Much of the alcohol (maybe 95%?) will evaporate out. Chemically speaking, I don’t think you will make this mixture completely alcohol free.
What other options do you have for the fruit? If you would otherwise be discarding, no harm in trying to make a jam. Weigh the fruit, add 25-50% (by weight) of sugar, and boil it down. If you use a 12” (31 cm) diameter pot, the batch should cook down in less than 30 minutes.
1 Like
Are you planning to process it? If so, I would think that the booze would mostly cook out, although I’m not sure how the presence of alcohol may affect the effectiveness of the seal as well as long term shelf stability, but I would bet anything that the alcohol will lose a lot of it’s edge, and is worth a try.
1 Like
Thank you for the encouragement - I’ll give it a try.
Hmmm. I hadn’t considered it might effect the seal. No worries, though, as the batch would probably be small enough that I have space in the freezer if I chose not to process. Maybe I should do half processed and half frozen, and guage results. 
Yeah, the thing is that processing recipes assume that the liquids in the jar are water with a known behavior at boiling temperatures. Alcohol boils at a much lower temperature, which in theory would indicate that it would evaporate either mostly or completely, but I can’t say how that might change the recommended head space or potential for boilover of the contents. I would try it and see if it seals. For this first experimental batch, however, I would not store it on a shelf for any length of time and then give it to anyone who might be immunocompromised. Fridge storage should be fine, no matter what.
3 Likes
I had to buy new snap lids. The new bernardin box now say “seals up to 18 months” My son says its only for legal purposes. What do you think? This is in Canada.
Ps I use to keep my jams for more than 2 years, not other canning.
I’d be surprised if you get more than 2 cups/16 fl oz/500 ml of finished product.
As for the alcohol affecting sealing… there will so little left by the time the jam reaches the set point/desired thickness, that it shouldn’t affect the seal/headspace any more than a recipe that actually includes alcohol as an ingredient.
2 Likes
for legal purposes.
I have had bernardin lids stay sealed (with proper water bath or pressure processing) for… years 
Thinking back: I’ve canned with alcohol before - say 1/3 c. brandy to a pint jar of peaches - with no ill effect. I’m inclined to agree that after cooking down the jam, the amount of alcohol should be so small it shouldn’t impact the canning process (although possibly the flavor). We’ll see how this goes!
1 Like
That’s actually my point: The evaporation of the alcohol may change the headspace with an unknown effect. It may draw water (or water vapor, if you’re steam canning) into the jar, it may create enough of a vacuum inside the jar that the lid implodes, or have some other unpredictable effect. It might lead to a seal failure, it might lead to contamination, both, or neither.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation seems silent on alcohol in canning recipes. The only mention of alcohol I could find in their database refers to using alcohol in curing processes.
1 Like
You know I am required to approach home food preservation with a belt-and-suspenders attitude. I know you’re an experienced canner who knows how the cow eats the cabbage. It’ll probably be safe. Probably.
3 Likes
how the cow eats the cabbage
Is that some sort of Master Preservers lingo?
1 Like
The higher boil temperature of sugared fruit should cook out the alcohol, depending on the cook time.
As you may have noticed, when raspberries are infused into alcohol, a lot of the pectin comes out into the booze. I made liquors with neutral-flavored vodka and it was challenging to deal with the gel or pectin strands that formed in the liquid. Adding pectic enzyme to the raspberry juice/mash, before infusing, helped. Still, freezing and thawing were needed to clarify it.
2 Likes
My point is that the alcohol is nearly gone before the product even hits the jar. So my sciencey mind says the effect during processing is negligible. Also, there’s only going to be 2 cups of jam. Unless I am recipe testing and assessing storage qualities, I probably would just keep the small batch in the fridge.
1 Like
Oh, yeah. Good point!
Technical terms!
2 Likes
I use those too, and they last longer!!!
1 Like
Last week I needed to use up 2 pounds 10 ounces of fresh bing cherries, and roasting seemed like the best answer
Except I didn’t seed the cherries, and even after I seeded the then roasted cherries, I could only use so many.
So then I used the remaining roasted, seeded cherries in a shrub recipe.
After straining the shrub I was left with about 1 cup of sweetened finely chopped cherries flavored with a fair amount of vinegar, a bit of black pepper and fresh thyme.
They taste good with roasted chicken thighs, and made me think of mostarda, primarily because I seem to recall the cherries won’t last long, but the mostarda, according to recipes I have looked at, will.
So my question is why does mostarda last longer than a low sugar refrigerator cherry jam? Is it just the vinegar?
PS Next time I will try to just buy a serving or two of cherries.
3 Likes
The vinegar, or wine, is part of what helps it keep. The other component is mustard seed, powder, which has long been used to help preserve food, condiments. Some mostarda recipes use repeat cooking, over days, which also helps sterilize/sanitize it.
Mustards I’ve made not only seem to keep forever; even with cooking they are often too harsh or acrid until several months to a year old. I’m using brown & yellow mustard seeds. The brown (Brassica juncea) is particularly spicy.
Here’s a good bit of information on the antimicrobial qualities of mustards.
3 Likes
