It isn't safe to just turn the jars upside down. You must use a hot water bath for all canning items. It kills the bacteria that can grow in the jars- greatly reducing the risk of food poisoning. 10-15 min for 1/2 pt jars and 15-20 min for pint jars. Boil, boil, boil!

Hi Tiffany,

Processing jam for 20 minutes would cause the jam to be of a much inferior quality, with an "overcooked" taste rather than having the "fresh taste" quality which is the goal of homemade jams.

Processing in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes meets the current standards.

Some older recipes called for sterilizing jars, then pouring in the hot jam and capping with a sterilized lid.

Botulism (I assume this is what you mean by "food poisoning") is not normally found in high acid foods that are not vacuum packed, since botulism grows in an anaerobic environment. Flat sour can occur in high acid foods, but is usually very easily detected as being "spoiled". Salmonella can occur in high acid foods, but is usually easily killed by 190°F temperatures for just a few minutes of pasteurization.

-- CM

Just getting into canning! This recipe worked well, looks pretty enough to show off and is a lovely mix of sweet and tart. Good stuff.

Prosessing for higher altitudes you add 10 minutes for processing while canning. If the original recipe calls for 10 minutes you process for 20. It still tastes like home made to me!