Re: Apple Pie moonshine storage – Post by TDick » Fri Jun 19, 2020 8:00 am BlackStrap wrote: ↑ Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:31 am Hello Stig; A way I have found to seal your jars is to fill a bucket with hot tap water, crack your lids open, and leave loose but on the jars (this allows for expansion, but helps keep the alcohol in while things are warming up) only let the hot water up to the about 1/2 below the top of the jar.
After a couple mins pick up the jar tighten the lid and gently swirl the contents around, repeat the process of swirling and tightening loosening and tightening the lids till the jars and contents feel warm to the touch. Then tighten the lids, from here you can place them in a fridge, or if cool outside let them seal up naturally.
BlackStrap It SEEMS like an easier way to heat them up would be in the microwave. The thread has been quiet for a few months, but for newcomers, take a look at Nuclear Aging for more information. StillerBoy Master of Distillation Posts: 3379 Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2016 6:27 pm Location: Ontario
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How long does moonshine last in mason jar?
Generally they will last two years unopened and about six months after opening. They will generally last longer if you store them in the fridge after opening as well.
Do I need to sterilize mason jars for moonshine?
How Do You Bottle Moonshine In A Jar? – To bottle moonshine in a jar, you will need a series of clean jars that have been properly disinfected. When your moonshine is cooled down completely, you can simply pour it into the jar. Moonshine has a very high alcohol percentage and this alcohol percentage will kill any bacteria that might linger in the jar.
Can alcohol be stored in mason jars?
The Benefits of Storing Your Spirits If you do not drink them quickly, you may see that your spirits are beginning to change in flavor, or even color. Proper storage (plastic containers or glass jars, or a mason jar) keeps your liquor from losing flavor and strengthens the ageing process.
How do you seal a mason jar without boiling it?
Preserving, or preparing foods to keep without spoiling, has been employed for centuries. One popular method is pickling with refrigeration : Fresh produce is covered with a mix of vinegar, herbs, and spices, then packaged and refrigerated. Another often-used method is canning, which hermetically seals food in a glass jar for pantry storage for up to a year.
Though canning may seem daunting, it can be quite enjoyable, provided proper care is taken. Canning is a fairly tried-and-true practice, but recently there’s been big news in the canning world: Jarden Home Brands, the company that manufacturers Ball® Brand jars and lids, updated its guidelines for the sterilization process,
While the old guidelines recommended dropping the lids in hot, simmering water before pulling them out and immediately sealing jars, Jarden now says it’s not necessary to heat the lids in order to achieve a good seal. Instead, you can simply wash the lids and use them at room temperature.
The blog Living Homegrown got to the bottom of the situation, and it turns out the update is a result of Jarden testing the process and determining the extra step just wasn’t necessary—not to mention that accidentally overheating the lids’ rubber gaskets can cause the plastisol to thin out, resulting in a bad seal.
While the USDA canning instructions have not changed, you might want to consider changing your process if you’re going to be using Ball® Brand jars for canning this season, since this seemingly tiny change could potentially have implications for the safety and longevity of your canned goods. 
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Is it safe to ferment in mason jars?
Why You Should be Fermenting in Mason Jars There’s a reason why we, Masontops, built our entire company around the Mason jar and it’s not because it makes for a cute name. Mason jars are the best vessel for fermenting food and here are all the reasons why.1. Mason Jars Are Accessible & Affordable 
You probably already have a collection of Mason jars around your home. Even if you don’t, they’re inexpensive and available at grocery stores, home good stores, craft stores, hardware stores, dollar stores and online. Needless to say, Mason jars are easy to find virtually anywhere. 
Mason jars were originally designed for homemakers and as a result fit conveniently into shelves, fridges and other storage compartments. Best of all, Mason jars only come in two standardized mouth options: regular or wide. The standardized sizing really makes things easy when looking for lids and accessories, like Masontops and, 
Masontops loves the environment, which is why our fermentation tools are compatible with Mason jar vessels that can be reused for decades. Mason jars are dishwasher safe and easy to clean, thanks to their simple glass construction.
- 4. Mason Jars Fit with Masontops Fermentation Tools
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- The best part about fermenting food in Mason jars is the fact you can use Masontops fool-proof fermentation tools. Masontops sells the most affordable and easy-to-use fermentation products for Mason jars, including:
- – automatically “burp” your fermentation batches so you don’t have to
- – write names, ingredients or dates on Mason jar lids with chalk
- – prevent mould with these sleek, glass weights. They’ll hold down your ingredients below the brine, preventing food from spoiling
Masontops strategically built our company around the Mason jar for all of the reasons above. Invented 158 years ago, Mason jars will always be available and will last a lifetime of fermenting delicious, unique batches of sauerkraut, kimchi, real pickles and whatever else your belly desires! The recent boom of fermented food in the health food industry has lead to an increase in consumer products, like us.
How do you seal jars that didn’t seal?
How to fix it? – The best way to handle jars that failed to seal depends on the product you’re dealing with and how many jars have failed. If you have just one or two jars that failed, the easiest thing to do is to put them in the fridge and eat or share them promptly.
The reason for this is that to reprocess jars always results in some loss of product and quality. When it comes to pickles, trying to reprocess them isn’t ideal, because any additional heat exposure will soften their texture. This is particularly true for cucumber pickles. When it comes to jams and other sweet preserves, there are more options.
If the entire batch has failed to seal, the best method is to open the jars, reheat the jam, prep the jars, use new lids, and reprocess. If you have just one or two jars that didn’t seal and you don’t want to go with the refrigeration plan, there’s another way.
- Once the jars have cooled completely, put new lids on the jars (taking care to wipe the rims and make sure that you’re getting the rings tightened properly).
- Place those room temperature jars in a canning pot of cold water.
- Bring that pot of water to a boil slowly, so that the contents of the jars heat along with the water.
Once it reaches a rolling boil, process as you always do. The jars should seal properly this time around.
How long do mason jars stay sealed?
The jar sealed, is the food still safe? (and other questions) Cells and spores of C. botulinum. Image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control. Tested recipes recommend glass Mason-style jars and 2-piece self-sealing lids for home canning, In the past few weeks, several calls have come in about jars and lids, and ensuring a good seal when canning foods at home.
- Handling jars and lids correctly will go a long way towards successfully preserving your garden’s bounty for the winter months ahead.
- Recommended jars,
- Regular and wide-mouth Mason-type, threaded, home-canning jars with self-sealing lids are the best choice.
- Glass canning jars are available in a range of sizes from ½ pint to ½ gallon sizes.
Use only the size of jar recommended in a tested recipe. With careful use and handling, Mason jars may be reused many times, requiring only new lids each time, When jars and lids are used properly, jar seals last through storage and jar breakage is rare.
- Lid selection.
- The common self-sealing lid consists of a flat metal lid held in place by a metal screw band during processing.
- The underside of the lid contains an applied sealing material that, when heated during canning, softens and flows slightly to cover the jar-sealing surface while still allowing air to escape from the jar.
The sealing compound then forms an airtight seal as the jar cools. Unused lids, if stored in a cool, dry location, may often be used for up to 5 years from date of manufacture. To ensure successful jar sealing, buy only the quantity of lids that you will use in a given year.
Metal lids are ‘one trip’ they may be used once and are not designed to be reused. The metal screw bands, if handled properly, many be reused many times. Do I have to sterilize jars before I use them? Not usually. Jars and lids should be cleaned and washed before use, even jars and lids right out of the box.
Use mild soapy water for cleaning, followed by a rinse in clean water. Jars should always be warmed before filling, but they usually don’t have to be sterilized. Starting with warm jars will help ensure that jars seal on canning, When the processing time is short, less than 10 minutes, tested recipes recommend filling into pre-sterilized jars.
- Jars are sterilized by boiling for 10 minutes.
- Many experienced home canners keep jars hot (or sterilize them) in the canner that they will use for processing.
- Is it best to boil lids before I use them? NO! Perhaps 10 years ago the companies that manufacture home canning lids changed the sealing compound in the lid.
Now information on the packet of lids will instruct the consumer to wash and dry the lids — that’s it! Boiling newer lids may destroy the sealing compound and lead to seal failure. Warming the sealing compound before you apply the lids will not harm the lids and may help jars to seal.
Be sure that any unused lids are dried before storing them for your next canning session. Why did my jar lids buckle? The most frequent cause of buckling of jar lids is that the screw band was applied too tight, Screw bands should be applied ‘finger tip tight.’ The screw band holds the metal lid loose enough so that air can escape from the jar during canning and firm enough so that the lid drops in place to form a seal with the jar rim as the jar cools.
If the screw band is applied too tight, air trying to escape from the jar during canning may push against the lid forming a buckle. If the band is applied as tight as possible, the bottom may ‘blow out’ of the jar as the air expands and struggles to escape.
- Do I invert jars once they are done processing and I have taken them out of the canner? This is an unusual question from some callers and is not a good idea,
- Inverting jars will force the contents against the lid, often forcing the seal to ‘break.’ Inverting jars may also cause liquid or food to foul the sealing surface, resulting in seal failure.
Do I leave the screw band on when I store my jars in the pantry? At the end of a successful canning process and once jars are cool, remove the bands and rinse jars with warm soapy water and dry. Label jars with the date and name of the recipe. Store in a cool, dry location.
Removing the bands helps prevent rust from forming and allows you to notice if the jars become unsealed. The jar sealed, is the food safe? This is a frequent question during the canning season. Unfortunately the answer is, ‘ Not necessarily,’ Just because a canning jar seals does not mean that the food inside is safe.
The amount of heat needed to seal a jar is far less than the amount needed to destroy pathogens and spoilage organisms and to ensure shelf stability. Growth of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum in canned food may cause —a deadly form of food poisoning.
These bacteria exist either as spores or as vegetative cells. The spores, which are comparable to plant seeds, can survive harmlessly in soil and water for many years, When ideal conditions exist for growth, the spores produce vegetative cells which multiply rapidly and may produce a deadly toxin within 3 to 4 days.
The conditions that allow for toxin production are:
a moist, low-acid food (pH greater than 4.6) – meat, vegetables, dairy a temperature between 40° and 120°F, and a low-oxygen environment.
Scientists assume that botulinum spores can be found on the surface of any fresh food. Because they grow only in the absence of air, botulism spores are harmless on fresh foods, but they may be a problem in canned foods, What is the key to success? Using the right equipment and following an up-to-date recipe will ensure your success.
How long does it take to age whiskey in a mason jar?
Mason Jar Whiskey – You can also do a staving process with a mason jar. Any jar with a lid will do, Take staves or wood chips and put them in your jar. Add the spirit or blend of your choice, and let it age somewhere for a month or so, tasting periodically. You can also roll your jar around to make sure all the spirit is getting exposed to the wood.
