snipped-for-privacy@EveryChance.org (Bob Masta) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.itd.umich.edu:
Send me your address and I'll send you a packet and you can try them out.
snipped-for-privacy@slingshot.co.nz.
They are put on moist and as they dry they shrink and become tight like a drumhead and seal the top. They are clear and you can see right through them. They took over from wax a long time ago and they do last. You would be hard pressed to find any produce using wax as a stopper.
The cellophane wrap is not meant for "canning" type long term storage, just to keep it in the pot til you give it away. You can use it for long term storage, but you will want to put a layer of wax on top of your jelly, at which point the cello becomes simply a dust seal, and decorative.
If you want long term storage, then make a lid, and "glue" it to the top of the pot with wax (or Parafilm) while everything is hot. The vacuum created while cooling will "seal" it nicely. I have found (I've done some experimenting) that a "ring" of wax applied to the underside of the lid and allowed to cool will again melt and seal to the rim of the pot, assuming the pot is of sufficient temp, as it would be once filled with hot jelly.
This all assumes that your pot and lid are vitrified enough to be airtight. You will probably want to glaze the inside (underside) of the lid to be sure.
I remember my grandmother canning in her kitchen. When she ran out of rubber rings for the glass tops she used, she would put some wax on the lids, and seal it that way, which is where I suspect my "idea" came from. Isn't it amazing what you remember after 40 years:>)
No, the cellophane wrap IS meant for longtime storage, i am 66 now and remember my mother and grandmother using nothing but cellphane for any type of jelly, it lasted for years. Actually it becomes slightly concave as it cools. You can still buy it here, though most people i know use screw tops nowadays. I do too. I am not sure how well it works on pottery jars, i know it only from glass jars. Could it be that some pottery jars are slightly porous, thus not keeping a perfect vacuum? Noone here used parafin as far as i remember, i learned about parafin usage when i moved to the US in 1965, but i never used it myself.
That's very interesting. I was always taught that cello was not going to hold up, and to use a 1/4 inch (6mm) or thicker layer of paraffin on top with cello to keep the dust off. Interesting how different cultures use the same product different ways.
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