Can I ship the bacon jamz?

December 16, 2012 1:40 PM

Is it ok to mail a jar of "bacon jam? that I made?

I made bacon jam following this recipe (it's really good!). I want to ship some to Hawaii in a glass jar. Everything in the recipe is slow cooked for 4 hours - the recipe says to refrigerate, but is it ok to spend a few days in transit to Hawaii? It's cooked bacon with a healthy dose of vinegar in the recipe - would it go bad before it got there?

It's not canned like a fruit jam, and I read some things about pressure canning meats, but I don't have the equipment to do that. If the consensus is it will not be good to ship unrefrigerated, I'll nix the whole idea.

Thank you!

posted by little_c to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Well, since it isn't being properly canned, I would not ship it unrefrigerated. Mostly because meat + sugar + unsterilized jars would make for a great place for stuff to grow. Consider packing it with some dry ice or cold packs if you're going to mail it.
posted by Mercaptan at 1:47 PM on December 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

I don't have the equipment to do that

You could put the jam in a sterilized (boiled) canning jar and boil the jar for ten minutes in a regular cooking pot. As the jar cools, the lid will seal. Not as stringent as pressure canning, but at least you'll get an airtight seal to keep the bad guys out.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:55 PM on December 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you really want it to get there, pack it in dry ice and ship via Fed Ex.
posted by Ideefixe at 2:02 PM on December 16, 2012

I was going to suggest as Blazecock Pileon did. You can also go to the local UPS store to see what options they have available.
posted by Yellow at 2:03 PM on December 16, 2012

Do not boiling-water can it. Meat is low-acid and needs to be canned at 240 degrees. You're risking botulinum otherwise. Barring some other magic, you need a pressure canner. (Source 1, source 2. Also a comment on the original recipe mentions it.)

Or just ship it with ice packs.
posted by supercres at 2:19 PM on December 16, 2012 [4 favorites]

Nope on the boiling water canning, unless you want to give your friends food poisoning for the holidays.

Dry ice and Fed Ex.
posted by mollymayhem at 2:23 PM on December 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

(Addendum: I'm not one of those FDA-USDA cook-your-chicken-to-165 people. I'll leave broth out on the stove to cool overnight. My usual answer to "can I eat this?" is "Yes, of course" without even reading the question. But I don't mess around with canning. Don't can it without pressure.)

Side note: I'm making this now. Thanks for the inspiration.
posted by supercres at 2:27 PM on December 16, 2012

I would start here.....
DryIceInfo.com: Shipping Refrigerated Or Frozen Items

They have a directory of suppliers too. Maybe one for your area is listed.
posted by lampshade at 2:28 PM on December 16, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks everyone!
posted by little_c at 2:43 PM on December 16, 2012