so that later we can listen to flattering reviews addressed to us about what good housewives (hosts) you are.

In the yard it's time for berries, a lot of strawberries, raspberries begin to sing. When a good harvest and everything does not work out from the bush, the question arises of how to preserve this abundance and make preparations.

With berries, the most common option is to cook all sorts of goodies with sugar: jam, preserves, sweets and other goodies.

The main features of cooking

Sweet preparations from berries are divided into those that are boiled with sugar and those that are ground with sugar. Sugar is put in a ratio of one to one in the jam, which is boiled and two to one for the variant with fresh berries. Jam that does not require boiling is richer in vitamins, especially vitamin C, which is destroyed during heat treatment.

In addition, if the boiling technology is chosen, it is necessary to decide how to cook in your own juice or in syrup. The choice depends on the berries and fruits from which the delicacy is prepared. If dry berries or fruits are chosen (chokeberry, dogwood, walnut of milk ripeness, etc.), then syrup is indispensable.

What is the difference between jam, jam and marmalade

In jam, it is easy to guess from what it is cooked, berries and fruits retain their shape. Jam is boiled down so much that there are no whole berries, jam is a homogeneous jelly-like mass. But sweets, this is something between jam and jam, the consistency is jelly-like, but whole berries come across. Jam is a fruit or berry puree boiled with sugar.

There remains the last moment and the essence of our question, in what form to pour into banks. In jars, any of these dishes is poured hot. At least for a reason:

hot is easier to work with, as soon as the sweet delicacy cools down, it will become much thicker and it will be very difficult to place it in a jar, in the case of jam it is almost impossible;
hot jam, jam, etc. sterile, which will help to avoid trouble during storage, otherwise there is a possibility that the sweetness may ferment.

All these sweet goodies will be a good duet for the following dishes.

The age of technological progress leaves its mark on society. More and more housewives are looking for optimized bypass items, whether they are slow cookers, electric kettles or blenders. These products include screw caps, which greatly simplify life. Of course, seamers are not a thing of the past; many people use them to close pickles to this day. However, more modern housewives prefer not to bother. Let's consider the important aspects in order.

How screw caps work

To date, screw caps are widely used in America and Europe. Products of this kind are called "Twist-Off", their principle of operation is quite transparent.

The inside of the lid has a polymer slippery coating that serves as a gasket. As a result of exposure to high temperatures, this element swells, significantly increasing in thickness. Such a move allows you to press the lid to the neck of the jar as tightly as possible, preventing air from entering and, as a result, damage to the final product.

Thanks to their strong sealing properties, screw caps are suitable for preserving jams, pickles, preserves, etc. When the temperature drops, the gasket shrinks, which is accompanied by a click. The lid sags deep into the can, such a move creates a vacuum effect. Before rolling pickles using such lids, they must be well heated.

Sealing technology for jars with screw caps

Any hostess wants to get a correct answer to the question: “How to close jars with Twist-Off lids?”. In this case, the process does not present great difficulties. However, like any other business, it includes certain features that must be considered. The twist won't take long.

First of all, inspect each cover for the presence, or rather the absence of all kinds of defects. The surface of the lid should not have rust “bugs”, strong dents (if possible, completely exclude such instances), small and large scratches.
After you have inspected the lids, they need to be sterilized. The procedure is carried out through thermal treatment. Pour running water into an enameled pan, and preferably filtered water, put on the stove, bring to a boil. When the first bubbles appear, send the lids to the container, reduce the heat to the middle mark, cook household items for a quarter of an hour.
After the specified period, spread a cotton towel on a flat surface, remove the covers with kitchen tweezers, leave to dry completely. Sterilization should be carried out immediately before conservation.
After cleaning the covers, proceed to spinning. Pour the desired contents into jars, place the lid on top of the neck, screw on the thread. To check the tightness of the rolled up container, turn the hot jar upside down, cover with a towel and leave to cool completely.
If the rim does not become wet, then the conservation was successful. In this case, the banks must be taken to the cellar or basement for long-term storage.

How to store jars with screw caps

Jars sealed with screw caps should be stored in a room with optimal humidity (up to 40%) and a stable temperature regime. An ideal option would be a pantry with ventilation, a dry basement or a glazed loggia. Give preference to rooms or areas that are well ventilated. Such a move will prevent the formation of mold, which appears due to condensation. Important! Do not store jars with screw caps in the cellar, as the humidity is too high in such a room. It is also impossible to keep containers on an open balcony, where the temperature regime is often subject to fluctuations.
If jars with homemade spins are small (canned food, jam, etc.), store them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or in the cellar. This category refers to compositions that are prone to rapid fermentation, so the room should be cool.
Do not rush to send cans of seamings for long-term storage immediately after conservation. First you need to place them neck down, wrap with a warm cloth and cool to room temperature. After performing a leak test, make sure that the cap is not swollen. If everything is in order, the containers can be moved. Homemade pickles are stored in jars with such lids for six months or longer.
The service life of screw caps is quite high under all operating conditions. If you have not found rust, dents, large scratches on the product, the covers are reusable. In cases where you clean off the varnish with a hard sponge, the product will quickly become unusable. As a rule, the duration of service varies from 3 to 5 years.

How to open a jar with a screw cap

It is not uncommon for even the most experienced housewives to complain that they cannot open a jar with a screw cap.

The difficulty lies in the impossibility of asking for a representative of the strong half of humanity, who is not always nearby. At the same time, you also don’t want to spoil the product by making a hole in the surface with a knife to release excess air.

To simplify the procedure, turn the container upside down, hit the bottom with your palm several times. After that, try to unscrew the cap, if necessary, repeat the procedure.

It is not difficult to seal jars with screw caps if you have sufficient knowledge of the available technology. To begin with, sterilize the lids, pour the contents into the containers, immediately tighten along the thread. Store in a room with a stable temperature regime, where the humidity fluctuates within acceptable limits.

Video: choose jars and lids so that conservation does not explode

Processing the harvest for the winter season makes itself felt with the fragrance of boiling jam. Choosing recipes, preparing jars, sterilizing seems like a simple task, but only following the important details will save food from spoilage. Joyful chores will not turn into disappointment if you decide in advance which lids to close the jam for the winter, taking into account the recipe and shelf life. Glass "rarities" from grandmother's stocks or vacuum technologies of the twenty-first century? This article will tell you about the advantages and disadvantages of all types of covers.

It is important for any housewife to keep the results of summer work until spring, but this does not always work out. Disappointment from fermented foods and mold is easy to avoid if you follow the simple rules of sterilization and choose the right lids for jam for the winter.

Any conservation begins with the preparation of cans. For homemade preparations, only glass containers are used. Plastic, rubber and tin containers are not suitable for long-term storage of jams. They do not provide sufficient sterility, they release various harmful substances into the products.

Important points when preparing jars:

Products must be inspected. Containers with scratches, chips, cracks and uneven edges are not suitable for long-term preservation. Each jar must be impeccable, otherwise there is a risk that it will burst from the load or temperature difference.
The selected jars are thoroughly washed with soda inside and out, rinsed in plenty of water.

There are quite a few sterilization methods, you can choose any, based on your own capabilities and kitchen equipment:

The use of steam is a proven grandmother's way. A metal grate (sieve) is installed in a wide pan or bowl of boiling water or a layer of cloth is laid, then jars are placed with their necks down. Steam sterilizes products inside and out. After a quarter of an hour, they can be carefully rearranged in the same position on a clean fabric ironed with a hot iron.
Sterilization in the oven. The washed jars are placed upside down on the oven grate and left there until completely dry. The temperature in it should be about 150 ° C.
Microwave use. The prepared containers are placed on the disk of a microwave oven, a little water is poured into them and the equipment is turned on at maximum power for several minutes, until the liquid has completely boiled away.

The finished jam is poured into jars hot or cold. Both options have their own nuances. If the jam is poured into hot jars, the sterility of the products is ensured - even those microbes that could accidentally remain during washing are destroyed. The danger of this method is that glass containers often crack due to temperature changes. Many housewives do not know if it is possible to pour hot jam into jars without risking burns. This is possible if you consider a few rules:

The finished product must be allowed to cool slightly - in this case, the jar is more likely to survive.
In order to equalize the temperature, a clean spoon is placed in the container, jam is poured in small portions - this way it slowly flows down and cools better. After each poured layer, give it time to stand a little.
Before pouring, it is better to put jars in a basin or sink so as not to suffer in case of failure.

Pouring the finished product in a cold way, you can also get an excellent result and achieve a long shelf life if you fulfill several requirements:

The jam should contain enough sugar - it is an excellent preservative. Grandmothers and great-grandmothers closed the jars with only wax paper and ensured that their products were perfectly preserved until spring.
Freshly brewed jam is left to cool under the lid. This is done so that under the influence of hot steam a sterile environment is formed.
Pour the mass into jars in a clean kitchen, use only boiled spoons for this.

The answer to the question of which lid to immediately close the hot jam is simple - only sterilized products should be used. Metal and glass types are dipped in boiling water for 15 minutes. For plastic products, a different sterilization time is already provided - no more than 1-2 minutes, so that the shape of the lid remains the same. After closing, the jars are wrapped. Slow cooling provides additional sterilization.

If you ask experienced chefs how to close the jam with plastic lids, they will advise you not to use them to preserve a hot workpiece, since the resulting condensate will cause mold to appear in the product.

If the jam was bottled cold, it can be pasteurized for long-term storage. To do this, the filled jars are covered with lids, placed in a wide pot of water so that the liquid does not reach the neck by 2 cm. After half an hour of boiling, they are pulled out, immediately corked, then turned upside down and left to cool.

Before using the jar, check its integrity

Banks must be thoroughly washed.

Bank sterilization

Use more sugar

Let the jam cool down a little before pouring it into jars.

Types of lids used

When choosing the right option for jam, you need to take into account the shelf life of the finished product, ease of opening, and even the possibility of reusing the product. There are only 6 main types of covers today, it won’t take much time to study the pros and cons of each of them and choose the best one for yourself.

Tin

The debate about whether it is possible to close the jam with iron lids has been going on for many years, but meanwhile - this is a time-tested option. Metal products are lacquered (golden color) and plain (usually white). The advantage of tin lids is excellent tightness. They provide products with a long shelf life, while being inexpensive. A significant drawback is the inconvenience of clogging. If the key was dropped, after which it stopped closing tightly, there is a risk of spoiling all the banks at once.

How to close the jam with a metal lid, the design of the key will tell. Machines come in two varieties: automatic with a spring and semi-automatic with a roller. Advanced housewives use both at once.

It is undesirable to store preservation with a tin lid for more than a year, otherwise the metal begins to break down, the jam acquires a rusty taste.

twist-off

Twist-off is the obvious answer to the question of what lids to close jam for the winter. The products are convenient, easy to use, do not require a special device for screwing. They are dense and reliable, provide a long shelf life (six months or more). They can be used several times until rust appears. Twist-offs are suitable for any kind of jams, jams, compotes, they are resistant to citric acid and dyes. Cons - the difficulty of opening, a higher price.

In order to close the jar, the lid is heated in boiling water or over steam, then twisted, pressing tightly from above. The plastic coating on the inside becomes softer with heat and acts as an airtight seal. As the jar cools, the rarefied air inside draws in the surface with a characteristic click, creating the effect of a vacuum container.

vacuum

A modern development that greatly outperforms the old methods of preservation. It is not worth thinking for a long time which lids are best to close the jam, thousands of housewives have long chosen this option - the product can be used up to three hundred times, it does not spoil the neck of the jar, it does not require effort when closing. Products have a long shelf life (up to a year). The disadvantages are the need to purchase a key and the high price of covers.

Thermal lids

This is not a separate type of product, but a simple, familiar polyethylene lid. Before use, it is dipped in boiling water for 15-20 seconds. When heated, it is easily installed on the neck of the jar and, cooling down, is tightly fixed on it. The advantages of such lids are low price, the possibility of reuse. Disadvantages - in the short shelf life of conservation (3-6 months). If you ask chefs what kind of lid to cover the jam with, they will definitely recommend plastic ones when homemade preparations are expected to be used soon.

Nylon

Made from translucent polyethylene. Their big pluses are low price and ease of use. Products are easy to put on the jar and quickly open. Often housewives doubt whether it is possible to close the jam with plastic lids. Of course, you can, because after cooling they function as heat shrink, and the jam itself under a nylon lid will not change the taste at all.

glass

These lids are almost impossible to find commercially. The advantages lie in their environmental friendliness, ease of use and durability. Cons - in a short (up to six months) period of conservation. For use, a specially shaped sealing ring is placed on the jar, then a lid, then they are pressed with a metal clip-clip. After cooling, rarefied air creates an additional vacuum.

Storage conditions

Having found out whether it is possible to close jars of hot jam with plastic lids, whether it is permissible to use metal or vacuum products, you can proceed directly to preparing the treat and rolling it. At this stage, the work does not end at all - it is also important to ensure the correct storage of the workpiece. Otherwise, all the efforts spent will be in vain, and the products will be hopelessly spoiled.

It is advisable to store jam on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, in a cool cellar or basement. It is important to avoid temperature fluctuations, especially freezing, otherwise the jar may simply break. Glass containers with metal lids cannot be stored in places of high humidity: the upper part will begin to oxidize from the edges, and the tightness will be broken.

Possible Causes of Bloating

A swollen lid on a jar is a signal that bacteria have got inside, and the fermentation process has begun. The container must be opened and the contents inspected. The appearance of bubbles and mold on the surface indicates that the jam will have to be thrown away - mold toxins are carcinogens. If the surface is just bubbling, the product can be boiled carefully skimming off the foam and used quickly without rerolling.

If the jar is swollen, the rolling technology may have been violated - in this case, the key will have to be replaced. Another likely cause is a defective batch of twist-off caps. Unused balances in this case are recommended to be thrown away.

The debate about which lids to roll jam for the winter has been going on for many years, but it is impossible to give a definite answer. What exactly to use - each hostess decides depending on the situation. With proper sterilization, preservation under a nylon lid will remain as tasty and fragrant as under a metal or vacuum one.