Cleaning jars

When you find a jar that has unsealed do you just dump the contents and wash the jar? I read somewhere that botulism may be present and the jar treated with great care as you dispose of the entire thing.

Judith Almand
Brandon, Florida

When I find a jar of pickles, fruit, or juice (high acid; not likely to have botulism), I just toss it in the compost pile and kick some dirt over it. If it’s a low acid food I usually dump it in a hole and bury it so the dogs or loose chickens don’t get into it. Either way, I rinse the jar out real well with hot water, then wash well in fresh hot, soapy water. To be extra safe, you can simmer the jar in boiling water for 15 minutes, covering it completely. (Be sure there’s a rack or dish towel on the bottom of the container so the bottom doesn’t break.) There certainly isn’t any need to dispose of the jar. — Jackie

Monkey butter

I found a recipe for something called Monkey Butter, which is made with bananas. Some people said you can’t can bananas. I looked into it, and it’s not recommended because bananas are too dense. But it occurs to me that the bananas would basically be pureed, and other ingredients added. They wouldn’t be dense anymore. But now it occurs to me that they might not be acidic enough. So here’s the recipe:
5 bananas, sliced
20 oz. crushed pineapple with the juice
1/4 cup coconut
3 cups sugar
3 T bottled lemon juice.
Throw it all together, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook until thick.
 
They don’t say how much head space, but half pints and pints they say to water bath for 15 minutes. I think it just sounds delicious. The only change I would make is to leave the coconut out – to me it’s not worth the expense for just 1/4 cup. What do you think? If it’s not safe, I will still make it, but I’ll give most of it away, just keep a jar or two in my fridge.
 
Barb Mundorff
Youngstown, Ohio

Actually Monkey Butter’s been around a long time. Recipes vary a bit but are basically the same. And, yes, they can be canned safely. The acid in the pineapple and juice, lemon juice, and the sugar make the recipe acidic enough. You will leave 1/4 inch of headspace. — Jackie

3 COMMENTS

  1. Well, I made some Monkey Butter, and it is good! I changed it a little. I added the juice of a couple of limes in addition to the bottled lemon juice. It was too sweet for me. I added chopped maraschino cherries instead of coconut because my grandson is auti stic, and has issues with textures. (and they are so pretty!!) And I added a little molasses to the sugar to make brown sugar. To me, it needed something, and that did the trick. It did make it a darker color, though. I added about 2 teaspoons. I got a full pint, for my grandson, 3 half pints, a quarter pint for a friend who wants to taste it, and about a quarter pint in the fridge now. when it’s chilled, I’m having a pbj for dinner!

  2. Thank you Jackie! My Grandson is looking forward to getting a jar or two. I will be making it tomorrow. Diana, I am thinking it will be good on peanut butter sandwiches, on a slice of angel cake, things like that. And when I said I’d give most of it away, I meant so that it would be eaten quickly, lol. I just noticed that it sounded kind of…sinister!

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