It is probably difficult to find a person who has never encountered such an unpleasant phenomenon as mold on jam. And most of all, when such a nuisance is discovered, the question is whether it is possible to eat such jam at all now. But even if the problem with this bank is resolved, then how to prevent a repeat? Answers to many questions on this topic will be given later in the article.
What is mold?
Mold is one of the varieties of the well-known fungus. Mold can heal a person, but can, on the contrary, cause his death. But it rarely reaches such extremes, however, the fungus is dangerous, because various diseases arise because of it, quite often it even leads to the development of malignant tumors. Gourmets can be calm, because mold from cheese does not have such a terrible effect on the body. But the one that for several years has lived in a jar of jam can have serious complications if it gets into the human body.
What is her danger
As already mentioned, mold can cause a wide variety of diseases in humans. And we are talking not only about the digestive system, but also about the respiratory system. Surely there are such housewives in whom jam can stand in the basement for more than one year, and, of course, no one has looked under the lid all this time. And when the family finally decided to enjoy this seasoned jam, mom opens the lid and inhales the mold spores that have already formed on top. It is this accumulation of spores that can adversely affect human health. Indeed, if there are a lot of these disputes, then most of them will settle in the lungs and take root there quite calmly.
Lungs are an ideal habitat for mold because it adores moisture. Spores take root, begin to develop, and a person has various allergic reactions, in some cases even asthma occurs. The fungus is especially dangerous for young children, because their body is much weaker than in adults. That is why you should think several times about whether this jar of jam is worth it.
If the jam is moldy, then it doesn’t matter when it happened. Moreover, it will not work to find out the exact date. Such a delicacy, although it retains its taste, can cause severe poisoning or cause cancer.
Causes of mold
Most often, mold appears on jam, which was simply not cooked. And the hostess is doubly offended, because it was she who created the favorable conditions for the development of fungus in the bank. Another option is the wrong proportion. And this also applies to the shortcomings of the hostess, who was engaged in harvesting for the winter. Cans and lids that were used to roll up can also be poorly processed. It should be remembered that mold does not like heat, and a fatal indicator for it is 100 degrees and above. Therefore, if you treat the cans and lids with boiling water or steam, then the fungus will have no chance of survival.
Storage conditions should also be taken care of in advance. Although here you should rather pay attention to the shelf life. But the jam can stand for several years and will not mold if it has been cooked correctly. And you can store it until the lid is open. After this, it is undesirable to leave the jar for a long time, especially without a refrigerator.
Having studied all these reasons, each housewife should understand why mold appears on jam and what needs to be done to avoid this. More about prevention will be described later. But knowing the reason, you can make it not arise.
Is moldy jam worth it
If mold appears on jam, what should I do? Is it possible to just take it off and enjoy the taste of berries with a calm mind? Of course, such a jar of jam should immediately be thrown away, but not only the jar, but also its contents. Do not regret the sugar and time spent, it is better to think about your own health and the health of loved ones, which can suffer greatly from such a dessert. But if you really want to eat, then you can do this only by doing the following:
- The mold film, along with a thick layer of jam, should be removed and discarded. Care must be taken that the pieces of mold do not remain in the container.
- It is advisable to pour the remaining jam into prepared sterilized dishes.
- For absolute confidence in the safety of the product, it is recommended to boil it for several minutes. This jam can not be returned to the old dishes.
But all these methods can be used only when you get your own jam and know exactly what it was cooked from, when and in what conditions it was stored. If the jam was purchased at the store, then even thinking about its rehabilitation is prohibited. Such a jar is immediately sent to the trash, unless, of course, you have a life for you.
Prevention of the appearance of fungus on jam
If you do not want mold to form on the jam above, then you can use the following methods to help prevent this problem:
- It is recommended to store jam jars in a dark room where the temperature will not fall below two degrees of heat and rise above 12.
- Jam, in which the berries were cooked with seeds, can be stored for no more than one year.
- Fruit and berry jam can be stored for up to three years.
- You should not choose jars with a volume of more than half a liter, because in a large dish it spoils much faster and more often.
- An important point during conservation is sterilization. Covers and elastic bands to them must be boiled, even the device with which the cans are rolled up can be held in boiling water. Jars are best hung for five minutes on the spout of a teapot that is boiling.
- Lids can only be screwed on in cold jars so that condensation does not form. If it appears, then the mold attacks such a jam is guaranteed.
- Do not regret sugar. Everyone knows that for one kilogram of fruit or berries you will need at least one and a half kilograms of sugar, but you can take two. He will definitely not be superfluous.
- It was previously mentioned that mold appears on jam, which is undercooked. Check its readiness is very simple. One drop of syrup is dripped onto the dish. That syrup that does not spread is considered ready.
Conservation Tips
If the jam was closed correctly, then no mold is not afraid of him. Here are some useful tips to help the housewives make a tasty, and most importantly, safe preparation for the winter:
- All berries and fruits should be washed well and sorted before preservation so that rotten and spoiled ones do not come across.
- It is important to choose the right dishes to preserve jams and other products. And also all proportions should be observed.
- One of the most important points has always been and will remain sterilization. From time immemorial, housewives have chosen steaming cans and boiling lids.
- It is possible to carry out additional sterilization. To do this, you will need cans that are already filled, but not yet rolled up, which are lowered into the water until the thread and boiled for several minutes.
- Be sure to check the tightness of the cover. To do this, the banks are turned over to make sure that the contents are not poured out.
- In the place of permanent storage, you can put only cooled cans.
Conclusion
After this article, you know what to do if mold appears on the jam. There are ways to get rid of it and at the same time not to lose a jar of dainty, but if you have the opportunity, then it’s better to send such a jar to the bin. And so that such a nuisance does not happen again, you just need to be more careful when preserving.