Seasoned Advice is a question and answer site for professional and amateur chefs. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I read in one post ("Do I need to boil filled jam/chutney jars? [duplicate]"
"....So, initial sterilization is always required to clean the jars themselves. The second boil pasteurizes the contents...."
My question in very simple:
In the case of cooking to boiling temperature jam, does the hot jam not desinfect the jar?
What additional value does (in this case) does disinfection add?
Many people certainly think so; it's a common preparation technique. By policy, here on SA, we need to answer you with the advice of the relevant healthcare authorities, which is: no, it is not adequate, particularly if your post-fill processing time is less than 10 minutes.
Here's their reasoning: one of the things you're trying to eliminate is not just bacteria, but bacterial spores, some of which can survive several minutes at boiling temperatures. While dumping boiling jam into a jar does kill any live bacteria, it isn't hot enough for long enough to kill all spores, and if you're doing boiling jam you're probably only putting it in a hot water bath for a couple of minutes (if at all). It also matters whether the jars are new or are being re-used, and how recently they were washed.
Canning foods is a game of risks, and you decide which risks you (and your friends and family) can tolerate.
