# Therm-Flo, Clear Jel



## wanda1950

I visited our local Mennonite bulk sale store & bought a product called Therm-Flo. They also had Clear Jel available but the sales person told me that the Therm-Flo was what they used in canning. The package does say canning & freezing.

BUT when I looked on the gov. site, Clear Jel is the only one mentioned. Is anyone familiar with this? There's so much said about thickening products like flour, etc. being dangerous to can with--I don't want to make a fatal mistake.


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## judylou

They are both somewhat the same thing, modified and reprocessed corn starch. Clear Jel is the brand used in all the USDA testing and the recipe measurements specify the Clear Jel as you mentioned. 

Apparently, from the information available, because the Clear Jel is slightly more acidic and somewhat more refined and so less inclined to break down during processing. IF that is true then they may not exchange 1 for 1 when measuring them. I can't say for sure. But otherwise I know of no reason why they can't be used interchangeably. It is your choice whether to use the one recommended by the guidelines or this other product.

One thing I do know from personal experience and from reports by others, unless you like VERY thick, almost jelled, pie fillings use less than is called for in the instructions. Some have reported using as much as 1/2 less.


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## wanda1950

Thanks! Think I'll just go back & get clear jel. Better safe than sorry. And thanks for the tip on probably using less than recipe says.


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## Stephen in SOKY

Related question: Does anyone know the shelf life of Clear-Jel? Sealed in jars if that makes a diference.


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## Pouncer

I ended up buying a whole bag of ClearJel because it was not available any other way locally. I too, would like to know the answer to this question. I would think that sealing the powder would ensure a much longer "shelf life".


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## judylou

Stored well dry and protected from bugs just as you would corn starch then per the manufacturer, its shelf like is indefinite.


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## flowergurl

I did not want the expensive that clear jel would add to the cost of making pie fillings. I simply chose to make the pie fillings and leave out any thickener. 
I opened a jar of apple pie filling yesterday and stirred in some cornstarch before I added the filling to the pie shell. The pie turned out great. You can always add the thickener of your choice before baking.


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## elizabethlouise

wanda1950 said:


> I visited our local Mennonite bulk sale store & bought a product called Therm-Flo. They also had Clear Jel available but the sales person told me that the Therm-Flo was what they used in canning. The package does say canning & freezing.
> 
> BUT when I looked on the gov. site, Clear Jel is the only one mentioned. Is anyone familiar with this? There's so much said about thickening products like flour, etc. being dangerous to can with--I don't want to make a fatal mistake.


The canning companies have not experimented with the use of any thickener, nor with butter, nor with cream or dairy products. That's why they warn against canning with them, because they simply do not know. They do not suggest water-bath or pressure cooker with these products because they haven't tested them, so cannot suggestion using them for recipes you're going to can. It's not that they are 'dangerous', or that the process is 'dangerous', or that cream, butter, dairy products, flour, or other thickeners become 'dangerous'; it's that they haven't proved them by experimenting. The only people who've proved them by experimenting and eating their canned products afterward, are those cooks you find on you tube who will tell you they've done it safely for years, as did their mothers who pressure-cooked. I've seen it emphasized in these videos that botulism in any product or recipe is killed by 240 degree temperature. At certain elevations that temperature is reached under 10-11 lbs. pressure and higher elevations at 15 lb pressure in a pressure canner. Pints usually get 75 minutes and quarts 90 minutes to kill botulism, whatever the product. High acid products/foods don't need that long. Follow your book's canning directions for high acid products.


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## elizabethlouise

elizabethlouise said:


> The canning companies have not experimented with the use of any thickener, nor with butter, nor with cream or dairy products. That's why they warn against canning with them, because they simply do not know. They do not suggest water-bath or pressure cooker with these products because they haven't tested them, so cannot suggestion using them for recipes you're going to can. It's not that they are 'dangerous', or that the process is 'dangerous', or that cream, butter, dairy products, flour, or other thickeners become 'dangerous'; it's that they haven't proved them by experimenting. The only people who've proved them by experimenting and eating their canned products afterward, are those cooks you find on you tube who will tell you they've done it safely for years, as did their mothers who pressure-cooked. I've seen it emphasized in these videos that botulism in any product or recipe is killed by 240 degree temperature. At certain elevations that temperature is reached under 10-11 lbs. pressure and higher elevations at 15 lb pressure in a pressure canner. Pints usually get 75 minutes and quarts 90 minutes to kill botulism, whatever the product. High acid products/foods don't need that long. Follow your book's canning directions for high acid products.


By-the-way, use of flour as a thickener in something you would choose to pressure-can, isn't advisable--the flour loses it's thickening power under the high pressure and extreme heat. Thermflo/Cleargel are suggested as very versatile. They stay thickened and it is said to be highly suggested for use of high or low (pH) acid foods, especially where exceptional heat and shear (?) is required. Find them in the bulk section of your grocery store.


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## Danaus29

The person who first asked the question hasn't been on this site for over 5 years. None of the other posters have been around in 5 years either.


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## robinlynntiel

elizabethlouise said:


> By-the-way, use of flour as a thickener in something you would choose to pressure-can, isn't advisable--the flour loses it's thickening power under the high pressure and extreme heat. Thermflo/Cleargel are suggested as very versatile. They stay thickened and it is said to be highly suggested for use of high or low (pH) acid foods, especially where exceptional heat and shear (?) is required. Find them in the bulk section of your grocery store.


What is the difference between thermflo and cornstarch?


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## Danaus29

Thermoflo is modified cornstarch.


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