Perhaps the jelly was dark and discolored looking......and perhaps it was a bad judge!
I have never done sourkraut but do know it has to be packed into the jar really well.
Linda C

Jelly has a very delicate texture. It should "move" slightly in the jar when tilted. Or put another way, it should "quiver" yet hold its shape when placed on a plate.

So theoretically, if a judge turned a jar upside down and nothing moved, that would indicate over-cooking.

And, of course, as LindaC said, it should be clear, bright and sparkling.

Carol

When you make canned goods for the fair you make more than one so you can open one to test it.

Over-cooked jelly will turn dark and get runny. This can happen when the cooking heat is too low. You want a rapid boil - slow boiling destroys the pectin (hence the runny jelly). The color can also change if the jelly was stored where it's hot or exposed to sun/light.

Be sure you have the suggested amount of headspace for each type of food you are entering. They'll measure it with a ruler....

When it comes to sauerkraut... Was it hot or cold packed? Hot pack is the preferred method these days, but cold pack will work as well. You need to pack the kraut rather firmly, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Once again, if you make several jars, you can pack them differently and then choose which one looks the best and meets the criteria.

You can get a copy of the "judging standards" on-line, or from the County Cooperative Extension Office, so you can prejudge your food items.

-Grainlady

Before we started tasting (and poking at)jellies at our fair the judges would tip the jar, looking for a bulge...not too loose, but not too firm. And they are sticklers for clarity.

I've had the best luck hot packing my sauerkraut.

Like katiec, I've had better luck hot packing sauerkraut, mine never "floats" and the brine keeps it from discoloring on top, which sometimes happens when it floats up.

I agree on the jally, I've never made a single jar of anything, I make a batch, and I always open a jar and test taste and consistency.

Overcooked jelly has a thicker, darker, more "taffy like" consistency. Jelly should be soft and spreadable, not like gummy bears, which I've gotten a couple of times. As mentioned, when you tip the jar it should "quiver" or "bulge", but not run. If it just stays in place, it's too thick.

I use the frozen plate test, drop a bit of hot jelly onto a frozen plate and stick it back in the freezer to cool quickly and check consistency. Having made a couple of batches of overcooked jam, I learned to turn the heat off under the pan while I tested, because it can overcook relatively quickly.

That's traditional jelly, without SureJell or commercial pectin, if commercial pectin was used, I can't imagine that it would be overcooked, it only takes a minute.

Annie

Annie

Question for Grainlady, Annie and Katiec: I made sauerkraut only one time, followed directions for curing and canning very carefully, and it still all spoiled in the jars. An Amish friend said I should have used winter and not summer cabbage. Can you comment here please? We really like kraut and I would like to try it again. Thanks. Susan

I'm not any of those three, but it helps to know more specifically what formula you followed for the sauerkraut and precisely what you did. Fermentation is superficially simple but can easily go wrong. For example, using the wrong sort of salt.

Carol

susanamc-

Early cabbage is usually too low in sugar to produce proper fermentation for sauerkraut. Mid- to late-season cabbage produces the the best kraut because of the higher sugar content.

Personally, I'd never can sauerkraut. I use a lacto-fermentation - adding whey from my homemade kefir - and sauerkraut is wonderfully healthy stuff until you heat process it which kills all the good bacteria. I make it a quart at a time and keep it in the refrigerator, or will freeze it in portions, but never heat process it.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Pickl-It

Thanks all! May try the sauerkraut again with winter cabbage this time. Susan

Susan, here in Michigan all I have, I think, is winter cabbage, we have a short growing season. We never used to process sauerkraut at all, just dipped it out of the crock as we needed it, but now I can it. Many people also freeze it and say it stays a bit crunchier. I use a crock for fermentation, a plate to weight down the craut and some brine filled quart jars as weights. However, you can get a foodsafe plastic bucket from your local deli and use that, I've gotten a couple from a yogurt factory and I know some people use frosting buckets from Walmart's deli, given to them free.

If it helps you at all, here are my instructions for making sauerkraut, from the Michigan State University Extension Service. They are exactly the same as the instructions Grandpa gave me about a million years ago. If you want to make a smaller batch, it's 5 lbs. of shredded cabbage and 3 tablespoons of salt.

SAUERKRAUT

25 lb. cabbage
3/4 cup canning or pickling salt

QUALITY: For the best sauerkraut, use firm heads of
fresh cabbage. Shred cabbage and start kraut between 24 and
48 hours after harvest.

YIELD: About 9 quarts

PROCEDURE: Work with about 5 pounds of cabbage at a
time. Discard outer leaves. Rinse heads under cold running
water and drain. Cut heads in quarters and remove cores.
Shred or slice to a thickness of a quarter. Put cabbage in a suitable fermentation container and add 3 tablespoons of salt. Mix thoroughly, using clean hands. Pack firmly until salt draws juices from cabbage. Repeat shredding, salting, and packing until all cabbage is in the container. Be sure the container is deep enough so that its rim is at least 4 or 5 inches above the cabbage. If juice does not cover cabbage,add boiled and cooled brine (1-1/2 tablespoons of salt per quart of water). Add plate and weights, cover container with a clean bath towel. Store at 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit while fermenting. At temperatures between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, kraut will be fully fermented in about 3 to 4 weeks; at 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit, fermentation may take 5 to 6 weeks. At temperatures lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit kraut may not ferment. Above 75 degrees Fahrenheit, kraut may become soft. If you weigh the cabbage down with a brine-filled bag (6 tablespoons salt to 1 gallon of water), do not disturb the crock until normal fermentation is completed (when bubbling ceases). If you use jars as weight, you will have to check the kraut 2 to 3 times each week and remove scum if it forms. Fully fermented kraut may be kept tightly covered in the refrigerator for several months or it may be canned as follows:

Hot pack--Bring kraut and liquid slowly to a boil in a
large kettle, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and
fill hot jars rather firmly with kraut and juices, leaving
1/2- inch headspace.

Raw pack--Fill jars firmly with kraut, and cover with
juices, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Adjust lids and process 10 minutes for pints, 15 minutes for quarts if hot packed, 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts if raw/cold packed.

Good luck, I tend to do 50 quarts at a time, but that's a bit extreme. I don't have to make kraut for a couple of years at at time, though, so when we have a really good cabbage year, that's the year I make kraut.

Annie

Re: processing.., I do the 10 min. for pints that Annie posted, but I only bring the jars to a simmer.

I've made sauerkraut four times. The second time it was nasty. I'd used a gallon jar and weighted it with a plastic bag filled with saltwater. I'm not sure if it was that or other conditions, but it was years before I tried again. Now I have a food grade bucket that's the diameter of my dinner plates and I weigh it down with a jar of water. I guess the temp in my pantry is correct or something because I've had no scum and the kraut was excellent. It got a blue at the fair last year. Growing way more cabbage this year.

Grainlady, interesting website...do you use those airlocks?

katiec-

I'm considering investing in the airlocks, but for now I'm using a wide-mouth quart jar and use a pint jar small enough to fit inside the wide-mouth jar as the weight. I fill the pint jar with water and put a plastic jar lid on it. It takes approx. 1 large head of cabbage per quart.

-Grainlady