Emma Miller
Unfortunately, no one is safe from the appearance of mold in jars with jams, competes, or other preserves.
Why mold appears in jars with jam – causes
White, yellow, or green mold on jam is a fungus that affects your products. In order for the colonies to multiply quickly, they need moisture and oxygen. That is if the jar with jam is not closed tightly – be prepared for the appearance of mold. It can also occur due to other circumstances:
- you used damp berries;
- You did not put enough sugar in the jam;
- The preserves have been stored in a damp or wet place;
- You didn’t boil the jam long enough and it didn’t soak in the sugar;
- too much air is left between the jar and the lid.
Also, the cause of mold can be high humidity in the kitchen at the time of jamming. In order to avoid this happening, jam is better to do it on a dry and sunny day. Pour into jars only hot, unchilled jam. If you want to give your product extra protection, wrap parchment paper around the neck, and only then close the jars.
Is it possible to eat jam, if there was mold on it – tips
In fact, doctors strongly recommend not eating such jam. Mold fungi are very harmful to humans – they can cause allergies, dysbacteriosis, and other diseases. If you feel sorry for the jam and do not want to throw it away, follow the instructions:
- gently remove the mold with a spoon several times, without touching the lower (healthy) layers;
- taste the jam – if there is no smell or taste of mold, transfer it to a clean jar;
- put the jar in the freezer to kill fungal spores.
You can also boil mold-affected jam – high temperatures will kill the fungus. Remove the mold with a spoon, when there is no smell or taste of it – pour the jam into a saucepan. Add sugar (200 grams per 1 liter of jam) and boil until there is foam. The foam should be removed and discarded, and the jam should be eaten as quickly as possible. Also, reanimated jam can be used as a filling for pies.
An important point: you can try to save jam only if the layer of mold does not exceed 2 cm. If after you have removed the mold, there is still a smell or taste, the fungus has attacked the preservative to the bottom and the product can no longer be helped.
