Wax disks query

[Bramble_killer]

Thank you all. What great people there are on this forum.
I only posted for a rant so didn't look at the thread again until this morning; then there was all that mayhem with Olivier, so apologies for not thanking you all sooner.

I bought 200 off ebay for £2.35 including postage. It's probably a bit too late now though.

[annacruachan]

I bought 200 off ebay for £2.35 including postage. It's probably a bit too late now though.

Thanks Bramble. Flum has now got some for me, bless 'er, and a jam funnel as well, so I'm all set up.
Can't think why I didn't look on eBay - going daft in my old age!

[mrdinkle]

Excuse my complete ignorance on the subject of wax disks. Just how essential are they and what function do they perform?

Bear in mind I have made stacks of jars of chutney and jelly, none of which have wax disks in them

[Caro]

Hi Mr D,

As I understand it, you technically don't need them with today's modern plastic-lined lids. But if you're using older jars or older-styled jars, then they should be used to prevent the contents coming into contact with the bare metal on the lid.

So I was told, anyway!

Caro

[Flummery]

It forms a seal on top of the jam so no air comes into contact. There's alwyas a little air above the jam or chutney under the lid. The disc just means that the jam isn't in contact with air so is less likely to form mould. Allegedly!

[mrdinkle]

I'll buy some! Thanks for the info!

[Alison]

I see them as an extra safety precaution, not sure if I really need to but I do anyway as to be honest I'm slightly worryied if I change my way of doing things it will all go from working really well to loads of wasted preserves!

[Hilary B]

It forms a seal on top of the jam so no air comes into contact. There's alwyas a little air above the jam or chutney under the lid. The disc just means that the jam isn't in contact with air so is less likely to form mould. Allegedly!

And if you still get mould it is on the disc, not the jam, so much easier to remove......

[smallblueplanet]

The only time we've had mouldy jam is when we used some of these paper circles - the mould formed on top of the jam, under the paper. Not bothered with them again.

[mrdinkle]

The jars I have been using are small and the mother in law can destroy vast volumes of jam/jelly at the bat of an eyelid. I have ordered some for my future batches, though I am confident that we won't be seeing any mould on these jars

Does the same apply for chutneys?