# Moldy grape jelly :(



## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

Two summers ago I had a bumper crop of concord grapes and made a lot of jelly. I was cleaning up the canning shelves yesterday and brought the last five 2011 grape jellies upstairs, intending to make jelly bars out of them. 

Four of the five jars had small amounts of white mold along the edge of the jar- these jars were from the same batch, the fifth one was from a different batch and was just fine. 

Since its been two years I have no way of knowing what I did wrong, but I'm guessing I accidentally under processed them or left the lemon juice out or something. The lids appeared sealed, and they were little four ounce jars- they were made using Pomona's pectin.

Does anyone have an experience with long term storage of goods made with Pomona's? I don't really think the pectin was the issue here, but would be interested in hearing any and all input/ideas.


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

It's likely that your acidity or processing time was off and not anything to do with the pectin. I've never had an issue with Pomona or any other pectin other than setup, as far as spoilage and mold it's always been an acidity or processing failure.

I've had seals on jams/jelly fail even when they seemed to still be good. They were still stuck on tight; but the lid didn't whoosh and ping when removed and there was a tiny ring of white fuzz around the edges.

If you're adventurous and don't suspect any other spoilage has occured, you can just cut the moldy part out of a previously unused jam; reheat to boiling to kill any errant spores & tendrils and allow to reset, or use as syrup. Sugar molds like those found on jelly aren't commonly hazardous or produce poisonous mycotoxins... the major concern is the (low) possibility that another dangerous microorganism has infected the food. 

Of course, if you're not adventurous and can easily replace the jam, please follow the USDA recommendations and dispose of the whole jar (without opening if possible).


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

Thanks forgetting back to me-  I'm not adventurous enough to eat the jam, but I am going to salvage the jars with a good bleach soak. I am glad you confirmed that the pectin was not the issue, because I am about to put in a bulk order for a half pound!

My mom told me once that when she was growing up, they would often scrape the mold off of the jam and eat it- Grandma used paraffin canning in those days- they had 8 kids and food was not to be wasted!


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

Just wondering, were you using the Pomona's because you converted your recipe for low/no sugar instead of regular sugar-set pectin?

I've found that you sometimes need to increase the acidity for low/no sugar versions of conventional recipes. If you look at the Sure-Jell Light package, you'll notice it contains fumaric acid which increases the acidity in low-sugar recipes.


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

I just used the Pomona's package directions.

Now Plickity, if you know anything about Italian Volcano lemon juice, you will make my day!! It's Costco organic lemon juice- made from hand picked lemons from a single location, but my internet research thus far makes me wonder if its acidic enough for home canning. I wrote the company, but if they can't help me I'm going to test it's ph and compare it to that of RealLemon.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

It is the primarily the sugar in jam/jelly that keeps it from "rotting"

Back 50 years ago, people did not seal their jelly with lids... lids were expensive.
The jelly was poured hot into the jars, the heat having killed most bacteria. The remaining "heat resistant" bacteria, can not develop in a highly sugar or acidic medium.

The jelly was simply topped with "cheap" paraffin wax to keep the dust and mold out. (mold spores in original jelly had already been killed when cooking.) Often, a few spores would get passed the edge of the paraffin and their would be a bit of mold on the top. People simply spooned off about the top half inch of the jelly and ate it anyway.

One would see the same thing happen to store bought jelly if it sat in the cabinet long enough after it was opened. (few people refrigerated jelly, catsup or mustard back then, refrigerator space was to valuable for milk, meat, etc.)

It seems odd that I am so dang old now that I am posting stuff that I would think everyone knows and at the same time realizing that they didn't see JFK and Ike (either Eisenhower or Turner) on TV. :teehee:


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

blynn said:


> I just used the Pomona's package directions.
> 
> Now Plickity, if you know anything about Italian Volcano lemon juice, you will make my day!! It's Costco organic lemon juice- made from hand picked lemons from a single location, but my internet research thus far makes me wonder if its acidic enough for home canning. I wrote the company, but if they can't help me I'm going to test it's ph and compare it to that of RealLemon.


Likely you just missed the lemon juice, or your lemon juice wasn't acidic enough.

As for Italian Volcano, according to this blog, the manufacturer says "Italian Volcano isnât standardized for acidity... the pH ... ranges from 2.2 to 3.6."

According to the USDA standards, lemon juice concentrate must be below 4.5 pH. And bottled lemon juice at natural strength must be at or below 4.9 pH. There is no lemon juice brand that has a standardized pH, but you can assume that it meets the standards, ReaLemon and real lemon tests by the same blogger showed both to be 4.9.

So, given that most recipes are based on the USDA guidelines, any calls for bottled lemon juice to increase acidity are likely measured based on a conservative pH of 5 (for goofs and product variability)... and Italian Volcano is well below that, so you're good for canning! :goodjob:

(note that 5% vinegars are also variable because they're natural products... they must be at least this strong, but some are stronger)


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

o&itw said:


> It is the primarily the sugar in jam/jelly that keeps it from "rotting"
> 
> Back 50 years ago, people did not seal their jelly with lids... lids were expensive.
> The jelly was poured hot into the jars, the heat having killed most bacteria. The remaining "heat resistant" bacteria, can not develop in a highly sugar or acidic medium.
> ...


LOL! Well, I live off-grid with only a tiny freezer (for meat and dairy!) and no refrigerator. So my jam, catsup, mustard, mayo, etc is all just sitting on a shelf in my pantry... just like "olden days". I did find the trick to many of these is to find a brand that still makes it like they used to... the newer brands that expect you to refrigerate it don't have the natural spoilage retardants in them that the old recipes did.

It gives you a serious appreciation for food science and microbiology :goodjob:


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

Thank you SO MUCH! I am confident that I can use this juice now thanks to your excellent advice. Good thing, because I couldn't find ph test strips at either the pharmacy or the ag supply store! Blueberry jam is happening tomorrow!


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## PlicketyCat (Jul 14, 2010)

A couple of nifty acid tests from home ingredients if you don't have litmus handy: red cabbage juice will turn from grayish purple to red, and elderberry juice will turn from dark blue to red if the pH is less than 6. The stronger the acid the faster and/or brighter it will turn. (courtesy The Household Cyclopedia of General Information, c.1881)

It's not as 100% accurate as fresh litmus strips or a calibrated digital pH meter, but it'll do in a pinch for canning most fruit jams & jellies and vinegar pickles.


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