Some tiki drink tips - Tiki Drinks and Food

R rummy_dearest Member Massachusetts Joined: Jul 02, 2016 Posts: 17	R rummy_dearest Posted posted on Fri, Jul 8, 2016 2:49 PM On 2016-07-08 09:22, AceExplorer wrote: Rummy_Dearest -- am I understanding that the jars must be able to be covered by 1 inch of water because they are sterilized by immersion in heated water? If so, I understand that 180 degrees is the minimum temp required to make syrup containers sterile, does that sound right? Thanks for the offer of advice, sharing is caring! Yes, that is correct. Assuming glass mason jars, they should be at this temperature (you can just boil them, easier to tell that the water is at the correct temperature) for 10 minutes, plus one additional minute per 1,000 feet of altitude. All the harmful bacteria, fungi etc. will be killed at 175 degrees, except for botulism. This process will help your syrups keep longer in the fridge; however, if you want a syrup to be shelf stable, or last a year or longer, they must be processed in a waterbath. Sterilizing the jars is not necessary if you plan to can syrups, because a ten minute processing time sufficiently heats the contents of the jar beyond the threshold for bacterial survival. Botulism can survive temperatures up to 240 degrees, and therefore no amount of boiling can kill it; however, botulism cannot leave dormancy in acidic environments, so anything with a pH of less than 4.6 can be safely canned in a waterbath. This includes most fruit based syrups, whole fruits, jams etc. Lower acid foods must be canned in a pressure cooker/pressure canner, which uses pressure to raise the temperature of the water above the 240 degree threshold of botulism. Passionfruit syrup is safe to can (1 to 1 ratio of passionfruit pulp/juice to sugar). Here is how to do it: Place a thick towel or a wire rack at the bottom of a large pot. Fill with water and bring to a boil. Remove the lids and rings and wash the jars. This can be done in the dishwasher if you prefer. The lids should be washed by hand, and the rings can just be rinsed, as they will not touch the syrup. Bring your syrup to a boil. You may boil it as little or as long as you prefer. Warm the jars by running them under hot tap water. Putting the hot syrup into a cold jar can cause the glass to break. Ladle the hot syrup into the jars (a funnel is great if you have one). Fill the jars so the syrup is 1/4 inch from the brim of the jar. This is called headspace, and the correct amount of headspace ensures that the jars will seal properly and that no food will seep between the lip of the jar and the sealing compound on the lid. Using a wet paper towel, remove any syrup drips from the brim and threads of the jars. Place the lids on the jars. Screw the rings on fingertip tight (meaning use only your fingertips). Make sure it is on securely, but do not overtighten or the air will not be able to escape from the jar. Lower the jars into the boiling water. There are inexpensive tongs sold at Walmart and other stores, called jar lifters that make this easier; however, for a long time I got by just using barbeque tongs with rubber bands on the ends for gripping. Try to keep the jars as upright as possible while lowering them into the water, and do not let the jars touch each other in the pot. Make sure the jars are covered by at least an inch of water. Place the lid on the pot and boil the jars, 10 minutes for half-pint jars (8 oz.) and 15 minutes for pint jars (16 oz). It does not have to be a full rolling boil, 200 degrees is sufficient. When the processing time is complete, turn off the stove and let the jars rest in the pot for a minute or two. Then remove the jars with the tongs, keeping them as upright as possible. Try to grip the jars under the lip at the bottom of the rings so as not to disturb the compound. Place the jars on a thick towel on the countertop. Some of the rings may have loosened. This is normal, do not tighten them or you could squeeze out the sealing compound. Gently use a towel to wick away excess water from the tops of the jars. Do not press down at all. Immediately repeat steps 9-12 with any remaining jars of syrup. Do not disturb jars for 24 hours. The button on the lids should be fully depressed (when you press on the center of the lid, it does not click in and out). If one of the jars did not seal, refrigerate it and use the contents of that jar first. Remove rings and gently wash the full jars with soap and water to remove any hard water deposits. Dry the jars and store in a cool dark place. Jars are best stored without the rings to prevent rusting. Jars and rings are reuseable year after year. Lids are not, but can be purchased (they are right next to the mason jars in most stores) for about ten cents each. Again, please feel free to ask any other questions you have about this. I'm happy to share this info, I just didn't want to drone on about it and bore everyone to death if people weren't interested. This is how Laura Ingalls used to make her tiki drinks :). [ Edited by: rummy_dearest 2016-07-08 15:02 ]

On 2016-07-08 09:22, AceExplorer wrote:
Rummy_Dearest -- am I understanding that the jars must be able to be covered by 1 inch of water because they are sterilized by immersion in heated water? If so, I understand that 180 degrees is the minimum temp required to make syrup containers sterile, does that sound right? Thanks for the offer of advice, sharing is caring!

Yes, that is correct. Assuming glass mason jars, they should be at this temperature (you can just boil them, easier to tell that the water is at the correct temperature) for 10 minutes, plus one additional minute per 1,000 feet of altitude.

All the harmful bacteria, fungi etc. will be killed at 175 degrees, except for botulism.

This process will help your syrups keep longer in the fridge; however, if you want a syrup to be shelf stable, or last a year or longer, they must be processed in a waterbath.

Sterilizing the jars is not necessary if you plan to can syrups, because a ten minute processing time sufficiently heats the contents of the jar beyond the threshold for bacterial survival.

Botulism can survive temperatures up to 240 degrees, and therefore no amount of boiling can kill it; however, botulism cannot leave dormancy in acidic environments, so anything with a pH of less than 4.6 can be safely canned in a waterbath. This includes most fruit based syrups, whole fruits, jams etc. Lower acid foods must be canned in a pressure cooker/pressure canner, which uses pressure to raise the temperature of the water above the 240 degree threshold of botulism.

Passionfruit syrup is safe to can (1 to 1 ratio of passionfruit pulp/juice to sugar). Here is how to do it:

Place a thick towel or a wire rack at the bottom of a large pot. Fill with water and bring to a boil.
Remove the lids and rings and wash the jars. This can be done in the dishwasher if you prefer. The lids should be washed by hand, and the rings can just be rinsed, as they will not touch the syrup.
Bring your syrup to a boil. You may boil it as little or as long as you prefer.
Warm the jars by running them under hot tap water. Putting the hot syrup into a cold jar can cause the glass to break.
Ladle the hot syrup into the jars (a funnel is great if you have one). Fill the jars so the syrup is 1/4 inch from the brim of the jar. This is called headspace, and the correct amount of headspace ensures that the jars will seal properly and that no food will seep between the lip of the jar and the sealing compound on the lid.
Using a wet paper towel, remove any syrup drips from the brim and threads of the jars.
Place the lids on the jars. Screw the rings on fingertip tight (meaning use only your fingertips). Make sure it is on securely, but do not overtighten or the air will not be able to escape from the jar.
Lower the jars into the boiling water. There are inexpensive tongs sold at Walmart and other stores, called jar lifters that make this easier; however, for a long time I got by just using barbeque tongs with rubber bands on the ends for gripping. Try to keep the jars as upright as possible while lowering them into the water, and do not let the jars touch each other in the pot. Make sure the jars are covered by at least an inch of water.
Place the lid on the pot and boil the jars, 10 minutes for half-pint jars (8 oz.) and 15 minutes for pint jars (16 oz). It does not have to be a full rolling boil, 200 degrees is sufficient.
When the processing time is complete, turn off the stove and let the jars rest in the pot for a minute or two. Then remove the jars with the tongs, keeping them as upright as possible. Try to grip the jars under the lip at the bottom of the rings so as not to disturb the compound.
Place the jars on a thick towel on the countertop. Some of the rings may have loosened. This is normal, do not tighten them or you could squeeze out the sealing compound. Gently use a towel to wick away excess water from the tops of the jars. Do not press down at all.
Immediately repeat steps 9-12 with any remaining jars of syrup. Do not disturb jars for 24 hours. The button on the lids should be fully depressed (when you press on the center of the lid, it does not click in and out). If one of the jars did not seal, refrigerate it and use the contents of that jar first. Remove rings and gently wash the full jars with soap and water to remove any hard water deposits. Dry the jars and store in a cool dark place. Jars are best stored without the rings to prevent rusting.

Jars and rings are reuseable year after year. Lids are not, but can be purchased (they are right next to the mason jars in most stores) for about ten cents each.

Again, please feel free to ask any other questions you have about this. I'm happy to share this info, I just didn't want to drone on about it and bore everyone to death if people weren't interested.

This is how Laura Ingalls used to make her tiki drinks :).

[ Edited by: rummy_dearest 2016-07-08 15:02 ]

Post #765962 by rummy_dearest on Fri, Jul 8, 2016 2:49 PM