Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Quote from: steelfish on May 20, 2023, 09:27:38 PM

Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on May 20, 2023, 01:32:53 PMI have so much more to add to this thread. Ive made probably a few thousand gallons of jam and jelly in my life. I have a lot more experience there than i do with fishing or tackle.

pretty interesting Jason.

are you Chemist ?

Amateur food chemist/former small batch hot sauce company owner/sold a ton of recipes after that but all included an NDA so no specifics will be given.

Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on May 20, 2023, 09:42:04 PMpomona pectin

I'm going to get that!  Thanks.

About the sugar to juice ratio.  I sent my wife next door to learn how a 93-year-old makes jelly w/o pectin.  The recipe was 1:1.  Now, granted, they made a 2:2 batch, pints, and that can make a difference.  I've never made a single-pint batch and got away from the 1:1 method years ago. Too finicky.  Ripeness, moisture content, fruit density, wind direction.  Unless you're making candy, pectin is the stuff to use.     

Anyhow, the method was to let the mixture "cook down" until she said the hang time of drips from her spoon looked right, the boiling bubbles looked right, and the color looked right.  My wife said she was constantly stirring and changing the heat based on what she saw in and heard from the pot.  It skimmed over real quick, set up in less than an hour. She kept both jars!  I think one is already eaten up.  I got a spoonful.   It's good stuff.

Shifting gears.  Have you made pumpkin candy?  I haven't.  I tried some at a farmers market once and loved that stuff.  I've read about it, but I don't like to try that stuff without hearing things recipes don't tell you.  There's always a trick hidden in making sweets.

From a food safety perspective:

50/50 sugar to fruit will reduce water activity when cooked to dissolve the sugar. Water activity for shelf stability must be < 0.85Aw. This can be tested with a water activity meter. The heating step is very important to destroy pathogenic bacteria and to destroy spoilage microorganisms and mold/yeasts.

pH is also a critical factor. Most fruits used for traditional jams naturally have pH levels well below 4.6 which is the cutoff point for control of Clostridium botulinum (proteolitic). 5.0 controls non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum.

When pH levels are below 4.6 and Aw is above 0.85, you really need to understand pathogen, non-proteolytic Cbot spore destruction/inhibition in addition to spore destruction of Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens.

Sugars added to low pH fruits is a win-win for safety with temperatures at 212F for in excess of 20 minutes.

Also, fill to the ring on the mason jar with temperatures no lower than 180F. Boiling jars and lids in hot water is a plus.

Once filled and the lids are put on tight, you must invert the jar for 5 minutes to achieve a heat treatment to the cap and to set the plastisol seal which will hold the vacuum once the product cools.

When mixing coconut, bananas and other higher pH foods, you need to be sure that those higher acid foods have been acidified well below 4.6pH and/or the water activity has been dropped to below 0.85.  Many times, a combination of both is required. Books provided by the Ball Canning company provide recipes that have been scientifically validated to ensure a safe shelf stable product. I am sure there are others out there. Many land grant universities have process authorities that can validate your recipes and/or tweak them for safety for a reasonable fee.

22 years of regulatory food safety sends chills down my spine when home processed shelf stable foods are not made with a complete understanding of the critical factors needed to uniformly produce safe product. I have been involved with too many illnesses and deaths over the years. Its a reflex for me. With that being said, when home processed shelf stable foods are made right, you can really enjoy high quality products that you can't buy anywhere else, all made at home.

If anyone has any questions, just let me know. I would be glad to help.