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Pressure Canning Recipes & Product News

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G70_CT_Camo_Button_Hi-Heat_PlastisolIf you’re preserving low acid foods – like meats and most vegetables, pressure canning is the only safe way to create a safe and shelf stable product. It used to be that your only options for containers and lids used in pressure canning were Ball jars and their 2-piece lids. There is now a wider range of options! The Orchard Road Canning Jars & Lids are designed and tested to be safe for Pressure Canning. We also offer single piece lids Hi-Heat Lids, which are designed for pressure canning. We’re excited to offer them in camo…yes, camo!

Psst…we are giving away 24 Hi-Heat Lids to 2 lucky winners. Enter your chance to win below.

Pressure Canning Basics is a good place to start if you’re just getting into pressure canning or if you need a refresher. This post over on Living Homegrown will clear up any confusion about pressure cookers versus pressure canners.

During these colder months, having some soup that isn’t from a can or that needs to be thawed out is a real treat! It’s important to understand that not all soup recipes are safe for canning – even pressure canning.

Soup Recipes (that are safe for pressure canning)

  • Homemade Chicken Soup or Chicken Broth – While it’s pretty easy to freeze broth-based chicken soup, having all of your ingredients at room temperature is a real time saver.
  • This Rosemary White Bean Soup Starter is a real winner for your pantry and is incredibly simple!
  • If your garden blesses you with more tomatoes than you think you can handle, and your family loves Tomato Soup, the UW Extension sheds light on why you can’t just can your favorite tomato soup, but also offers a wonderful alternative!
  • This Beef Stew Recipe from Ball Fresh Preserving is also a winner – with this variety of veggies, it would be a great way to use up some of the fall garden items for a delicious chunky stew.

StockFillmore Containers Vegetable Stock

  • Stock is one of those secret ingredients that once you use it, you’ll always want to have it on hand! Not only is it (in our humble opinion) the best base for just about any soup, but it can be used as the fluid when making rice & couscous. It’s an incredibly economical way of getting MORE out of your meats and/or vegetables. With all of the gatherings and seemingly endless amount of food over the Holidays, it’s likely that you’d easily find yourself with some kind of meat along with plenty of vegetable scraps that would produce some lovely stock!
  • This Clarification on Chicken Broth and Chicken Stock (along with the recipe and canning instructions) is wonderful. I love the tip on using the pressure canner to speed the process of getting the most out of your chicken! Yes, I have a collection bin in my freezer for those vegetable remnants that weren’t pretty enough for the veggie platter or that I know I wouldn’t get to use on time. TIP: Don’t wait until things get droopy before you put them in the freezer. You will get more from your veggies if you’ve put them away before they’re out of their prime.
  • Marisa’s How to Can Turkey Stock is perfect for this time of the year! You may be shocked to know how many folks are just tired of the whole dealing with the turkey thing…if you know the cook well enough, do you think it would be weird to ask for the carcass? Perhaps with the promise of a quart of stock?  She also shares how to Pressure Can Ham Stock.
  • Interested in canning Beef Stock? The NCHFP has a useful post on the basics of selecting, preparing & canning Beef Stock as well as Chicken or Turkey Stock.
  • If you don’t have meat, but find yourself with vegetables to spare, it would be worth your time to make some Vegetable Stock. It offers up a lot of taste without the residual fats that are difficult to fully remove in the making of meat stock. It also is an excellent option to have on hand for those vegetarian guests!

Pressure Canning Meat

  • For the hunters out there, Sharon at Simply Canning has instructions for several methods of Canning Venison. Yes, you can do Raw Pack Cubed Venison! She also includes some of her favorite recipes for Elk and Venison in her e-book!
  • I’ve heard many times that the problem people have with canned chicken is keeping it on the shelves – because it’s that good and it becomes such a convenient staple for mealtime!
  • If you’re looking to pressure can beef or meats that are a little less ordinary, like rabbit, fish or other seafood, see NCHFP’s extensive list : Preparing & Canning Poultry, Red Meats and Seafood.

Giveaway

Do you want a chance to test out some of our Hi-Heat Lids? Enter below for your chance to win 24 Hi-Heat Lids! We will select two random winners. The winners will get to select which color lids they want.

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Top 10 Reasons iLIDS are Really Intelligent Lids

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Intelligent LIDS or iLIDS are a unique product that was invented by a Seattle woman who loves her mason jars, and like many of us, wanted a one-piece, non-rusting, reusable, non-leaking lid for everyday use.

ILID Collage

Many of us use Mason jars beyond preserving…packing Mason jar meals, blending smoothies, making iced tea concentrate, fermenting, storing dry goods, replacing those awkward 2-piece lids on open preserves, storing and freezing leftovers, and the list goes on. While mason jars have always been practical and popular storage tools, these Intelligent LIDS make perfect partners. They provide practical, stylish, environmentally thoughtful, food storage for use at home, or on the go.

Top 10 Reasons iLIDS are so Intelligent 

  1. They are one piece!ILid Drink Lids
  2. Two styles are available Storage Lid & Drink Lid.
  3. Both styles come in regular mouth and wide mouth.
  4. They are dishwasher safe…big thumbs up for this one!
  5. They come in a rainbow of pretty colors! Get your favorite colors for fun. Organizational folks will rejoice as they knock themselves out color-coding the pantry, fridge, freezer, or whatever their heart desires, etc.
  6. A handy dandy gasket prevents leaking. Which means no more spilled soup in your lunch bag. Oh, and here’s a bonus – the gasket is removable for cleaning!
  7. The lids are designed to open easily, thanks to the attractive grippy swoosh design.
  8. They are made in the USA – Seattle to be exact.
  9. Intelligent Lids are made from food safe polypropylene #5 that is recycled and recyclable.
  10. They are BPA, BPS and Phthalate free.

Flip Cap

A close cousin of the iLIDS…our beloved Flip Caps from the makers of ReCAP. From on-the-go meals to pantry storage to a multi-purpose shaker, the reCAP Flip is a BPA-free plastic cap that ‘flips’ to a large 2” opening. An optional accessory pack includes a counter ring to track contents, and two different sizes of screens to transform jars into shakers for parmesan cheese, hot pepper flakes, spices, flour, corn-starch and more.
FlipCap Collage

We want to hear from you…how would you use these neat mason jar companions.

 

Beyond Canning a Book Review + Giveaway

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Beyond Canning BookWe’re quite excited to be carrying Autumn’s cookbook, Beyond Canning! While it truly is a beautiful book, it also has much to offer in the way of recipes and tips for preserving. The book contains three topics… Sweet Preserves, Pickles, and Fermentation. So if you’re wishing to expand your preserving in more than one direction, you’re in luck!

I’m also drawn to the manner in which the recipes are laid out – I find it oddly comforting in some way, as if everything is in its place. (Perhaps it’s the amount of time I spent maintaining science lab journals – back in the day when we had those black speckled bound composition books in which we had to document (in writing) each experiment with prior research, materials, procedures, etc.)

If you’ve had some experience in preserving, many of her recipes offer a different approach – either by process or ingredients – that change up the flavor profile a bit. Chances are, you’ll not only become infatuated with some of her recipes, but they will inspire you to make some changes on your own! Often, spices are not a required part of the preserving and we often forget (or it doesn’t occur to us) that they can be adjusted to suit our preferences.

Smoky Carrot Coins

BlogSmoky Carrot Coins Beyond Canning Autumn’s recipe for Smoky Carrot Coins (which are pickled) do not contain any garlic, which isn’t a big deal unless you’ve got some eaters in your home who aren’t crazy for it. My children don’t love it…and I’m not crazy over intensely garlicky pickles. Since we’ve become staunch fans of the smoky version of salt, this recipe is now on the top of my list. However, when I went to make these beauties, I had smoked salt, but not smoked paprika, so I used both….but the smoky component came from the salt instead of the paprika. I realize it wasn’t an equal swap, but since it wasn’t going to have an impact on the safety, I justified it. (The recipe below is the original one from Autumn’s book.)

Ingredients

Pickling Spices Beyond Canning Orchard Road Pint¼ teaspoon each of whole yellow mustard seed, fennel seed, celery seed, smoked paprika, and crushed red pepper
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into ¼ -inch-thick coins
2½ cups apple cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Materials

Basic supplies for vinegar preserves (available on page 78 of her book).
When following a new recipe, I usually stick to what’s there on the page.  I’m so accustomed to being prompted by the general  “prepare water bath, gather jars and lids, jar lifter, magnetic lid wand, and any other of your canning essentials”. Autumn refers the reader to a section in her book that covers some basics for that particular preservation method rather than covering it with each recipe….which I appreciate, after all, it is Beyond Canning! However, since “page 78 of her book” isn’t available in this venue, this is where we prompt you to prepare your water bath and gather your essentials!

Yield: 2 pints

  1. Place ¼ teaspoon each of whole yellow mustard seed, fennel seed, celery seed, smoked paprika, and crushed red pepper in each prepared pint jar.4th Burner Pot Pickling Brine Measurements
  2. Divide the peeled and prepped carrots between the 2 jars. You can shake them from side to side to help the contents settle.
  3. Bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. We used our our 4th Burner Pot, because of its handy measurement marks.
  4. Pour into prepared pint jars, leaving ½ -inch headspace. Wipe rims. Place the lids on the jars and screw on the bands until they’re fingertip tight.
  5. Process in a water-bath canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude if needed.
  6. After 24 hours, check the seals. Label, date, and store out of direct sunlight without the bands for up to a year.

Instagram Takeover & a Giveaway!

If you’re inteAutumn Giles Beyond Canning Authorrested in more delicious inspiration from Autumn, she’s taking over our Instagram account today, February 18. Be sure to follow along, like and comment on our Fillmore Container Instagram account, where she’ll be sharing tips, her favorite Fillmore products, and details about her book.

Don’t forget to show Autumn some love on her Instagram AutumnMakes and follow her edible adventures on her blog Autumn Makes and Does!

Beyond Canning Giveaway

Prize - BeyondCanning

One lucky winner will receive a Beyond Canning kit which includes all the fun items listed below from Fillmore Container, plus a copy of Beyond Canning. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter!

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Introducing Ball’s Collection Elite Jars + a Giveaway

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Our warehouse was a sea of BLUE this morning! We anxiously welcomed Ball’s newest line the Collection Elite® Color Series jars made with blue glass. We’re so excited that we are giving away a few cases of them. See the details at the end of the post.

Blue Ball Elite Tower

These beautiful blue glass jars are available in three never-before-released sizes: regular mouth half-pint, wide mouth pint, and wide mouth quart and all three styles just landed in our warehouse and are available here.

EliteBlueJars-WarehouseFillmore Container

Each jar is made in the USA of colored glass (not coated). Ball uses a fritted colorant derived from natural minerals mined from the earth. The colorant is added to the glass fritting process which dissolves the mineral into the glass mix. The colorant is inert within the glass walls, so it does not leach out. Ball Collection Elite Jars Fillmore

The blue jars function exactly the same as Ball’s clear jars, so they are safe for water bath canning, pressure canning and food storage. They are also a beautiful addition to any Mason jar crafting or candle line. All jars are packaged in packs of four and come with silver bands and lids.

Ball Collection Elite Regular Mouth Half-Pint 8 oz. Jars
Blue 8oz Jelly Jar Fillmore Container

Ball Collection Elite Wide Mouth Pint 16 oz. Jars

Blue Wide Mouth Pint Jar

Ball Collection Elite Wide Mouth Quart 32 oz. Jars

Blue Quart Wide Mouth Jar Fillmore Container

Collection Elite Vintage Jam JarElite VintageJam Jar Fillmore Container

In addition to these beauties, Ball also added a Collection Elite regular mouth 8oz jam jar. The jars are packaged in packs of four and come with silver bands and lids. This jar is bound to be a favorite for your gifting jams and preserves! Like the vintage style jam jars, this one sports a squat shape and is covered with a variety of embossed fruits. It would also make a charming container for fruity and preserve scented candles. This jar is clear, but it could be topped with our festive colored regular mouth G70 CT lids for a little color. These are safe for home canning.

Ball Collection Elite RM 8oz Jam

The Giveaway

Three lucky winners will get to pick one case of the new Ball Collection Elite jars. Winners get to pick which jar they prefer. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Good Luck!
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Naturally Sweet Food In Jars Review + a Giveaway

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We’ve been looking forward to Marisa McClellan’s latest creation; Naturally Sweet Food in Jars; for quite some time and are thrilled to have added it to our Preserving Library along with the original Food in Jars and Preserving by the Pint.Naturally Sweet Food in Jars cover low res

Marisa McClellan author photo low resMarisa McClellan is a food blogger, cookbook author, and canning teacher based in Center City Philadelphia. In addition to her books, she has written for publications like Vegetarian Times, USA Today, Parents Magazine, The Sweethome, Food Network, Serious Eats, The Kitchn, Grid Philly, Saveur, Edible Philly, and Table Matters.

Marisa also co-hosts a podcast dedicated living a food-focused life called Local Mouthful. Find more of her jams, pickles, and preserves (all cooked up in her 80-square-foot kitchen) at foodinjars.com.

While this book is certainly easy on the eyes and could make a lovely addition to your countertop or coffee table, we’re pretty sure that it will quickly be given lots of love, complete with dog-eared favorites, post-it-notes, penciled-in batch conversions, and perhaps some sticky spots.Naturally Sweet Food in Jars Contents

It is packed with recipes that do not include refined sugar – which is a big deal if you love preserves, but wish to reduce or remove sugar from your diet. The book is organized by sweetener/sugar alternatives. Many of her jam recipes utilize Pomona’s Pectin – which is the perfect choice when adjusting the amount or the source of sweetness. The book is ideal for those who prefer to sweeten their foods with naturally occurring sugars from fruit juices or date paste, rather than refined or processed sweeteners, all without compromising taste or safe canning practices.

Marisa also shares some of her favorite recipes that are not preserves, but one which put preserves into action, like this Maple Applesauce Cake. Not-for-Preserving Recipes Font

The book also includes some fun condiment staples, such as Sriracha-Style Hot Sauce with honey, Date Pancake Syrup with maple, Cantaloupe-Basil Jam and Marinated Multicolored Peppers with agave, and Fennel and Parsley Relish with fruit juice.

Our local orchard, Kauffman’s Fruit Farm was running some great prices on apples earlier this month, so taking a strong cue from my kids’ taste buds, I landed on Marisa’s Chunky Spiced Applesauce as our feature recipe.  Chunky Spiced Applesauce Food in Jars Book

Chunky Spiced Applesauce

“Recipe reprinted with permission from Naturally Sweet Food in Jars © 2016 by Marisa McClellan, Running Press, a member of the Perseus Book Group.”

In the fall apples are cheap and abundant. Making applesauce is a great way to preserve some of that bounty. I sweeten mine with a splash of apple juice concentrate because it lends sweetness without making the sauce cloying. If you’re working with really sweet apples, you can skip the added concentrate entirely and can this sauce without so much as a drop of extra sweetener.EDITOrchard Road Ball Collection Elite Jar Applesauce

Makes 4 (pint/500 ml) jars

  • 5 pounds/2.3 kg apples
  • 1/2 cup/118 ml apple juice or cider
  • 2 pieces star anise
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/2 cup/118 ml apple juice concentrate

Prepare a boiling water bath and 4 pint/500 ml jars.

Peel and chop the apples. Put them into a large, non-reactive pot with the apple cider, star anise, and cinnamon sticks and cover. Set the pot on the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a low simmer. Let the apples cook for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is soft enough to crush with the back of a wooden spoon.  Apples Cinnamon Star Anise Fillmore Container

Remove the star anise pieces and the cinnamon sticks. Using a potato masher, work the cooked apples into a chunky puree (if you prefer a smoother sauce, feel free to use an immersion blender instead). Add the nutmeg and cloves and mash some more. Taste and add the apple cider concentrate a few tablespoons at a time, until the sauce has reached your preferred level of sweetness.Smashing the Apples

Spoon the applesauce into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch/12 mm of headspace. Use a chopstick to ease out any trapped air pockets and add more sauce to return the headspace to the proper levels, if necessary. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes.

TIP – if you have a tea ball, or a small swatch of cheese cloth, I’d recommend putting your star anise in it to contain those little seeds if they get dislodged at some point. It’s much easier to simply pull that and your cinnamon stick out that way instead of fishing around for pieces.

We canned the first batch – even canned some in our new adorable Ball 8oz Collection Elite Jam Jars to send along in their lunches. We are giving away a few cases of these over on Marisa’s blog! Enter here. Fruited Ball Collection Elite Jam Jar Applesauce

Later that week, we actually made another batch for dessert! We enjoyed it warm – right off of the stove – and it quickly disappeared into hungry bellies! The flavor combinations and its chunky nature is reminiscent of stewed apples…delish!

In celebration of this wonderful new book, we’re hosting a giveaway which includes:

Enter your chance below.

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Psst…don’t forget to also enter the giveaway of Ball 8oz Fruited Jam Jars over on Marisa’s blog.

 

The Best Containers for Extracts & Oils

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Amber Glass Containers with PolyCone Phenolic Lids & Dropper Lids

The best jars for storing extracts, oils and other liquids are the Amber Boston Round glass containers. The Amber jars come in a variety of sizes (1 oz., 2 oz4 oz., 8 oz., 16 oz., and 32 oz.) and offer UV protection for light-sensitive products and have a narrow mouth for precision pouring. Our customers have used these jars for DIY cleaning liquids, bitters, specialty drinks, extracts (like our homemade vanilla extract) and so much more.

Amber Bottles Dropper Lids Phenolic Lids

20400mm_CT_Black_Ribbed_PolyCone_Lined_Phenolic_Cap1

PolyCone Lined Phenolic Caps

The lids for the Amber jars are pretty cool! The jars use the PolyCone Lined Phenolic Caps. The caps form an exceptionally tight seal and provide a good chemical barrier. The cone shaped liner allows for a superior seal because it molds itself around the sealing area of the finish on the glass bottles. It is constructed of an oil-resistant plastic, which makes it a great match for oils, essential oils, solvents and liquids that require more care in storage or that could be caustic to your average lid. Pairing our Amber glass containers with PolyCone lids creates an excellent storage option for extracts, oils, brews, chemicals, medicines and other valuable liquids.

20400_2oz_Black_Dropper_Assembley

Dropper Caps

Also available are Dropper Caps which are ideal for measuring out small amounts of liquids. We offer dropper caps that pair with our 1 oz, 2 oz,  and 4 oz jars.  Whether you are making your own tinctures, custom fragrances or essential oil blends our dropper will become indispensable.

Funnels

Mini_Stainless_Steel_FunnelThe easiest way to fill these jars is with our Mini Stainless Steel Funnel. It’s the perfect size to transfer herbs, spices, extracts, oils and other liquids into the Amber jars without risking spillage.

 

 

Wholesale Paper Straws, Party Supplies, Inspiration for Summer Celebrations and a Giveaway!

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Just in time for summer we’re introducing tons of great new paper straw designs and new pricing! Plus great ideas, from Yesterday on Tuesday, for Father’s Day and 4th of July, not to mention TWO GIVEAWAYS!Mason Jar Festive Collage

We now carry over 40 paper straw designs/colors! From polka dots, to gingham, to chevron, to stars and stripes, to camo and cow print, solid colors and so much more. BLOGNew Designs Straws Large Group

Our paper straws are made from FDA approved materials and non-toxic, food contact safe inks and made in the USA. You can learn more about why our paper straws are safe and eco-friendly here.Cow and Gingham and Solid Black Straws Fillmore Container

Our paper straws are available in a variety of quantities from single straws to wholesale bulk amounts. Bulk paper straws are perfect for complimenting drinks at birthday parties, weddings & showers, anniversaries, graduation parties or homecoming events! Or even for resale in a retail store.

Chevron, Dots, Mini Dots, Pencil Stripe Straws Fillmore Container Close

We are giving away 2 jars of 48 paper straws to two lucky winners. Winners get to choose the paper straw pattern. See details to enter at end of the post.

Our friend Malia at Yesterday on Tuesday came up with some cute ideas for celebrating the 4th of July with our patriotic straws, Mason jar mugs and beverage dispenser. Find out how she made these yummy drinks and enter to win a $50 store credit to Fillmore Container over on her blog.

4th of July Straws Mugs drink

4th of July Mason Jar Dispenser

If you want to make this ‘camotastic’ gift for Dad. You can order the camo lids and straws here, pick your mugs here, and get the free printable Father’s Day Mason Jar Labels designed by Yesterday on Tuesday.

Father's Day Camo Mug

 GIVEAWAY

Two lucky winners will receive 2 jars of 48 straws. The design and color of the straws is the winners choice. Enter below. Don’t forget to head over to Yesterday on Tuesday to enter another giveaway for $50 store credit, good towards any purchase at FillmoreContainer.com. Good Luck!

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Ball Canning Jars and New Preserving Tools

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We’ve been fans of Ball Canning for quite awhile. We are avid users of their canning products, and of course we carry a large selection of their products too.  This summer, Ball Canning, has introduced some pretty cool new tools and products that will motivate you to try something new and help you preserve more!

Interactive-Canning-Map-JuneWe love this new Interactive Canning Map. It shows the various regions of the country and what’s currently in season in those areas. Clicking on the various images of fruits and vegetables will take you to preserving recipes that utilize those ingredients. If you need help calculating the pectin you need for your jam or jelly, use this handy pectin calculator. If you’re new to canning, this simple pH chart will give you guidance on pH and which preserving method will be needed. Making jelly without pectin? You can use this sheet test to determine if you’ve reached the gelling point.

Meet Ball’s Fresh Preservers team, they include two of our favorite ladies – Marisa McClellan and Malia Karlinsky. You’ll find new recipes for summer preserves that the Fresh Preserve team has created specifically for Ball, like this Blackberry Lavender Jam. If you want more recipes and ideas, the two most recent  Ball Blue Books are great resources to have in hand. You can also check out Ball’s Tumblr, called Freshly Preserved Ideas.Ball Blue_Book

Jarden Home Brands (parent company of Ball Canning) shared some survey results with us that were pretty impressive. They found that 40% of gardeners plan to preserve half or more of the food they grow this season and 44% freeze it for later use. A whopping 77% of gardeners have canned, frozen or dehydrated foods to preserve them, and 33% of those preserving gardeners are millennials.

We are often asked which Ball products we carry, so we’ve put a list together for you.

Ball Wide Mouth Jars

Ball’s traditional canning jar with the Ball signature imprinted on the front of the jar is available in 16oz, and 24oz, 32oz, 64oz.

Widemouth Jars Fillmore Container

The Elite Collection also offers two unique squat style jars in a wide mouth opening. Available in an 8oz., and 16oz; as well as this 8oz Kerr jar, which is made by Ball.

EliteBall Jars Fillmore ContainerWM Ball Regular Mouth Jars

Ball’s Quilted jelly jars offer a traditional look and are an old favorite with canners. The quilted line of jars are available in 4oz, 8oz, and 12oz. and come with bands and lids.

QuiltedJarsRegularMouth-FillmoreContainer

 

 

Ball’s traditional canning jar with the Ball signature imprinted on the front of the jar with tapered shoulders is available in 16oz, and 32 oz.

RM-Ball Fillmore ContainerBall Collection Jars

The past few years, Ball’s been creating specialty jars that offer a different style or color than traditional canning jars. They are still safe for canning, but they are just as pretty to look at, as they are to fill!

Collection Elite
The Collection Elite color series jars were released last year, and we understand they are here to stay. The never-before released sizes in blue glass include – 8oz. regular mouth, 16oz. wide mouth and 32oz. wide mouth jars. Each jar is made in the USA of colored glass and is safe for water bath canning, pressure canning and food storage. Learn more about these jars here.

BlueJarBall-Fillmore Container

Also introduced in this collection is a clear glass vintage style regular mouth 8oz jam jar. The jar sports a squat shape and is covered with a variety of embossed fruits styled jars and is available in regular mouth.

Ball Vintage Jam JAR_FillmoreContainer

Heritage Collection was a special release jar that was launched with a blue jar, then green, and now all that’s left of this limited collection is purple. Get them now, before we run out. Available in 16oz, and 32oz. in both regular mouth and wide mouth.

PurpleJars-FillmoreContainer

Ball Lids

All of Ball’s jars come packaged with bands and lids, but if you need fresh lids they are available in a 24-pack. Ball’s plastic storage lids are also a nice one-piece option when storing open jars in the fridge. If you do a lot of canning, consider purchasing  our bulk flats, available in both regular and wide mouth. They are manufactured by Ball, but are unmarked.

Ball Freeze Safe Jars

If you plan to freeze in your jars, but sure you are using jars that are freezer safe.  Check out the chart below to identify which jars are best for freezing. To read more about how to freeze in jars safely, read this post.

Freezer Safe jar chart

If you’re not comfortable freezing in glass try Ball’s Plastic Freezer Jars – available in 16oz. & 8oz. sizes.

BallFreezerSafePlastic-FillmoreContainer

Are we missing a Ball jar that you love? Unfortunately, we can’t carry every single jar from Ball and here’s why:

  • Ball’s entire line is not available to us through our supplier. Some of them are ear-marked for non-USA markets.
  • Some items would be duplicates of what we carry in a more economical and/or more versatile version.

Sometimes we are able to bring items in as a special order, but there is usually a minimum quantity expected in order to do so and a greater lead time. If there is a particular item that you’re interested in, feel free to ask by emailing info@filmorecontainer.com with the details.

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Batch – A Book Review + a Giveaway

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We have been enjoying the quality content of the Well Preserved blog for some time now, and are so pleased to carry Batch - a very tangible result of Joel MacCharles & Dana Harrison’s adventures with food and preserving.

Batch Cover

In Batch, they have created an incredibly useful & enjoyable resource and have given a new meaning to the term “batch” when it comes to preserving. I honestly didn’t fully grasp the manner in which they used it until I actually had my first copy in hand and spent some time perusing the pages. Don’t be fooled by the amazing images and illustrations by Dana – this is not just another pretty recipe book to grace your kitchen counter or coffee table.

Simply said;  It is brilliant!

In the book, “batch” refers to the grouping of preservation methods or processes for a given item. The 7 processes include both waterbath and pressure canning, dehydrating, fermenting, infusing, cellaring (a variety of cold storage methods) and salting & smoking.

Something that struck me with Batch was its very intentional nature and a more holistic perception of preserving. Yes, many folks are putting up large traditional batches of staples for their pantry, but there are also many  people who are turning to preserving as part of their desire to use what they have in the best possible ways, to add more variety to their preserving, to make more from scratch, to waste less while enjoying the process and not feel like you’ve spent the entire day over a steaming kettle.  It is clear that they want to help you feel very productive and proud of what you’ve accomplished in your kitchen, no matter how humble it may be!

So, how do they accomplish all of this?

Within most sections, you will find the following:  (I’ll use the Peach section as an example.)Batch Fillmore Container

  • Tips on preserving nose-to-tail & storing items for the short term
  • Several processes that can be prepped in 10 minutes or less. (Peach Creme Fraiche, Peach Salt, Instant Hot Sauce)
  • Batch-It recipes:  These are 2 or more recipes that start out with the same treatment (both the Smoked-Dried Peaches and the Canned Peach Slices begin by scorching 8 lbs of peaches which will be divided; 3/4 of them for canning, the remainder for smoking followed by dehydrating…see an example below.)
  • Canning Recipe as a result of cooking down the fruits (Peach-Bourbon BBQ Sauce…see recipe below.)
  • Main dish &/or side or dessert recipe that utilizes 1 or more of the items in the prior preserving. (Finger-licking Ribs with Peach-Bourbon BBQ Sauce, Dr. Stanwisk’s Apple Galette with Peach Creme Fraiche)
Peache Recipes - BATCH

Photo credit: Reena Newman

To celebrate this beautiful book, we’ve received special permission from Dana and Joel to share some of the recipes from the Peach section of the book. This excerpt shows how useful the Batch-It recipes are at teaching you to multi-task preserving efforts.

Batch -Canned Peach Slices2

What’s even better than us trying to describe the genius of this book, is for Dana and Joel to do it for us. Listen to what they have to see in this quick video below.

If you want to hear more directly from Dana & Joel, watch this Facebook Live video of Joel making Kimchi!

Peach-Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Excerpted from Batch: Over 200 recipes and Techniques for a Well-Preserved Kitchen. Copyright © 2016 Joel MacCharles and Dana Harrison. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Random House of Canada Limited, a Penguin Random House Company. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

The smoky flavors in this BBQ sauce come from a combination of lightly roasting the peaches and adding chipotle powder. We discovered  the magic of ground chipotles while on vacation  with our dear friends “the Pauls” a few years ago. This recipe is a tribute to them.

Yield: 4-5 half pint jars

Ingredients:

5 lb peaches, about 17–21 peachesChipotle Peppers & Calicutts Spice
¼ cup brown sugar,  lightly packed
1 cup minced onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, minced
1¾ cups cider vinegar
½ cup honey
¼ cup bourbon
1½ Tbsp  smoked paprika
2½ tsp salt
2½ tsp chipotle powder (grind whole chipotles if you don’t have any)

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  2. Cut the peaches in half and place on a rimmed baking sheet cut side up. Scatter the brown sugar over top. Roast until the peaches just begin to brown, 35– 40 minutes.Roasted Peaches
  3. Place the peaches, including any peach juice created during roasting, in a large pot. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, vine- gar, honey, bourbon, paprika, salt, and chipotle powder and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Mash the peaches as they cook and keep at a simmer until the sauce reduces and thickens by half, about 15 minutes. Leave the sauce chunky or blend it smooth with an immersion blender.
  4. Prepare your canning pot and rack, and sterilize your jars and lids (see page 17).
  5. Continue to reduce the sauce until it’s as thick as you want it.
  6. Remove the jars from the canner and turn the heat to high.
  7. Fill the jars with the sauce, leaving ½ inch of headspace.
  8. Gently jostle the jars or use the handle of a spoon to release any air bubbles.
  9. Wipe the rims of the jars, apply the lids, and process for 20 minutes (if you live higher than 1,000 feet above sea level, refer to the Adjust for Altitude chart on page 17 for additional processing time). Remove the jars and allow them to cool. Store in a dark, cool place in your kitchen.

Peach BBQ Sauce in JarsVA R I AT I O N S : You can roast the peaches on the BBQ to increase the smoke flavor, but you will lose some of the precious juices. Replace the honey with 2½ cups brown sugar for a more traditional BBQ sauce.

Put this BBQ Sauce recipe to use in Batch’s recipe for Finger-Lickin’ Ribs.

 

 

 

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive their very own copy of Batch, along with a case of Orchard Road wide mouth pint and quart jars, and bands and lids. Enter below.

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Mrs. Wages Products Now Available at Fillmore Container

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Wages Logo We have a pretty big announcement…we now carry Mrs. Wages products! Yay! So whether you’re looking for some help in dealing with your bumper crop of tomatoes or cucumbers, want to add more variety to your pickling, or want to put up pie filling for the first time this year, we’ve got you covered!

If you aren’t familiar with Mrs. Wages, they make a HUGE variety of canning mixes for pickles, salsa, tomato sauce, ketchup, jams, and pectin, pickling salt, citric acid and so much more. With the help of Mrs. Wages you and your family can enjoy the wholesome goodness of home canned fruits, jellies and vegetables in no time.

We’ve broken down their products into a few key areas to help you find what you need.

Pickling & Relish Mixes

PICKLESWages-Relish-Pickles-FillmoreContainer

Bread & Butter Quick Process Pickle Mix – A tender, sweet pickle mix with onions for added flavor and natural herbs and spices.

Dill Pickle Quick Process Pickle Mix – This mix contains natural herbs and spices, just add vinegar and water through the canning process.

Kosher Dill Quick Process Pickle Mix – Enjoy the robust flavor of a dill pickle with garlic. This mix contains natural herbs and spices, just add vinegar and water through the canning process.

Kosher Dill Refrigerator Mix – Add vinegar and water to these natural herbs and spices for a great-tasting pickle.

Sweet Pickle Quick Process Pickle Mix – This mix contains natural herbs and spices, just add vinegar and sugar to create this delicious Sweet Pickle Relish.

Polish Dill Refrigerator Mix – Add vinegar and water to these natural herbs and spices for a great-tasting pickle.

RELISH

Jalapeno Pickle Relish Mix – Use your fresh pickling cucumbers and jalapenos with Mrs Wages Jalapeno Pick Relish.

Sweet Pickle Relish Mix – This mix contains natural herbs and spices, just add vinegar and sugar to create this delicious Sweet Pickle Relish.

PICKLING SUPPLIES

Wages-PicklingSupplies-FillmoreContainerAlum – Use to add extra crispness to pickles, watermelon rinds, and cherries.

Pickling & Canning Salt – This high purity salt produces a sparkling clear brine and is specifically designed for food canning.

Pickling Lime – For pickling cucumbers the old-fashioned way for extra crispness and flavor.

Mixed Pickling Spice – A special blend of fresh, choice spices originally formulated for preparing the famous Mrs. Wages Old South Cucumber Lime Pickle recipe.

Xtra Crunch Pickle Mix – This replaces the need for pickling lime to create crisp and crunchy pickles and vegetables.

Tomato Mixes

Wages-Tomato-Mix-FillmoreContainerBulk Salsa Tomato Canning Mix -  Mrs. Wages is the top selling brand of tomato salsa mix for the home canning. Use this mix, containing just the right spices with fresh or canned tomatoes for a zesty salsa.

Hot Salsa Canning Mix – Use this mix, containing just the right spices with fresh or canned tomatoes for a salsa with a kick! If you don’t like it HOT, try Mrs. Wages Medium Salsa Canning Mix or Mild Salsa Canning Mix.

Ketchup Canning Mix – Use this mix with fresh or canned tomatoes, or tomato juice, for a mouth-watering ketchup that will surely delight your family.

Pizza Sauce Canning Mix – Give your pizza pizzazz and us this mix with fresh or canned tomatoes, or tomato paste for pizza sauce.

Pasta Sauce Canning Mix – Contains just the right spices to help make a spectacular sauce from fresh or canned tomatoes, or tomato paste.

Citric Acid – The addition of Mrs. Wages Citric Acid raises the acidity and lowers the pH for home canning tomatoes.

Fruit MixesWages-FruitMix-Fillmore Container

Fresh Fruit Preserver - Preserves color and flavor in fruits and prevents browning.

Fruit Pie Filling Mix – Enhance your fresh picked apples, peaches & pears with our All Natural Fruit Pie Filling Mix. Create pies, tarts, spiced cakes, crisps, cobblers and other desserts using this product.

Home Jell Fruit Pectin – Mrs. Wages Fruit Pectin takes much of the guesswork out of jelly-making.

No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin – Enjoy creating fresh homemade jams and fruit glazes with ease. Cooking is not required, so the whole family can join in the fun.

Pepper Jelly Kit – Pepper Jelly Kit in a box, complete with pectin and spices to make the best pepper jelly.

Spiced Apple Sauce Fruit Mix – Create homemade apple sauce, apple butter or apple slices with our All Natural Spiced Apple Mix.

Have a question about Mrs. Wages products? Read through this list of frequently asked questions from their customers.

GIVEAWAY

What kind of product announcement would this be without a giveaway! You have three great chances to win your own Mrs. Wages mixes. Here on the blog we are giving away a Tomato Preserving Kit which includes - Ketchup, Pasta Sauce, Pizza Sauce, Citric Acid and the winners choice of the 4oz Salsa mix (hot, medium or mild). Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.

On Instagram we are giving away a Fruit Preserves Kit  which includes – Fruit Pie Filling, Fruit Pectin, Freezer Jam, and Spiced Apple Sauce. To enter just like this post and comment about your favorite Mrs. Wages product, or which one in particular you’d love to try.

On Facebook we are giving away a Pickling Kit which includes all the single batch Mrs. Wages Pickling & Relish Mixes that we carry. To enter just like this post and comment about your favorite Mrs. Wages product, or which one in particular you’d love to try.
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Herbes Salées and other reasons to grow an Herb Garden

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HerbGardenMy Herb Garden has changed a little bit every single year since its inception, and I have to say that there’s something intoxicating about a thriving herb garden. Perhaps it’s the ease of growing them, and their happy wandering nature, or the wonderful flavors they add when tossed into salads, sauces, soups, dressings, cold drinks, meat dishes, omelets, breads, butters, tea,  preserves and just about anything! I’ve continued to add something new every year;

Herbs - Batch

Herbes Salées from Batch
Photo Credit – Reena Newman

I split plants to share or to fill in a void on the other side of the garden and find myself strategically allowing a portion of each plant to flower for the bees & go to seed just to enjoy the different plant life stage, and with the hopes that we’ll see some new fall or spring growth.

Whether you’re able to grow herbs at home, or are seeing them at market or in your CSA box, we’re hoping that you’ll enjoy some ways to put these wonderful sprigs and leaves to good use! If you are growing them, you’ll likely find most plants give you more than you can use on a daily basis, so it’s helpful to have some other preserving methods up your sleeve. The combination of methods that work for you will ultimately depend on the taste & texture preferences of those at your table.

Herbes Salees in jar Fillmore ContainerThis Herbes Salées from Joel & Dana’s Batch (which they are so graciously sharing) prompted a pause in my work to immediately gather & prep a jar of my own! I’m firmly convinced that I will now have some on hand in the pantry at all times!

Chop/dice & measure out the following and toss into a large bowl:

  • 2 cups fresh parsley
  • ½ cup fresh chives
  • 2 Tbsp fresh thyme
  • 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
  • 1 cup carrots
  • 1 cup leeks

Add ¾ cup coarse salt and 1 tsp celery seeds. Toss to mix and transfer all ingredients into a wide mouth quart mason jar. Cap the jar and refrigerate. Try not to use it for about 5 days so that the flavors can develop. Store on a cool, dark shelf and use whenever you’d enjoy a savory salt! My favorite use so far is in zucchini pie.

You can use a food processor to speed up the chopping, especially if you’re doing a double batch. However, if you’d rather skip that noise & clean-up and are quick with the knife, chopping by hand will do!

The Herbes Salées recipe was excerpted from Batch: Over 200 recipes and Techniques for a Well-Preserved Kitchen. Copyright © 2016 Joel MacCharles and Dana Harrison. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Random House of Canada Limited, a Penguin Random House Company. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Dill Vinaigrette reCap Salad with spaceDressings, Vinaigrettes & refrigerated marinates & sauces are great ways to put fresh herbs to use for the short term. While most of these should be consumed within a week or so, Vinaigrettes like these are super easy to whip up and are so addictive that you aren’t likely to have waste. If you end up needing to trim your herbs heavily and know that you’ll have to wait to let them bounce back, it’s nice to use a small portion of them in a vinaigrette …it will allow you to enjoy those fresh flavors in your salad as if they were fresh!

Freeze them in Olive Oil.  There are actually 2 methods which I really like – the primary differences being the size of herb pieces, and the equipment needed. I do both because sometimes I want to see the larger more complete leaves, and if I want to boost the flavor, I can add a dollop of the concentrate.

Frozen Herbs Collage Fillmore Container

 

Freezing them in an ice cube tray with olive oil requires no special equipment, almost no mess – a quick & easy way to capture that fresh color & taste. The result is a stock of herby pods ready to be used at a moment’s notice. If recognizing the herb leaves is important for some dishes, then you’ll want to try this.

You can also make and freeze Herb Concentrate ; shared by Theresa at Living Home Grown (who shares my infatuation with herb gardening). This method does require a food processor (more to clean),  BUT you can handle larger amounts more efficiently with less olive oil, so the end result will likely take up less space in your freezer. If you’re more concerned about getting the flavor from your herbs rather than the appearance, then you’ll want to try this.

Dehydrating or drying them is also a good way to condense a large amount into a much smaller, easy to store state.  Keep in mind that most herbs change quite a bit during the drying process. You can re-use spice jars or start fresh with these spice jars and sift/pour tops.

Oregano is a fast & friendly grower and most varieties are perennials in our zone and like to be trimmed. I often grab a couple of fresh springs to throw in a salad, drop into quesadillas or pasta dishes. You can also create preserves!

  • Ellen’s Greek Oregano Jelly Recipe is a good place to start. You can add or substitute other complimentary herbs for a variety of flavor profiles. Grab some soft cheeses like cream cheese or chevre’ and you’ll have an easy appetizer.

Basil, while it is an annual, has become a staple. We’ve started plants from seeds before frost, and then planted more seed in the ground to supplement because we never seem to have enough! Our kids love adding it to quesadillas, and we use it in every batch of roasted tomatoes.Basil

  • Tomato & Basil Jam from Food in Jars is on my canning list again…we go through it so quickly!
  • This Basil Vinaigrette recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod, is in our rotation of homemade vinaigrettes.
  • Basil loves to be trimmed…so every now and then, making a batch of Pesto is a must! It’s also a great thing to do in that pre-frost panic when you’ve still got basil that may turn into a frosted mess. There’s a bit of flexibility to Pesto, so you may be surprised to find that you actually do have the ingredients to make it. Freezing the finished pesto seems to be the best route. Here’s a great place to get started if you’ve never made pesto.

Dill is one of my all-time favorites! It’s also an annual, and will often re-seed happily, but I always re-seed to ensure that I have plenty of dill dancing in the garden.

Chives Fillmore ContainerI love watching our Chive patches bloom every spring. The blossoms are so pretty, that I’m not overwhelmed by guilt if they’re not all put to work in a Chive Infused Vinegar. I do trim the spent blossoms back to encourage growth throughout the summer, and trim handfuls of the tubular leaves to chop and freeze for the winter. In a pinch, I’ll substitute some fresh chives for green onion, or fold them into a soft cheese like chevre for snacking or butter.

 

Winter Herb KvassWM

 

 

Depending on where you live and the severity of the winter weather, some herbs may behave as evergreens for you! More often these will be ones that exhibit the more woody stems; like rosemary, thyme, winter savory and sometimes a few varieties of sage.

 

We’ve enjoyed Lavender so much, that we’ve dedicated an entire post to it! You can find a collection of recipes and tips here.

Lavender Blossom Banner

 

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Homemade BBQ Sauce from Food in Jars + a giveaway

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Over on Food in Jars, Marisa McClellan is sharing a recipe for homemade barbecue sauce along with a chance to win a case of our commercial BBQ sauce bottles and a $50 store credit. Enter here to win a case of the sauce bottles and a $50 store credit to Fillmore Container!

four-finished-jars-of-barbecue-sauce

Photo Credit: Marisa McClellan

Marisa McClellan, a food writer, canning teacher, and dedicated farmers market shopper who lives in Center City Philadelphia, is the author of Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round and Preserving by the Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces and her latest book Naturally Sweet Food in Jars. We are big fans of her books, as we carry all three. Read our review of Naturally Sweet Food in Jars.

Twelve-ounce-bbq-sauce-jars

Photo Credit: Marisa McClellan

Homemade barbecue sauce preserved in commercial sauce bottles is a great way to share your treasured sauce with friends and family. These 12 oz sauce bottles come in two different versions. This one uses lug lids, and the other uses a continuous thread (just like mason jars). Marisa’s post gives a great tutorial on how to water bath can these sauce jars. You can also find a more detailed post about using lug lids here.

Get the full tomato based barbecue sauce recipe from Food in Jars here and enter to win your own sauce bottles here.  If you are looking for a peach based barbecue sauce, we have one here.

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Chocolate Cherry Preserves Recipe + a Pomona’s Pectin Giveaway

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Pomona's Pectin & Preserving with Pomona's Pectin BookThe makers of Pomona’s Universal Pectin are celebrating Pomona’s Day with a giveaway! Pomona was the Roman Goddess of fruitful abundance. Pomona watched over and protected fruit trees and cared for their cultivation, and she is Pomona’s Pectin namesake. Pomona’s Day is August 13th. In honor of her festival day Pomona’s Pectin and Fillmore Container have put together a gift pack for two lucky winners including:

Enter the Giveaway below.

If you aren’t familiar, Pomona’s Pectin is a sugar-free, preservative-free, low-methoxyl citrus pectin that does not require sugar to jell. It enables you to make jams and jellies with little or no sugar, allowing you to make a healthier version of your preserves. For those of us that love to jam, but are trying to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet, Pomona’s is the way to go. To learn more about making low sugar or sugar-free jam with Pomona’s read this, or consider getting the book Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin.

But, first we want to share a recipe for Chocolate Cherry Preserves from Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin by Allison Carroll Duffy (Fair Winds Press, June 2013).

Chocolate Cherry Preserves

Chocolate Cherry Preserves is a low-sugar cooked preserve made with Pomona’s Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.

Yield:  4 to 5 cups

Before You Begin:

Prepare calcium water.  To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.  Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.

Wondering what calcium water is? Calcium water is a solution of the monocalcium phosphate powder (food-grade rock mineral source) that comes in its own packet with every purchase of Pomona’s Pectin. The Pomona’s Pectin directions tell you how to make calcium water with the calcium powder. Pomona’s Pectin recipes call for calcium water because the pectin is activated by calcium, not by sugar. You can read more about calcium water here.

Hi-Res ChocoCherryPreservers

Ingredients:

2½ pounds sweet cherries
1∕3 cup sifted, unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1∕8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup lemon juice
3 teaspoons calcium water
1¼ cups sugar
2½ teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder

Chocolate Cherry Preserves Directions

1. Wash your jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring canner to a rolling boil, and boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize them. (Add 1 extra minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.) Reduce heat and allow jars to remain in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small sauce pan, heat to a low simmer, and hold until ready to use.

2. Rinse cherries, remove stems, and then slice in half and remove pits. (Our cherry pitter will save you some time on this step!)

3. Combine cherry halves with cocoa powder and the ½ cup of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

4. Measure 4 cups of the cooked mixture (saving any extra for another use), and return the measured quantity to the saucepan. Add cinnamon, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and calcium water. Mix well.

5. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and pectin powder. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

6. Bring cherry mixture back to a full boil over high heat. Slowly add pectin-sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Continue to stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve pectin while the preserves come back up to a boil. Once the mixture returns to a full boil, remove the pan from the heat.

7. Can Your Preserves: Remove jars from canner and ladle preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, put on lids and screw bands, and tighten to fingertip tight. Lower filled jars into canner, ensuring jars are not touching each other and are covered with at least 1 to 2 inches of water. Place lid on canner, return to a rolling boil, and process for 10 minutes. (Add 1 extra minute of processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level). Turn off heat and allow canner to sit untouched for 5 minutes, then remove jars and allow to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Confirm that jars have sealed, then store properly.

GIVEAWAY

Two lucky winners will receive Preserving with Pomona’s book, and a box of Pomona’s Pectin from the folks at Pomona’s; And a case (4 jars) of Vintage Style Jam Jars with bands and lids, along with a cherry pitter, from Fillmore Container.  Enter Below:

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Winners, New Giveaway, and a New Jar Design

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It’s been a busy preserving season and we’ve been doing our best to give you LOTS of chances to win some fun preserving goods. We’d like to give a shout out to all the winners, and announce one more chance to win, if you didn’t already! Don’t forget to sign up for our email, to be sure you get news about our giveaways in your inbox. Plus, we have some news about a new jar design on Ball’s traditional quilted jars.

Winners

cys-harvest-FB-variants-1All through August Countryside magazine hosted its Preserve the Harvest Giveaway which boasts a new prize every week for 4 weeks. We were pleased to be invited to participate. Congratulations to the winners: Tori S., Debora R., Fred G., and the grand prize winner MaryAnn D.

 

four-finished-jars-of-barbecue-sauce

Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars made a tomato based barbecue sauce in our  BBQ jars that use lug lids. Marisa’s post gives a great tutorial on how to water bath can the lug BBQ sauce jars. You can also find a more detailed post about using lug lids here.  Jennifer G., was the lucky winner of a case of our BBQ jars and a $50 store credit.

Psst…We are doing another giveaway with Marisa this week! Get more details below.

 

Wages LogoA couple weeks ago we announced that we now carry Mrs. Wages products to help you add more variety to your pickling, tomato preserving, or if you want to put up pie filling for the first time this year. Congratulations to our winners: Stacey D., Sue H., Kristi H.,

Hi-Res ChocoCherryPreservers

The makers of Pomona’s Universal Pectin celebrated Pomona’s Day with a giveaway, and a yummy recipe for Chocolate Cherry Preserves! Congratulations to the two lucky winners: Shelley C., and Sharon.

Make sure you are signed up for our emails so you don’t miss your chance at any future giveaways!

Giveaway

Marisa of Food in Jars is sharing a recipe for homemade tomato soup concentrate, and she put it up in our 26 ounce Square Mason jars.  So, we are giving away a case of them plus a $50 store credit! Enter here.

five-jars-of-tomato-soup-concentrate

Photo Credit: Marisa McClellan

Recipes for tomato soup concentrates that are safe for the boiling water bath canner aren’t always easy to find, so this is a post you’ll want to bookmark. Marisa built her recipe upon the framework laid out in the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s water bath safe Tomato and Vegetable Juice recipe.

New Jar Design

BallQuilted-NEWBall has changed the traditional design of its Quilted Crystal Jar line. The new design features the Ball logo inscribed across the back of the jar.

We carry the entire line of Ball’s Quilted Crystal jars which includes; 4 oz., 8 oz., and 12 oz. in regular mouth.

We still have a limited supply of 12 oz. in the old design on our shelves. Stock up now, before the old design is all gone.

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The Best Selling Pickle Book + Spicy Pickled Peach Recipe

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The Joy of Pickling- Fillmore ContainerIntroducing the third edition of the best-selling pickle book ever! The Joy of Pickling is packed full of pickling recipes, including 50 brand new recipes. You’ll find recipes that utilize both a variety of preserving methods including canning, no-fuss quick pickles for the refrigerator or freezer, and fermented pickles. Plus, a whole chapter on sauerkraut, kimchi & other cabbage pickles, miso and soy-sauce pickles!

We chatted with Linda Ziedrich, the author, about the book. She shared a bit about what preservers can expect from the third edition, as well as a recipe from the book – Spicy Pickled Peach Slices.

The third edition reflects my pickling research of the past eight years. There are fifty-some new recipes. They include new produce:  sanditas (also called Mexican sour gherkins), lotus root, hinkelhatz and habanero peppers, leek scapes (for which garlic scapes can be substituted), and Swiss chard.

There are new fermented pickles, including green olives, whole watermelons, whole cabbages, Jerusalem artichokes, kohlrabi grated and cured like kraut, and, for the small-scale fermenters, small-batch krauts with beet, kale, and carrot and onion added.

Readers will also enjoy trying my new relish recipes, including a fermented tomato salsa, a roasted tomato and pepper salsa, a harissa made from fresh peppers, and the Dutch-Indonesian mixed pickle called atjar tjampoer in the Netherlands and acar champur in Indonesia.

Spicy Pickled Peach Slices

Spicy Peach Slices - Joy of Pickling2 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken
2 teaspoons mace or chopped nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoons whole cloves
1 ½ inch gingerroot, sliced into quarter-size rounds and slivered
2 cups distilled white vinegar (5 percent)
2 ¼ cups sugar
24 coriander seeds
8 allspice berries
2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes
4 quarter-size slices of gingerroot
1 teaspoon pickling salt
About 4 pounds freestone peaches

Put the cinnamon, mace or nutmeg, cloves, slivered gingerroot, vinegar, and sugar into a saucepan. Bring the liquid to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and then immediately reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the syrup for 10 minutes.

Divide the coriander, allspice, pepper flakes ginger slices, and salt among four pint mason jars.

In a pot of boiling water, blanch the peaches a few at a time until the skins loosen, about 30 to 60 seconds. Plunge the peaches into a bowl of cold water.

When all the peaches are blanched, slide off their skins. Slice each peach into wedges about 1 inch wide at the widest point.

Strain the syrup into a wide pan. Bring the syrup back to a simmer, and add the peach slices. Bring the mixture to a boil, and remove the pan from the heat.

Ladle the peaches and syrup into the mason jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add two-piece lids, and process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 20 minutes.    

Makes 4 pints
Photo Credit: Linda Ziedrich

You can get your copy of The Joy of Pickling right here. If you are more of a jam person, you’ll want to check out Linda’s The Joy of Jam, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves. Don’t forget you can optimize shipping for book only orders, by selecting UPS Ground and leave a comment on your order “SHIP MEDIA MAIL” and we will charge a flat $5 for shipping. Yep, that’s right only $5 shipping for any book only orders!

 

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Introducing Swing Top Bottles

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EZ Cap Flip Cap BottlesWe are pleased to add EZ-Cap bottles to our product list. These quality swing top bottles are perfect for sauces, vinegars, oils, kombucha, syrup, home brews, extracts or anything that requires a glass bottle with a re-sealable cap. Whether you select EZ-Cap bottles for your personal use, or if you are packaging your product for re-sale, you’ll be pleased at how beautiful these traditional style bottles are.

EZCap-Fillmore Container

The bottles come with a re-usable gasket cap, which snaps firmly into position by means of a wire cam, resulting in the popular wire-bale or swing-top look. The gasket cap assembly is included, but requires attachment.

The EZ-Cap bottles come in three colors – flint (clear), amber and cobalt blue. All colors are available in two sizes – 16 oz. (500ml) and 32 oz. (1 liter) sizes. Perfect for home brewers these traditional bottles offer a much thicker and stronger glass than normal bottles. Designed to be washed and refilled again and again. Caps, seals, and wires are removable and replaceable.

Why We Love Our New EZ-Cap BottlesHomemade Vanilla Extract - SwingTop Bottle - Fillmore Container

  • Thicker and stronger than regular bottles
  • Strong molded cap with replaceable rubber seal
  • Cap and seal are FDA approved materials
  • Reinforced neck and bottle top
  • Heavy gauge removable wire mechanism
  • Dual finish, accepts crown caps as well as swing top cap
  • Reinforced base
  • Smooth sides for custom silk screening or adhesive labeling
  • Resealable, reusable, recyclable

We’ve been dreaming up so many ways to use these jars.  Home brews, home made syrups, extracts, sauces and more! We already made some homemade vanilla extract, and started thinking about what’s next…Kombucha, Root Beer, Chive Infused Vinegar, Cranberry Rosemary Vinegar…and the list goes on.

What will you fill these beauties with?

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Top Canning Gift Ideas

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Canning is the most popular way our customers preserve their food. We’ve hand-picked our top canning products, so you can put together a canning kit for someone on your list.

Canning Gift Ideas - Fillmore Container

  1. Water Bath Canner – The perfect gift for someone just getting started with canning, or for someone that needs to upgrade from their old agate canning pot.
  2. Canning Books  – A library of canning resources to choose from.
  3. Orchard Road Jars are a pretty popular choice for preservers. The sleek jars arrive in pretty packaging. The quart and pint jars are our best sellers. Learn more about them here and here.
  4. Regular Mouth Stainless Steel Funnel –  A must have for the kitchen and a favorite for canning! The stainless steel construction makes the funnels durable, stain resistant and dishwasher safe. We have funnels in a variety of sizes, so they can be used for filling canning jars, or for filling spice jars.
  5. This 6 Piece Canning Set contains the essential tools for canning.
  6. The 4th Burner Pot has become a favorite for small batch canning. The interior straining basket is perfect for canning, steaming vegetables or cooking larger pasta too. Read more about this versatile pot here and here.

Need more ideas, check out last year’s canning gift guide. If you plan to gift preserves for the holidays too, you’ll want to read our favorite holiday preserves blog post.

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Mason Bottles are here!

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We’re so excited to have added the Mason Bottle Kits and additional Silicone Sleeves to our lineup! They certainly make the grade when it comes to our desire to carry items that facilitate healthier, chemical free, earth friendly consumer choices and give even more life to humble mason jars. We love that the components can be useful from infant bottle-feeding, to toddler and beyond.

Mason Baby Bottlesbabybottle-keyThe original Mason Bottle DIY Bottle kit  includes:

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  • one set of silicone nipples (slow flow)
  • one silicone sleeve
  • one plastic cap.

They are available in a kit to fit the 4oz jar or the 8oz jar. If you’re buying for a new mother, you could get one of each so that she can transition right into the 8oz. However, if you’re super thrifty, you could simple get one of the kits and then add the Silicone Sleeve of the other size. (Jars and Bands sold separately)

Details for a Mommy of a Newborn:

  • The wide breast-like nipples are designed to transition between breast and bottle and have a built-in ventilation system to reduce gas and colic.
  • The silicone sleeve adds protection and grip during feeding.
  • The silicone sleeve also serves nicely as a buffer when packing additional bottles for when you’re on the go or for childcare, so having a couple of sleeves on hand would be helpful!

Our colorful Plastisol Single Piece lids would make color coding for milk dating and rotation a breeze. They fit both the 4oz or 8oz jars and would be an economical choice for freezing/storing breastmilk.  For a rust-free option, the iLIDS will would also serve you well. While more of an investment, they would be recommended if proper washing & drying isn’t practical.

We recommend hand washing and thoroughly drying your mason jar rings to extend their lifespan. The good news is that everything else can go in the dishwasher: glass mason jars, our silicone nipples, silicone sleeves, and plastic caps! All components are BPA-free and Made in the USA.

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As baby begins to eat pureed vegetables and fruits, the 4oz jars from your bottles can be used with your plastisol or iLIDS to freeze your homemade baby food! Again, you could come up with whatever fun color coding system you’d like, or simply use a wax pencil or some masking tape to date & label your jars. This How to Make and Freeze Baby Food post will get you started!

 

mason-bottle-ilid-sippy-drink-cup-fillmore-container

When baby is no longer in need of a nipple, we have several cuppow sippy cup or drink lid options that can take your 8 oz bottles and sleeves right into that next stage!

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The reCAP Flip Caps will turn that 4oz jar into a snack container which allows little fingers to easily access their bits of food. Put a reCAP Pour Cap on a the 8oz jar if you’d like to pour small, more regulated portions out.

 

Important Tips on thawing and warming milk or pureed foods: Don’t forget the thermal shock limitations of glass. We recommend moving frozen items into the refrigerator the night before, or allowing to at least partially thaw with supervision before attempting to warm the jar and its contents. The best way to warm both milk and food is to place the bottle/jar in a pan of warm water, or to use a bottle warmer. Breast-milk in particular, is sensitive to over-heating. *Always be sure to test the temperature of the baby’s milk or food before feeding.*

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Top Mason Jar Accessories

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There have been so many great creations to adapt Mason jars to be useful beyond their original purpose of preserving food. Here are a few of our top sellers!Mason Jar Gifts

1. The Cuppow folks continue to top our list with 3 pretty cool products.  The Cuppow Coozie is made with Pfelt, which is created from recycled plastic bottles. The Coozie insulates hot or cold beverages and fits a widemouth 16 oz jar. It boasts a stretch webbing to easily store a reusable straw, fork, or spoon and a loop for carrying. Pair it with a Cuppow lid and you’ll turn your Mason jar into a travel mug/cup. The BNTO, also made by Cuppow, fits inside a widemouth canning jar, separating the jar into two leak-proof compartments. Fill it with salad dressing, hummus, granola, nuts, salsa, for a snack or lunch on the go.

2. ReCAP lids make Mason jars the perfect multi-purpose container for everyday use. Transform your canning jars into on-the-go drinks, OR organize pantry items like grains, cereals, and rice. Check out some great gifting ideas with these versatile lids here. The company’s Flip Cap lids allows you easy access to your products. Use the flip cap to store opened refrigerated items, dry goods or organizing your pantry. Add an accessories kit to convert the lid to a shaker. Learn more here.

3. Our Paper Straw collection continues to expand! We now carry over 40 paper straw designs/colors! From polka dots, to gingham, to chevron, to stars and stripes, to camo and cow print, solid colors and so much more including some super cute new holiday designs. Combine our straws our fancy and fun lids in so many new colors and designs.

4. Our newest addition to this category is the Mason Bottle Kits which includes components to turn a Mason jar into a feeding solution for infants – to toddlers, and beyond. The kits available in both 8oz, and 4oz sizes includes, one set of silicone nipples (slow flow), one silicone sleeve (to fit the 8oz jars or 4oz jars, sold separately), and one plastic cap. Get all the details on this brand new product here.

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Top Preserving Cookbooks

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A preservers life is not complete without a library of resources to pull recipes and techniques from. Our preserving books cover topics from canning, to fermenting, to Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin, and more. Here are our top selling preserving books that will be perfect for the preserver on your list. And don’t forget all ‘book only’ orders ship for just $5.

Preserving Book Gift Guide

  1. Marissa McClellan’s has a wonderful trio of preserving cookbooks Food in Jars,  Preserving by the Pint and Naturally Sweet Food in Jars. All of these books teach the essentials of preserving in small batches.
  2. Ferment Your Vegetables, by Amanda Feifer of Phickle, is a must-have for the newbie or for the seasoned fermenter.
  3. Joel MacCharles & Dana Harrison; bloggers at Well Preserved, introduced Batch just this year. It provides recipes and tips on seven processes of preserving methods.
  4. Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin by Allison Carroll Duffy is a great resource if you’re already a Pomona’s Pectin convert or if you’re looking to reduce the amount of sugar in your preserves.
  5. As a Master Gardener and Master Preserver, Linda Ziedrich’s Joy of Pickling and Joy of Jams, Jellies and other Sweet Preserves collectively boast an impressive 400+ recipes for preserving!
  6. The Ball Blue book was probably a staple on your grandmother’s shelf, and it can be on yours too. The latest edition (37th) features 200 recipes, and step-by-step instructions for a variety of preserving methods.

Shop our entire our Preserving Library, and take a look at our other gift guides here.

Fermenting Gift Guide

Canning Gift Guide

Mason Jar Accessories Gift Guide


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