I'm searching for an old-fashioned water bath canning pot, just like grandma used to use - a very large pot, with an insert to hold canning jars so that they do not touch the sides or bottom of the pot. Not a pressure canner.

I'm sure such a thing could be found at a Landi - if only I knew what to ask for.

'Ein grosser Topf für eindosen', and 'Wasserbad eindosen Topf' didn't get me what I am looking for, so: anyone here know what a water bath canner is called, and where I would find one?

Alternatively, what does one usually use here to put up jams and preserves?

I think you are looking for "ein Einkochtopf"

The kind of canning process you describe seems to be very popular in the US, but I've never heard of it being used in the UK. There, we sterilize the jars, fill them to the brim with the jam/preserve, place a disc of waxed/greaseproof paper over the top to avoid spoillage from the metal lid, then screw the lid on.

The recipes invariably contain enough sugar or vinegar to keep everything fresh for up to a year, if kept somewhere cool and dark.

Edit: Just thought, you must spoon the preserves into the jars whilst very hot; I suppose that creates a vacuum of sorts or gives you a clean, bacteria-free slate to start from, or some such.

kodokan

According to the directions, you sterilize the jars - these are the 'quatro stagione' vacuum jars you find at Landi, cook up the preserves, let both come to room temperature. Fill the jars with a little bit of space space to the lid, screw on the lid, place in the water bath with at least 5 cm of water covering the jar. Let the bath come to a boil, making sure the jars are covered in water the whole time - continue boiling for about 5-10 minutes depending on the recipe, until the center of the jar depresses visibly - that's how you know you have a seal.

Apparently you are only supposed to use this method for high acid foods, such as blackberry jam... which is what I'm attempting.

I was sceptical at first, but I called my mother-in-law (the woman who believes a good housewife should always keep enough home canned food in her pantry to feed an entire town for an decade, in case of nuclear holocaust ) and she remembers her mother doing it exactly like that.

I can't believe I'm canning. What has happened to me? Have I lived in Switzerland too long?

Cool! What's it called in French, anyone? - I want one! It should partly make up for the risible freezer space I have.

Is it possible to can anything like this, veg, meat, whatever? And what sort of liquid can you do it in - I've only ever done stuff packed full of a natural preservative like sugar or vinegar, but could you just do veg in mildly salted water, like you can buy in the shops?

kodokan

These are rites of the grandmother generation. This generation has a deep-freezer, a microwave and maybe a can-opener.

Well I can't believe it's not dog food you are attepting to can....or have you already mastered that.

Do let me know when I can place an order for home delivery. I love homemade jam.

Rasp!!!! Let us have our nostalgic fun. It's not like I can do much else with the insane school timetable - since I spend a lot of time hanging pointlessly round the house, I may as well be gently stirring a pot of something and boiling jars.

Just think of it as the girl equivalent of bothering to fish or hunt game when there's a perfectly good supermarket in town.

kodokan

Well, I remember my grandmother preserving nearly everything in jars:
apples, pears, cherries, beans, gherkin (of course, I'm German ), tomatoes,...
I am not exactly sure how it is done, but the fruit and veg were all in some sort of watery liquid, like the tins you buy in the supermarket.
About the meat: I think I have heard of that, but never seen nor sampled meat preserved in this way.

You can get one online here.

Tip: don't boil them "until the center of the jar depresses visibly" - you'll be waiting a while! Instead, take them out with tongs after the 5-10 minutes (whatever the recipe says) and set them on a rack on the counter to cool. As they cool, the air in the top of the jar contracts, producing the vacuum you want. I remember it taking about 45 minutes for quart jars to seal, less for pints. If it's quiet in the house you'll hear each jar pop as it seals... music to the home canner's ears!

Before putting them away, tap the lids with a fingernail just to be sure; any unsealed jars will sound distinctly different. (If you're in any doubt what an unsealed one sounds like, fill another jar nearly full with tap water and screw a lid onto it.)

Don't forget to sterilize the jars first (heat 'em in the oven) and the lids (saucepan on the stove.)

Happy canning!

We used to can meat back home - you really need a pressure cooker for that though. Water-bath canning (what Meloncollie is talking about) doesn't go higher than 100 degrees, so is only suitable for fruits and tomatoes, which have enough acid in them to inhibit bacterial growth. Or something like that.

Were the gherkins pickled, or just canned? My great-grandmother (Pennsylvania Dutch, so really German) used to can gherkins but neither Mom nor Grandma remembers how she did it, and our periodic attempts to recreate it always went soft and mushy. Pickles are no problem - I can make lovely crunchy dill pickles - but I'd love to rediscover that bit of family lore.

I just pickled some carrots in one jar and lemons in another. Next on the list are kohlrabi and cauliflower. Just add lots of salt and some lemon juice to the water and you're good.
A German co-worker once described to me how her grandmother would can rabbits every year, just in case "something" happened.

Thanks for the tip, I was tempted to can the dangerous way with no rack (which is an odd impulse as I have no garden or harvest to speak of).

Cheers
L.

Thanks for the ideas and tips, everyone!

(Special thanks to MathNut - the way I read the directions I'd have been boiling forever. You are right - the lids only depressed about 20 minutes after taking the jars out of the water.)

Well, using a big spaghetti pot and an DIY wire rack I sort of ended up with an ersatz water bath canner; I tried one small batch - so far, so good. I think I'll invest in a real Einkochtopf (thanks for the word Swisskat, and the link Swissbob!).

I now have 2 jars of blackberry jam - I guess I'll have to try my hand at bagels.

By the way, if I suddenly stop posting a few months down the line, you'll know I've failed at food safety 101.

Lol - no dog food. I'm willing to risk botulism with myself and my husband, but put the dogs at risk? Never...

(Although the dogs are the reason I'm doing this. To block their view of the neighbor's property, I planted thornless blackberries along the fence. Now I have a rather abundant harvest, even after they pilfered their share. )

FYI, I found an interesting site with all sorts of canning info and recipes:

http://pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm

Why do I suddenly feel the urge to hunt for 'State Fair' on DVD?

I have to say that I'm rather unsatisfied with crunchiness of the store-bought pickles. Could you share your recipe and technique?

My parents have never used a water bath or some such for making jelly and they have been making jelly for 50 years. They usually make about 100 jars per year for gifts. When I was still in high school I started making jelly and I've made jelly and marmalade here in Switzerland and only sterilized the jars and lids. It looks like the pears are getting ripe and I'm considering making peach rum jam. Yummy, but my parents lost the recipe.

They do have a large pressure cooker as they do can beans, beets, and just about anything else that can come out of the garden. I like green beans, but I REALLY like home-canned green beans.

Just a note that the Migros newspaper showed some canning jam jars (Konfigläser) on sale from 1.9 to 7.9.2009 at 5.50SFr for a set of 3x 324ml jars.
And a some sort of sieb funnel thing (Trichter mit Siebeinsatz) for 8.90SFr.

No, I don't work there, but it reminded me of your thread.

Keep on Jam'in

So far this summer I've made homemade apricot, fig, mirabelle, and strawberry jams. I can't believe how easy and quick it is, and I love doing it!! I loved it so much I went to a copper factory and bought a copper jam basin and ladle!

Anyway, I have the Ball jar book of preserves (standard in US), and was overwhelmed by how complicated it seemed. But when I saw how the locals do it here-- soak in sugar, cook and put in sterilized, regular screw-top jars and turn upside down for the night, I was hooked! All my French recipe books use this method, and so far, so good for us. No funky diseases.

I'm really looking forward to this winter when I can pull out a jar for our scones, toasts or muffins and recall the wonderful summer bounty!

I've made a second batch, and this time I heard a very loud pop. With the first batch, I heard more of a soft fizzle, like letting air out of a balloon. To my inexperienced ears both batches sound the same when tapped on the lid.

Do you think the first batch sealed properly? Should I try to re-do them? Or just eat lots of toast and jam in the next few days?

Many thanks.



ETA: Ladyofzlac, where oh where is the copper factory? Sounds very interesting....

Looking for this?




If taken apart, it looks like this:



Ask for a "Sterilisierhafen". If Landi doesn't have it (anymore), try to get it at a "Brockenhaus".

For some reason, my overheated eyes read the title as 'canning bath water'.

I've done grapefruit marmalade jam but dared not keep it outside the fridge for months:

(scroll down for the jam recipe)
http://argusworld.blogspot.com/2008/...-break-my.html

Last summer I pickled some kumquats and limes by placing the closed jars in the sun for a few weeks. You can make them sweet or salty (salty limes are great stirred in a warm drink when you have a sore throat; or use them as a chutney). Just add salt or sugar, or both and perhaps a red chilli or some other whole spices if you're adventurous. You know the limes are ready when they turn almost translucent. (To be on the safe side, I kept them in the fridge once they were done. Yes, chicken hearted!)