Moldy jam causes a stir at Sqirl

Earlier this month I wrote about how there is no clean part of moldy bread. Perhaps I was sensing mold in the air because recent events have brought the subject to the forefront. Jessica Koslow, owner of the highly regarded Los Angeles cafe Sqirl, has come under fire for reportedly scraping the mold off containers of Sqirl’s house-made jam and serving the remainder to guests. The exposé originated after disgruntled workers alerted food blogger Joe Rosenthal to the practice, with one of them sending Rosenthal a photo of an extremely moldy jam bucket that they claimed was from Sqirl.

Koslow did not deny the allegations, but instead released a statement defending the practice as well as addressing claims that restaurant employees were forced to work in an unsafe “shadow” kitchen. Koslow asserts that since she uses less sugar in her jams and jellies, they are more susceptible to mold. In her defense of the practice of skimming mold off the top, she references mycologist Dr. Patrick Hickey. When contacted by a reporter, Dr. Hickey said that he did not recall meeting or speaking with Koslow and did not agree that scraping off the mold was acceptable in a commercial setting. “There’s a danger that the toxins could build up in that jam and diffuse down deeper,” he said, noting that there was also a risk to workers in handling the potentially toxic substance.

I admit that I, too, have scraped off a small bit of mold in jam and spread the rest on my toast. But just as with eating an over-easy egg or raw cookie dough, there is a risk in ignoring The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food safety guidelines regarding mold on jellies and jams. Despite the current unwelcome streak of not listening to experts about personal safety, Americans are generally a cautious bunch, which is why there are warnings on menus about ordering rare steaks, most states prohibit the sale of raw milk, and we cannot import certain cheese products. The USDA guidelines for food preservation likewise take a conservative approach – too conservative, according to some.

When I wrote last month about finding solace in Jordan Champagne’s new jam book It Starts with Fruit, I left out my misgivings about the recipes contained in the tome. Like Koslow, Champagne uses far less sugar than the USDA recommends for food safety. Champagne glosses over this and dismisses other recommended practices such as sterilizing jars and equipment, claiming they are unnecessary. Champagne says that “we now understand the exact science behind food preservation,” implying that USDA guidelines are out of date and overly cautious. However, she provides no scientific evidence to bolster her assertion that using less sugar results in an equally safe product, although she does accurately identify the acid level required to prevent botulism.

Champagne notes that jams and jellies made with less sugar (she uses only about one-quarter the amount of USDA-approved recipes) will mold more quickly once opened, but does not indicate that they might not store as well as higher-sugar recipes. I wonder if there will be any backlash from this tome or Koslow’s (if it is also cavalier regarding food safety), just as there was about Tales from a Forager’s Kitchen. Perhaps I am more sensitive to the issue because I have a cottage foods license and food safety training, but I have not used any recipes from Champagne’s book. I have, however, taken inspiration about flavors from it and appreciate its discussion of the pros and cons of using pectin.

While it may be true that sterilizing jars before making jelly is superfluous if you are processing them in a water-bath canner, the step is included in the guidelines for a reason. If you have ever visited an old cemetery, you know that there are frequently multiple headstones for young children in the same family. The reasons for this are varied and include the lack of modern medicines such as antibiotics, but foodborne illness also played a role. If I get listeria poisoning from raw milk, for instance, I will most likely recover, but if a small child gets it, it could easily be fatal. Humans are known to take shortcuts, so requiring sterilization in multiple steps instead of just one acts as a safety net for those who are too impatient to wait the full amount of time for processing or who may not have an accurate thermometer. These days we tend to take food safety for granted, but despite a plethora of rules and regulations, food poisoning is still a frequent occurrence. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that each year 48 million people in the US become sick from a foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.

For your personal household use, you are free to play fast and loose with the rules, but if you are serving the public, extra caution is warranted. Koslow is learning this lesson the hard way: I saw an image on social media of an empty sidewalk which is usually packed with people waiting to pick up items from Sqirl. Coincidentally (?) to this controversy, Koslow has a book about jams and jellies set to be released next week called The Sqirl Jam Book: Jelly, Fruit Butter, and Others. The timing of this controversy may suppress interest in this new book, but as the old saying goes, “bad publicity is better than no publicity.” Whether this situation will hinder book sales is anyone’s guess. Koslow’s publisher has released this statement: “…will publish The Sqirl Jam Book on July 21 as planned. We are confident that the jam-making methods are safe and reliable for home cooks, and that readers will find this book to be a beautiful, hardworking and instructive resource.”