Preserving ABC - help!

[Urban Ayisha]

hi guys sorry to go on about my green tomatoes but im having a bit of a chutney fest here! however it is my first time preserving and the net gives so much conflicting advice im feeling a bit confused.

i've jsut made the first batch of chutney (of many, im sure!) and have decided to bottle half of it hot and the other half cold to see what happens. what i dont get about doing it cold is that surely by then all the little germies would have got in? my great aunt gave me the recipe today and said to bottle cold so i feel a bit naughty doing it hot as being a beekeeper and jam extroirdinaire she must know but its just a bit too exciting getting them bottled up straight away isnt it?! and the destructions on the paket of the preserving bits says to do it while its still piping hot!?

what is the general consensus? im using the tala wax discs and cellophane bits but hoping to be able to screw the jar lids back on afterwards.

[red]

i jar it up hot - into hot sterilised jars. I dont use the discs, just bung the lid on whilst still hot


but dont sue me.. this is just my own personal choice

[frozenthunderbolt]

You could bottle cold, but would then have to heat pasturise it using a water bath with loosened lids, take them out and tighten them. IMHO it is easier just to hot bottle into hot jars

[Cheezy]

Bottle it hot, into warm/hot sterilised jars (washed and then put in a low oven to dry out.)

The lids MUST be the plastic coated , with no holes in the coating as the vinegar will corrode them. Put the lids into boiling water for a few minutes to sterilise. Do not put them in an oven as this destroys the plastic coating.

If using wax disc's and celothane thats when you put it in cold. I would always use lids and hot if you can. I like the jam jars with the tamper dimple in the lid as this also shows a good vacuum has occured on cooling. THe olny down side is you might struggle to open the blighters once cool.

[Millymollymandy]

I've never heard of bottling cold but most of my chutney recipes say to bottle, then put the lids on when cold.

I ignore this because it doesn't make any sense as bacteria could easily get in whilst it's cooling and you don't get an airtight seal.

Also I'm moving this thread into the cooking section as that's where all chutneys and jams go these days!

[dave45]

Some more questions (I know its not directly about chutney!)

Everyone in a Bulgaria village has a cellar and the cellars always contain bottled fruit and veg from the summer for use in the winter months. My Bulgarian friend showed me how they did it... they pack the fruit in the jars (forcibly !) to remove all the possible air spaces and top up with water or syrup, screw the lids on (!) then put them in a water bath (jam pan) with the water covering the jars and boil for 30 minutes. They flick the lids to listen whether a seal has been made (hmmm - what are they listening for?). Last year I did this with cubed rhubarb and apple. seems to have worked.

But I thought this method had to be wrong and that you should leave the lids slack, reduce the water level to just below the lids while boiling/sterilising (awkward if your jars are different sizes !) then tighten them afterwards and allow then to cool so that a good vacuum is created.

Now I am not so sure - apples done my way ended up being cooked in the jar with all the steam escaping, leaving huge gaps and vacuum when the jar cooled down....

any thoughts?

[Millymollymandy]

I've never done it as I still find it scary sounding even though my neighbour photocopied me the booklet which came with her water bath thingy whatsit giving all the times and temps for various different veg and fruit.

I'd say do as everyone else in Bulgaria does, which is the same as what the French do. It obviously works!

[Peggy Sue]

Its far less scary bottling hot, I would wonder if I was going to get an explosion heating a jar already sealed that MUST have some air in it?

BTW I used to put my lids in the oven until someone posted to disinfect them with Rum- much easier and leads to a tasting session!