Home made jam

[Veggielot]

We opened a jar a blueberry jam to put on some toast today and my OH asked how long we can keep home made jam. To be honest I have no idea, what would you say?

[binley100]

If it's made into sterilised jars and sealed whilst hot then its safe to say 12 months from making stored somewhere cool and dark. Once opened , store in fridge and use within about 6 weeks......
Thats the official guidelines ..... quite often tho' it does keep longer but like anything if it looks , smells and tastes ok then it probably is ok.

[Alison]

I've quite happily used some that's been stored for over three years in the past without any problems. The high sugar content keeps it for ages so long as you steralise the jars properly in the first place. If you use a low sugar type then obviously it won't keep as long but with sweet stuff like that you can see that it's furry if it's off although it will dry out a little over time (which isn't necessarily a bad thing if your jam was runny in the first place )

[lottie dolly]

as has been said,if made with the recommended fruit to sugar ratio,and a good seal,it will keep for several years,1 year i only had some jars with no lids,so pop a wax disk on top,wait till cool,then put 3or4 layers of tight cling film on,with selotape around the outside rim,to keep it in place,the cling film will then go taught with a dip in the middle,and it kept just as well as the rest,mine is kept in a cupboard in the loft space,and never had any sporting a furry top

[alldigging]

Put a lid on that pops when they've sealed and it should be years and years.

[Nicos]

we've just opened and finished a damson jam from 1992

(it brought back really happy memories of our children helping up pick them too )

it'd gone a bit rubbery and shrunk a bit...but the flavour had concentrated really well.

Maybe it was the high pectin and sugar which preserved it?

[chefgage]

1992? And i thought i was being very brave eating some of our jam that was 1.5 years old
As whats been said as long its quite a high sugar content and the jars were well steralised then it should be ok for at least a year

[binley100]

Ths sugar is the preservative , its wben oxygen gets in that nasties can grow so you did an excellent job there Nicos
I have to put a bb date on what I sell ...going to be harder if they bring in new rules about using less sugar as it will lessen keeping time

[alldigging]

So what do you do with jam that's "old"?


If it goes furry or strange then obviously don't eat it.. but it's good for years and years.

[Nicos]

I had blobs of ours on toast squished down...also in porridge. Would be yummy in a rice pudding too!

mine had no mold on it though.
Even so I'd still just scrape the mold off ..and then a bit more jam from underneath. I know it's not recommended- but neither is cheese made from raw milk!

French conserves ( jams ) have much less sugar in them and tend to be runny. If not kept in the fridge once opened they go moldy very quickly.

[binley100]

If it gets too close to its bb date then we have it...bth it very rarely happens as I don't make huge amounts at a time. I keep a close eye on stock rotation and know what is popular so it makes it easier to plan,

[binley100]

I always tell people to keep it in tbe fridge once opened anyway .

[Nicos]

let's be realistic here Bins- your jam hardly even makes it to the end of the week in this household!

[alldigging]

let's be realistic here Bins- your jam hardly even makes it to the end of the week in this household!

The strawberry never does. It is absolutely lovely.

[ancee]

We leave ours in the cupboard unopened. Once opened it goes in the fridge where it can be for months. It's perfectly fine to eat. Last week I made the best fruit crumble I'd ever made:
Half jar cranberry sauce from Christmas, half a jar of apple sauce from Christmas.
Half jar home made blackberry jam.
Small tin of pears from since we'd moved house - found in back of cupboard (still in date though!)
Couple of apples that were a bit wrinkled.
Half bag of frozen strawberries.
My kids are crumble crazy and went on about how tasty this was.
So it just goes to show that you can eat old stuff and not throw it out and please your family at the same time