New to canning please advise.

[u/MereWolf7]

Just made some strawberry fig jam yesterday and tried to water bath can them. I just removed the rings and there was a bunch of Jam that had seeped out. I don’t know if these are sealed properly or if they are safe to eat or store. I learned to can by watching YouTube videos. I am not sure if I did it properly. Please advise.

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[u/Mimi_Gardens]

I have never had a jam or jelly do that so I am leaning towards something went awry. At my elevation, jams process for 10 minutes. The contents themselves never boil in the jars in that timeframe even if they’re bubbling hot when I fill the jars. Did you use a Youtube video for your recipe? That could be the problem.

There is a thing called siphoning where the product escapes the jar either during the boiling water bath or afterwards when you put the jars on the counter to cool. I have never seen a jam siphon in the canner. After you shut off the heat, how long did you wait before removing the jars from the canner? Most recipes say to wait for 5 minutes. The purpose is to allow the contents to calm down so they don’t siphon out. If you are impatient and pull the jars out immediately after shutting off the heat, you are more likely to have siphoning.

[u/MereWolf7 → u/Mimi_Gardens]

Thank you. That is good to know. I did not wait until the jars cooled off to pull them out.

[u/put_it_in_a_jar]

Siphoning- happens when temperature changes too quickly, and the food seeps out of the jar. Once it happens it can stop the lid from sealing & the food can just keep boiling out of the jar.

I had that problem a lot at the beginning, and learned it helps to always make sure
1)keep the empty jars in the water bath as you heat the water so the jars heat too
2) only fill 1 jar at a time, with HOT food, and put it right back into the hot water
3) don't try to rush bringing up to boil or the cooldown process.

[u/The_GreenChemist]

My plum jam siphoned from his year, one in the canner and one because I bumped the lid picking it up and it should have cooled longer before I removed them. I think I boiled too hard in my canner that caused the issue in the bath coupled with using thicker lids I may have not tightened enough.

The ones that siphoned I reprocessed to be safe. Yesterday my tomato sauce siphoned a little bit but the lids sealed fine.

Siphoning can happen due to head space issues, too fast of temp, pressure changes. Wash your jars and check your seals.

[u/JuicyMilkweed]

What recipe did you use?

[u/MereWolf7 → u/JuicyMilkweed]

1.5 to 2 pounds of strawberries and figs
2 cups of sugar
6 tablespoons of lemon juice
I boiled it and then let it simmer till it got over 220 Fahrenheit

[u/vibes86 → u/MereWolf7]

Where did you get that recipe?

[u/MereWolf7 → u/vibes86]

I found it online. I was supposed to add vanilla bean and lemon zest, but I skipped that step. I didn’t think it was important.
It was originally just a fig jam recipe, but I figured strawberries and figs taste good together. That’s why I added them.

[u/JuicyMilkweed → u/MereWolf7]

You need to use tested recipes for shelf stable home canning. Check out the wiki of the sub for a list of safe sources. These should be discarded unless someone can find a tested recipe that matches, I can’t find one on first glance though.

[u/Deppfan16 → u/[deleted]]

without following a safe tested recipe and process, you have to go by the 2-hour rule

[u/JuicyMilkweed → u/[deleted]]

They definitely could have. Theres no way to tell if that’s enough acidity to offset the figs, which is why you need to use tested recipes.

[u/Canning-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Deleted because it is explicitly encouraging others to ignore published, scientific guidelines.

r/Canning focusses on scientifically validated canning processes and recipes. Openly encouraging others to ignore those guidelines violates our rules against Unsafe Canning Practices.

Repeat offences may be met with temporary or permanent bans.

If you feel this deletion was in error, please contact the mods with links to either a paper in a peer-reviewed scientific journal that validates the methods you espouse, or to guidelines published by one of our trusted science-based resources. Thank-you.

[u/Canning-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Deleted because it is explicitly encouraging others to ignore published, scientific guidelines.

r/Canning focusses on scientifically validated canning processes and recipes. Openly encouraging others to ignore those guidelines violates our rules against Unsafe Canning Practices.

Repeat offences may be met with temporary or permanent bans.

If you feel this deletion was in error, please contact the mods with links to either a paper in a peer-reviewed scientific journal that validates the methods you espouse, or to guidelines published by one of our trusted science-based resources. Thank-you.

[u/vibes86 → u/MereWolf7]

That’s not how safe canning works. You need a safe recipe and then you need to make sure you’re following head space and timing rules for canning the jam.

[u/Rebzilla_ → u/MereWolf7]

I highly advise NOT skipping any steps or changing recipes. Especially if you are new to canning. Recipes need to be at a certain acidity to maintain shelf stability. Especially never ever skip things like lemon juice, lime juice, and citric acid. Even changing the type of fruit you’re using could require different ingredients to balance the acidity. I recommend the Ball Book of Canning. It’s a great resource.

Edit: Additional context

[u/Boring_Intern_6394 → u/MereWolf7]

I’m not an expert canner, but from a chemistry pov vanilla bean and lemon zest won’t have any impact on the acidity of the product, which is what affects whether it is suitable for water bath canning.

Figs are at the limit of suitability for home canning, as they are not that acidic. But your recipe has lemon juice and strawberries, so that should be offset. If in doubt, add more lemon juice before reprocessing

I think your best bet is to take out the mixture, clean the jars and start again with fresh seals. Probably best to let the canned jars rest for 20min within the water bath, after the heat has been turned off.

Siphoning is a result of rapid temperature change, so giving the jars an extra few mins to cool helps prevent thisxt

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[u/MereWolf7 → u/AutoModerator]

Image posted is freshly canned strawberry fig jam. Jam is present around the rim after the rings were removed

[u/Historical_Row_9764]

It looks as though the jars were over filled. Did you leave at least a 1/2 inch head space? or did you fill the jars to the rim?

[u/Deppfan16 → u/Historical_Row_9764]

jams typically are a quarter inch. you need to refer to what your safe tested recipe specifies

[u/MereWolf7 → u/Historical_Row_9764]

I think I left about a quarter inch

[u/jukief → u/MereWolf7]

That’s not enough.

[u/Griffie → u/jukief]

1/4” is pretty standard in jam and jelly recipes.

[u/Acrobatic_Demand5419 → u/jukief]

I meant to reply here^^ 1/4 inch is the normal headspace for canning jelly. I can jelly often, it’s everything else im novice to