Jam & chutney - how long before you can eat them?

[daisydee43]

Hi

Am hoping to make jam and chutneys but would like to know how long they stay in jar before they can be eaten?

Also does anyone have any cheap and easy recipes?

Jam - straight away
Chutney - usually improves with keeping 1-3 months (mellows flavour, leaving it less vinegary).

That's great, once you've opened it is it about a month before it goes out of date?

You can just scrape any mould off the top and eat what is underneath usually

Is that really true Swish?

Well I'm still here so on my sample of one I would say the evidence points to defurred jam being safe to eat!

Oh, you wanted some recipes OP, here's one for you (I've made this a few times, it's ace) - pineapple, fig & ginger chutney

1.5 kg mixed fruit
1.5 kg sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
100ml water
Knob of butter

Fruit, lemon juice and water in large pan over medium heat until fruit very soft (about 10mins). Take off heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. Return to heat, bring to rolling boil. Add butter. Boil 5 mins then test for set, (I put a plate in the freezer for this), if not ready then keep boiling for further sets of 5 mins and testing until ready. Leave to cool a bit in pan for 10mins before potting into sterilised jars. Sterilise by washing and rinsing thoroughly then warming in low oven. Makes about 7 jars and will keep for 12 months.

I often use frozen basic berries from sainsburys to make this, if cooking from frozen it will need longer for fruit to soften (obviously!). We call it lucky dip jam in our house!

Yep, chutneys need a good few months. I didn't know this, and gave away jars of sour apple pickle. Opened tha last jar last month after it had been lurking in the cupboard for a few months and it was amazing! Gutted I gave the rest away.

I have an apple tree so make apple jelly (sweet and savoury) and for the pickle I followed a recipe for lime pickle I found on the web. Iirc it was just pickling spices, garam masala, a whole heap of chillies, vinegar and sugar. 'twas immense!