I was given a foodie gift by a foodie and I'm not one

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haha! That is not a "foodie" gift. My grandmother whose idea of fancy food is deviled eggs with paprika and risotto from a box, cans her own food. Please don't talk about this gift and use the word "foodie" when talking to people IRL. They will think you are very naïve.

Everything old is new again. Hipsters are learning how to make and can their own jam, and it is a "foodie" thing. I grew up in the Midwest and helped my mom and grandmother can jam growing up, and find it hilarious that it's now "in."

Well I guess you own canning then. And I take it you are not hip.

[Anonymous]

I'm still laughing about OP being a city girl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just make sure you boil whatever it is for twenty minutes before eating it to kill possible bacteria.

No. Jam in jars is boiled as part of the canning process. Totally safe.

I realize that boiling is part of the process, I was raised in the South in a canning family. So, I also know that not everyone is perfect and that not all canning jobs are perfect, nor are all cans perfect. It is an understood part of opening a new jar of something canned that you boil it first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just make sure you boil whatever it is for twenty minutes before eating it to kill possible bacteria.

No. Jam in jars is boiled as part of the canning process. Totally safe.

I realize that boiling is part of the process, I was raised in the South in a canning family. So, I also know that not everyone is perfect and that not all canning jobs are perfect, nor are all cans perfect. It is an understood part of opening a new jar of something canned that you boil it first.

What? We can all the time and have never boiled it first. Maybe that is a family rule but it isn't something most people do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: I already tried using a butter knife, and it didn't work.

To PP 12:34: it's homemade Santa Rosa plum jam.

I'll try to borrow a can opener and hopefully that works.

YOU DON'T OWN A CAN OPENER

Jeebus, what is going on with youths!?

What the heck are you all eating that comes from a can?? Gross. Don't worry, OP. I understand why you wouldn't have a can opener.

Aw, OP, nice try!

Anyone over the age of 22 who doesn't own a can opener is pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just make sure you boil whatever it is for twenty minutes before eating it to kill possible bacteria.

No. Jam in jars is boiled as part of the canning process. Totally safe.

I realize that boiling is part of the process, I was raised in the South in a canning family. So, I also know that not everyone is perfect and that not all canning jobs are perfect, nor are all cans perfect. It is an understood part of opening a new jar of something canned that you boil it first.

I was raised in the north by a canning family.

We literally never boiled any of our home-canned goods. But we never canned high-risk foods (e.g., green beans) and we always did everything by the book.

There is no need to boil jam. Its high sugar content makes it very safe.

[Anonymous]

what are you all talking about?? Canning involves boiling...each and every time, every food, every time.

Sugar does NOT contribute to high acid. The PH level determines the canning method, be it BOILING water bath or pressure cooker.

If the PP has consumed canned food that was never boiled, she can consider herself lucky she is alive. Botulism is not something to mess with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what are you all talking about?? Canning involves boiling...each and every time, every food, every time.

Sugar does NOT contribute to high acid. The PH level determines the canning method, be it BOILING water bath or pressure cooker.

If the PP has consumed canned food that was never boiled, she can consider herself lucky she is alive. Botulism is not something to mess with.

The point is you don't need to boil it after it has been canned - before you eat it. The boiling is part of the canning process. The PP was telling the OP she needs to boil the jar of jam before eating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what are you all talking about?? Canning involves boiling...each and every time, every food, every time.

Sugar does NOT contribute to high acid. The PH level determines the canning method, be it BOILING water bath or pressure cooker.

If the PP has consumed canned food that was never boiled, she can consider herself lucky she is alive. Botulism is not something to mess with.

Obviously, it involves boiling while being canned. Crazy pp boils everything she opens after it was canned.

[Anonymous]

Dear home-canned-goods-must-be-boiled PPs,

Please explain to me how one would boil jam and then use it to put on toast.

Very curious and confused. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You started opening that thin around lunch and JUST NOW got it open at 1:00 AM???

That is either complete perfection in icompetance or absolutely brilliant tenacity.

OP here. To answer a few questions, I tried to open it around lunchtime and couldn't. So I put it back and then when online, posting to ask if there was some magic trick to opening these types of jars since I'd never done it before. (For example, if you're opening a jar of Ragu or Welch's, you put a rubberband around the cover before twisting and that always opens the jar.) Right before I was about to go to bed, I decided to try again with the butter knife and it worked. So I posted about it.

I'm 38, and no, don't own any sort of can opener. I simply don't eat anything that requires one. It's been that was since I was 20 and moved out of my parents' house and 18 years later I'm still doing fine without one.

Maybe jarred jam that someone made themselves is not a "foodie" thing. Perhaps I expressed it that way because the friend who gave it to me IS a foodie. I am confident that if she's supposed to boil the jam (or the jar?) before giving it to me, she did. I am not worried about it killing me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a canning jar. Do you need help opening boxes too?

Wow, so obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You started opening that thin around lunch and JUST NOW got it open at 1:00 AM???

That is either complete perfection in icompetance or absolutely brilliant tenacity.

OP here. To answer a few questions, I tried to open it around lunchtime and couldn't. So I put it back and then when online, posting to ask if there was some magic trick to opening these types of jars since I'd never done it before. (For example, if you're opening a jar of Ragu or Welch's, you put a rubberband around the cover before twisting and that always opens the jar.) Right before I was about to go to bed, I decided to try again with the butter knife and it worked. So I posted about it.

I'm 38, and no, don't own any sort of can opener. I simply don't eat anything that requires one. It's been that was since I was 20 and moved out of my parents' house and 18 years later I'm still doing fine without one.

Maybe jarred jam that someone made themselves is not a "foodie" thing. Perhaps I expressed it that way because the friend who gave it to me IS a foodie. I am confident that if she's supposed to boil the jam (or the jar?) before giving it to me, she did. I am not worried about it killing me.

Can we just talk about how you don't own a can opener. Have you never made a dessert with sweetened condensed milk? Refried beans during taco night? Or tomato paste? Not even tuna fish? How is this possible? You obviously aren't against processed food- Ragu and Welch's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You started opening that thin around lunch and JUST NOW got it open at 1:00 AM???

That is either complete perfection in icompetance or absolutely brilliant tenacity.

OP here. To answer a few questions, I tried to open it around lunchtime and couldn't. So I put it back and then when online, posting to ask if there was some magic trick to opening these types of jars since I'd never done it before. (For example, if you're opening a jar of Ragu or Welch's, you put a rubberband around the cover before twisting and that always opens the jar.) Right before I was about to go to bed, I decided to try again with the butter knife and it worked. So I posted about it.

I'm 38, and no, don't own any sort of can opener. I simply don't eat anything that requires one. It's been that was since I was 20 and moved out of my parents' house and 18 years later I'm still doing fine without one.

Maybe jarred jam that someone made themselves is not a "foodie" thing. Perhaps I expressed it that way because the friend who gave it to me IS a foodie. I am confident that if she's supposed to boil the jam (or the jar?) before giving it to me, she did. I am not worried about it killing me.

Can we just talk about how you don't own a can opener. Have you never made a dessert with sweetened condensed milk? Refried beans during taco night? Or tomato paste? Not even tuna fish? How is this possible? You obviously aren't against processed food- Ragu and Welch's.

NP here. While I'm chuckling about OP's difficulty opening this (and why can't you open up a can of sauce without the rubber band? I've always been able to do it just fine) but I also don't have a can opener. I use a few canned goods (refried beans, some different types of bean for a bean salad my mom loves whenever she comes, and a couple of other things) but I always just buy the one with the tab to open the lid. It's not THAT weird to not need a can opener.

[Anonymous]

Wow, what a mean bunch of jerks on this thread.