Storing Bacon Jam | College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences (2024)

FAQs

Does bacon jam need to be refrigerated? ›

For safety, we strongly recommend that bacon jam be refrigerated for times suggested by the recipe (2-4 weeks) or that it be frozen for longer storage.

Bacon jam freezes and thaws quite well, so if you know you aren't going to use it in the next few weeks, try freezing it instead. Bacon jam can be safely kept in the freezer for up to six months. You can use any freezer-safe container to store your bacon jam. To thaw the bacon jam, place it in the fridge.

The risk in attempting to can bacon jam for shelf-stable storage is listeria or salmonella if you're lucky; botulism if you're not.

Store and reheat if needed

Use immediately, or spoon it into an airtight jar and refrigerate for up to four weeks. Serve warm. To reheat, zap it in the microwave for about 45 seconds or warm it in a small saucepan on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally until heated through, about 10 minutes.

So, jam and jelly will deteriorate quicker when stored outside the fridge. This is especially true if the ambient (air) temperature is high, which can cause rancidity or separation of ingredients. It's worth noting that different products will degrade at different rates at room temperature.

The general rule of food safety is to not let raw meat or cooked food sit out for more than 2 hours, and that rule applies to uncooked or cooked bacon. It's wise to be careful with uncooked pork products since they can harbor and grow bacterial pathogens like salmonella and trichinosis.

Fill containers with jam and leave 1/2” of head-space at the top. Cover with lids and allow to stand at room temperature for 24 hours. After 24 hours you can store jam in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks or freeze it for up to 1 year!

You can keep bacon in the refrigerator at 40 ºF or below for one week. Bacon can also be frozen at 0 ºF for four months (for best quality). For more information about bacon and storage of other bacon products, go to Bacon and Food Safety.

It's because the technique for making jam—mashing fruit with lots of extra sugar and macerating it, then cooking it down until you can pack it into jars to can—was invented before freezers became common. If you wanted to preserve the peak flavors of summer in fruit, you would freeze it.

Our list of things we want to use this jam in is ever-growing. Here are just a few to get you started: warm potato salad, grilled asparagus, fresh tomatoes, panzanella, grilled cheese, crackers and goat cheese, spinach salad, a spoon, fresh garden peas, scrambled eggs, bagels and cream cheese...

How long does jam last if not canned? ›

If you're making fruit jam at home and skipping the canning process, what is often called quick jam or freezer jam, store in the fridge or freezer to preserve, and be aware that it should be consumed within 10 days if refrigerated and 3 months if frozen. It's not shelf stable without proper canning.

Jam does not need to be canned; if you can consume it within a month, you can store it in the refrigerator without it going bad. But if you make a lot of jam, or want to save it to make jam-filled cookies or another winter baking project when fresh fruit is nowhere to be found, you should preserve it.

Yes, you can, but you need to be more careful to stir frequently so the sugar in the jam doesn't burn. If your jam didn't set, it might need more pectin which can be bought in some stores.

You can reheat the jam and put it into different (hot/sterile) jars. Just let it get to simmering point and then repot. If you boil it up it will go harder but you could alleviate this by adding a bit more water. The quality of the jam will not be quite as good.

To achieve a thick texture, all of the liquids need time to reduce. Make sure you're cooking your bacon jam without a lid over your Dutch oven, so your bacon jam can evaporate. If it's still not thick enough, it just needs more time.

Sealed jars of homemade preserves can also be stored at room temperature. Once the jam or jelly is opened, however, it is best to refrigerate them. Richard explains that this prevents mold and yeast from growing. If not refrigerated, opened jams and jellies are likely to spoil quicker.

The bits are shelf stable as packed but need to be refrigerated after the foil pouch has been opened. Real bacon bits can be used in any food system where real bacon flavor is desired. Use it in salad toppings, gravies, quiche, potato toppings, pasta, bakery items, sauces, and soups.

To make bacon safe to store at room temperature (shelf stable), it is precooked in the plant to have a water activity at or below 0.85 to control Staphylococcus aureus.

Refrigeration is optional for Bacon Up.

Bacon Up will change from solid to slushy to liquid (and back again) as its temperature rises (and falls). That's normal and does not reduce its quality. For long-term storage, we recommend keeping Bacon Up at temperatures below 80°F.