canning question about mold?

Paul

Paul

RecipeSwap.org host
Staff member
About two weeks ago I purchased a large jar of organic grape jelly at Costco. My kids have been using it for school lunches and It is about half empty now and I opened it today and on the underside of the lid was what I thought was a black mold. I looked inside and did not see any mold on the surface of the jelly. Then I notice this black substance around the glass where the lid twists on. I was concerned so looked online to see what I could find and one canning site said this was normal and it was harmless but also said in a different area to discard anything with mold on it. What is this black substance and is it really harmless?

 
Have been doing it for many years!! Just scrape off the mold

and wipe the glass and lid. Put it in the fridge.

 
if it is black and NOT furry, it is probably rust, which has reacted with the acid . . .

in the jelly/jam to create a black-pigmented "rust" . Wipe it off of the lid and rim with some vinegar and keep the lid and rim clean.

As for mold directly on the jam, yes I have taken it off in the past, but I now say "When in doubt, throw it out", as people are much more fussy about stuff like this and as a result, I truly believe, have less "robust" immune systems and may not be able to handle it without getting sick. Remember, if you have ANY doubts, be safe and throw it out.

 
thanks for the feedback

the lid has some sort of lining which makes me wonder about the rust theory. Although I'm fond of certain moldy cheeses, this jelly jar mold/rust still skeeves me even if logically I could see that it might be harmless.

 
If it were me, I'd toss it. "When in doubt, throw it out" is what we learned in Food Safety and

Sanitation in culinary school.

Like you, I'm sure, I don't like having to throw out food but if I had to weigh the cost of a few dollars worth of food vs a potential health risk, it's an easy decision for me.

At the link (Linda Stradley's site -- Linda is a former swapper from Gail's forum days) is some good info on food molds that may help you make more informed decisions about food safety.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/Mold.htm

 
Okay, I have one too, I had a jar of canned tomatoes, the seal was okay

but when I rapped it against the counter to loosen the ring it sort of exploded on me, lots of tomato liquid hissed out. There was a scum of waxy-white on the upper edge inside the jar. Everything smelled fine but I freaked out and just resealed it and tossed it. Has anyone seen this before?

 
I have had bad problems with canned tomatoes and have for years. I mean internally. I did finally

read that tomatoes are one of the most highly volatile in the canning process and have to be canned instantly on picking. I would get sick within about 20 minutes, from cans of tomatoes that I saw no traces of problems with, so I am very careful now. Not sure what help being careful is since I really can't actually detect any problems in the canned product before I eat. It still happens. But with fresh tomatoes, if the skin is broken just a little (that means some fizzing will be along any moment), I throw it out.

 
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