Ice Cream Sauces

[mrose]

I am going to be making & selling ice cream sauces, both chocolate and a caramel /chocolate. I have jars that have lids that will seal; similar to canning jar lids. As I remember you these jars/lids in boiling water for about 20 - 25 mins to drive air out to get them to seal. I know you could do this with a plain caramel sauce, but anyone try it with chocolate.

Edited July 15, 2009 by mrose (log)

[sugarseattle]

what kind of chocolate sauce will it be? simple ganache?

[mrose]

what kind of chocolate sauce will it be? simple ganache?

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Chocolate sauce would be dark chocolate, cream, butter and brown sugar.

The caramel/chocolate would be caramel with chocolate.

I was hoping if I could seal the chocolate sauce, it wouldn't need refrigeration until after it is open.

[Lisa Shock]

I would guess that the chocolate would burn, since that's what chocolate does once it gets over about 120°F.

Why don't you vacuum seal your jars? The home-level foodsaver has canning jar attachments that allow easy sealing of the 2 part canning jar lids; I imagine better sealers also offer this option.

I use mine all the time to seal mayo and pickles that I keep in the fridge. Outside of the fridge, I seal all of my dry grains and beans in jars to prevent pantry moths.

Edit: vacuum sealing won't make it shelf stable, but it will preserve flavor better than boiling for 20 minutes will.

Edited July 16, 2009 by Lisa Shock (log)

[mrose]

I would guess that the chocolate would burn, since that's what chocolate does once it gets over about 120°F.

Why don't you vacuum seal your jars? The home-level foodsaver has canning jar attachments that allow easy sealing of the 2 part canning jar lids; I imagine better sealers also offer this option.

I use mine all the time to seal mayo and pickles that I keep in the fridge. Outside of the fridge, I seal all of my dry grains and beans in jars to prevent pantry moths.

Edit: vacuum sealing won't make it shelf stable, but it will preserve flavor better than boiling for 20 minutes will.

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I have never used a foodsaver this way. I'll have to try. The other problem I have is the jars I bought have 1 piece lids that are more like jam jar lids. Would have to use 3 dozen of these before I' d buy any more.

Thank you

[Lisa Shock]

You might be able to vacuum seal those lids, but then again, you might not.

You can see the FoodSaver jar sealers on amazon, look for FoodSaver T03-0023-01 Wide Mouth Jar Sealer and FoodSaver T03-0006-01 Regular Mouth Jar. They are $9.99 each, and allow use of the old-fashioned 2-pc canning jar lids that have a flat pc and a ring. The wide-mouth attachment is easier to operate and more reliable. There's a bit of a trick for the regular-mouth attachment to work, but it does work. These are attachments for the machine, so you just need one -unlike the universal lid.

Water bath canning may make the sauces shelf-stable, I am not 100% certain on this as boiling water temps do not kill many anaerobic bacteria like botulism -particularly if your food is low acid. My recollection is that the FDA recommends that only high acid foods like pickles, certain fruit and tomatoes are stable at room temp with a regular water bath. You may need a pressure cooker (temps over 250°F) like commercial processors to get a truly shelf-stable product.

[Kerry Beal]

If you have the jar attachment for the foodsaver - you can use your Reynolds Handi Vac to create the vacuum.

[Lisa Shock]

A quick search reveals that water-bath canning of dairy products and, products containing dairy, is considered to be dangerous -even if you refrigerate the resulting product. Commercial producers use pressure canners.

The guidelines allow dairy to be vacuum sealed but note that the product should be consumed within a few days.

[pastrygirl]

Doesn't the high amount of sugar in dessert sauces change the rules a bit? Or can botulism still survive in caramel?

[Tom Gengo]

Doesn't the high amount of sugar in dessert sauces change the rules a bit?    Or can botulism still survive in caramel?

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I have never had a problem w/ the caramel sauce. The temperature of the sugar is about 250F (I believe that is the temp to kill the spores.) I do not even boil the caramel afterwards, just pour it in a jar, put a lid on the ball jar and the cooling sauce forms a vacuum. I have some that have been in the cabinet for a couple of years w/ no bulging lids.

Verified, 250 F for 3 min's will kill the spores. REason a pressure cooker is needed for veggies/fruits that are not acidic enough.

Edited July 17, 2009 by Tom Gengo (log)

[Lisa Shock]

I am specifically talking about the chocolate sauce:

"Chocolate sauce would be dark chocolate, cream, butter and brown sugar."

I doubt that the original poster is cooking dark chocolate, cream, butter and brown sugar at a temp anywhere close to 250°F.

The FDA info said that water bath canning did not prevent dairy from spoiling.

Low moisture in a product can help with the botulism situation in low-acid foods like this. But, a creamy sauce that has been gently heated to prevent the chocolate from burning and cream from separating, which is then water-bath canned, will still see rapid spoilage of the dairy products in it. That is why the FDA recommends vacuum sealing for such products, and a shelf life of no more than three days.

[Lior]

Here is something I asked for once for a colleague of mine. I do not have her recipe (...) but helped her out with the issues. Perhaps it will help you:

Dear Ilana,

Thank you for visiting the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.

Question: Hello, I have a recipe for a chocolate spread containing chocolate, cream, invert sugar, glucose, sugar and butter.I usually boil the jars before canning the chocolate. Sometimes I find a little mold on the top after a short time. Should I wait for the spread to cool before closing the jars? Should I turn the jar upside down to make a vacum? What could be my problem?

Our Center's expertise is in the area of home food preservation (including home canning) for consumers, in quantities suitable for consumers, and using ingredients and equipment available to consumers. These items are definitely available to U.S. consumers, and may be available to consumers in other countries.

1.This (includes a recipe) to one of our factsheets on home canning chocolate sauce, which explains the relevant issues:

Chocolate sauce/spread, depending on the ingredients, is usually a low-acid food. A safe canning process (i.e. time-temperature of heating in a canner) must be scientifically determined independently for each recipe. Most dairy ingredients like milk, cream, half-and-half, evaporated milk etc. are also low-acid foods. The presence of dairy products makes the heat process development difficult, because these ingredients deteriorate quickly on contact with heat, develop rancidity, change color, odor, appearance etc.

If a product like a chocolate sauce was home-canned (theoretically), it would need to be pressure canned, and the extensive heat treatment involved would cause deteriorative changes in texture, flavor & quality. Consequently, there is no USDA/Cooperative Extension home-canning recommendation for chocolate sauce.

So, for home use, we recommend making the product up fresh to eat immediately, or freezing it, as in the link above.

2. This is a factsheet that explains issues related to development of home canning processes, and why it may not always be possible to home can a product that is commercially available:

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/nchf...ckgrounder.html

Since you are seeing mold growth, mold spores are present in the product and/or jar surfaces and/or headspace and have access to oxygen, which is why you are observing their growth in the product headspace. There also may be other microorganisms present and capable of growing, depending on your product characteristics. You will have to 'develop' your product and process so as to make it shelf stable (free from microbial growth) when stored at room temperature.

Home canned products do not have added chemical preservatives like some commercially canned products do. However, if your product is for commercial sale, you may be able to add a preservative that will prevent microbial growth including mold development. You will, however, be subject to the regulations in your country, and you will need to determine what these are i.e. obtain a list of allowable preservatives and levels. You can find your Country's food agency using this link: This

You will have to investigate your options - perhaps added preservatives and the use of heat. Without testing a product (which we are not set up to do) it is not possible for us to make recommendations. The manner in which you fill the product into the jars and jar closure options are also varied, and will be linked to other food safety interventions that you may incorporate.

In other words, this process in not easy, and you may need the assistance of a product development specialist who is able to analyze the product and your process.

3. USDA/Cooperative Extension home canning processes are developed using the interventions of pH (acidity) and heat (heating the food before it is filled into the jars, and heating the jars [with lid and screw band in place] in a canner). Consequently, vegetative microbial cells are destroyed, and resistant bacterial spores are either destroyed or prevented from germinating. This is what keeps the food safe and free from microbial growth resulting in spoilage or food poisoning. This is crucial in any shelf-stable preserved food.

4. If one uses the USDA/Cooperative Extension endorsed methods of home canning utilizing Mason jars and two-piece lids, the oxygen-containing air in the (product and) headspace is driven out during canning, and the lid 'seals' developing a vacuum seal. This prevents further contact of the product with oxygen. The currently available lids seal automatically as the product in the jar cools. Additional information about this process is available in this publication 'Principles of Home Canning':

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/usda...an_guide_01.pdf]Here

Hope this helps a bit!

Edited July 17, 2009 by Lior (log)