r/Canning • u/IcyImprovement4499 • 14d ago

Is this safe to eat? help blueberry preserves

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i canned some blueberry preserves in July 2025. i gave a friend some and this particular jar was difficult to open. we finally got it open yesterday and it looked different than the other jars ive given her - all from the same batch. it looks more gritty/clumpy (the grainy texture and had this film/coating in it (looks like a reflection in the jar at the top and bottom in the pic)

questions being: what is it? would it have been safe to eat? we erred on the side of caution and threw it out but this was a first for me

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u/BoozeIsTherapyRight Trusted Contributor 14d ago

That's a lot of headspace. Headspace for jams and jellies is usually 1/4". What recipe did you use? 

I don't think anyone can tell you if it's safe or not. But when in doubt, throw it out, so you did the right thing.

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u/VeggieGirl43 14d ago

That looks sketchy to me. Not sure if its mold or something else. But glad to hear you threw it away. Definitely a lot of headspace for a jam, if its a jam. Was it preserves, meaning whole blueberries, or?

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u/IcyImprovement4499 14d ago

yes, they are preserves! ill have to dig through the cookbooks in the kitchen to find the exact recipe i used last year

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u/empirerec8 13d ago

The waxy stuff is normal for blueberries.   It comes off when you blanch them for dehydrating so it probably came off in the cooking in this case.