Anone know of any cool jam jars?
This may be an unusual request but does anyone who does home jam making know of a website or location to get some interesting jam jars? I am doing some jams as gifts and want to give them in jars that are not the typical jelly glass jars? I have been on-line but can't seem to find anything at all unusual...I would love to find some wide mouth round ones with self-sealing lids (not the rings and lids that are on most jars)?
-
Have you ruled out the Ball jars? http://www.canningpantry.com/ball-pla...
These have a platinum/silver-color lid and ring. -
Define "cool." :-)
www.freundcontainer.com has a variety of jars with plastisol-lined covers available
www.specialtybottle.com
Bormioli has "Quattro Stagioni" jars but not small size with large openings.
Glass is expensive to ship — be prepared. -
-
-
German Weck jars have glass lids. Really good looking. They also make bottles and tall jars for things like asparagus. Sometimes Sur La Table has a few sizes but you can mail order the entire line from their US supplier. http://www.weckcanning.com/docs/about...
›5 Replies-
re: MakingSense
Thank you..I checked the website and I do love the way they look....the style is what I am looking for..but checking their website it seems like they only make the lids to be used in a boiling process of canning. The jams I make do not require boiling after filling the jars. I will try to contact them and see if they can be used in my process...I like the look of them.
-
re: makecake
What method of preservation do you use?
I have vintage ones that used tin tops that snapped on while the jam was boiling hot. As it cooled, the top "sucked" down tight and sealed. But after a few uses though, they were bent and not safe. I don't think you can buy those new any longer - probably not considered safe.
There was an old method of sealing jams and jellies with wax. I think this depended on the sugar content of the product as a preservative and the wax sealing out all air which would have caused spoilage. I'm sure this would give the food safety nannies fits today but it was widely used a few generations ago. That would let you use about any decorative container that was heatsafe against the boiling jam.-
re: MakingSense
Just boiling twice within 2 consecutive days...filling the jars to the top...inverting them overnight..and they are good to go. I recently took a class with Christine Ferber...(jam lady from France) and this is the method she uses. Her jars were not typical jam jars...with the lids and rims...they were basically just regular jars I guess. This is all a bit new to me so I wasn't sure if you had to have special "jam jars" or could any be used. I will have to investigate a little more.
-
re: makecake
MikeG
Aug 4, 2007 04:33 AM
"Boiling" twice sounds like a sad thing to do to any fruit jam or jelly, unless the first one is very brief, but that isn't really part of the "processing" in that method, it's part of the cooking. As for the inverting the jar, that used to be very common in the US but I'm pretty sure was never "approved" by any sort of health authority, though realistically with fruit jams, there's nothing to worry about but a speck of two of mold that can be safely removed (in my opinion; current "official" suggestions tend to suggest any sign of mold on pretty much any food is Evil, Horribly Evil if the putative eater is pregnant.)
But, no, the European all glass jars with the separate rubber ring will not even create the mild, pseudo-vacuum you get with the metal lids. The rubber gaskets are heat sensitive, but they're much thicker and I can all but promise that a small jam-sized jar will cool off too fast for the gasket to set properly from the residual heat of the jar and jam. (That's how the other method works.) But like I said, that's really not that big a deal. You might use the paraffin as insurance and not worry about "sealing" them, but you can also just tell the gift-givees that they shouldn't just leave it on a shelf for months.... stick it in the fridge or eat it with reasonable dispatch, and they won't even get that speck of mold...
-
re: makecake
Wow! How fortunate you were to find a class with Ferber! She's the Queen of artisanal preserves.
I don't make jams and jellies much any more but I remember that they were tricky if you overboiled them. They got gummy to the point that you could slice them with a knife and they weren't pleasant.
The method that Ferber uses is the old traditional way, which is highly frowned upon today by the food safety types, and they might have a point because modern recipes have changed, often using less sugar. You should be extremely careful not to alter traditional recipes as they depend on high sugar and acid content as preservatives. Many modern recipes may not work with Ferber's "inverting" method or even the paraffin sealing method of preservation.
European canning jars should be used with the special instructions that come with them. I've used them successfully and some brands have been in common use around the world for over 100 years. They are sometimes found in cookware shops and ethnic markets.When I can each year, I only buy replacement lids and reuse the rings for my jars. You might be able to use lids for your project if you can find interesting jars that fit the lids exactly. You could place the lids on the jars, invert them and the cooling process might create the suction needed to suck the lid tight to the jar's top. I have no idea if this would work or if it is safe.
You might also email or write Ms. Ferber to ask if she might tell you where you might buy what you seek. Is there a source reference in the back of one of her books perhaps?Please let us know what you find.
-
-
-
-
