glass fruit jars

[Corporal Jay]

Re: glass fruit jars

Yep, just as in our hobby, buyer beware. There are many repops (some good, some bad) of fruit jars out there.

[ILYankee5]

Re: glass fruit jars

I may have missed it before, but does anyone know of someone producing some good reproductions of these jars?

Thanks

[SusanOdom]

Re: glass fruit jars

Hello

I would just like to add a bit here. The idea of canning is still very new in the 1860’s. Some of the early canning jars were actually stoneware crocks with lids and sealing wax. The glass jars came in a wide variety – much more so than today. I’m not an expert on jar types but would emphasize that they are ‘new fangled’. Jam and jelly does not have to be ‘put up’ in a canning jar. It can be stored in any stoneware crock or glass bottle, bowl or just a plain old drinking glass. Someone mentioned earlier in this thread about brandy papers. Many period cook books discuss this. What I’ve done in the past is cut a piece of heavy writing paper to fit inside the jar, soak it in brandy and lay it on top of the jam or jelly. Then I cover the outside of the jar with tissue paper wiped over with egg white. When it dries it is tight like a drum – not air tight – but it works. With jam and jelly it is the large quantity of sugar that keeps the food from spoiling. I’ve 10 jars of strawberry jam in the pantry right now done up that way.

Pickles were stored in crocks too, they do not have to be ‘canned’ to prevent spoilage. It is the vinegar that keeps them good. Pickles were also stored in wooden barrels. If in a crock a heavy cloth could be tied over the top to keep out dust. Likely the crock would have been stored in the cellar and a few pickles brought up to the table when needed.

The idea of canning fruit was a new idea in the 60’s. Canned fruit has much less sugar in it then jam and jelly and it is not usually cooked as long as jam and jelly. So hermetically sealing the jar is very important in ‘canning’ the idea is to create a vacuum as air is removed. That is what preserves the fruit. And usually only fruit was done this way – other foods such as vegetables – tend to spoil because they are too low in acid. But that is a whole other discussion.

So a glass filled with jelly or a crock filled with pickles was a common site. Just a few thoughts.

Susan Odom

[Drygoods]

Re: glass fruit jars

I would like to echo what Mr. Walker suggested, start shoping the antique stores. Finding peach, cherry, or olive jars is not difficult, nor is it expensive since most of the jars cost $10 or under. The trick is to make sure that the bottle is not 'dug' or oxidized, and has no cracks. I don't know how many we have, but we buy them anytime we see them so that we have a well stocked pantry. Same thing goes for mustard and pepper sauce jars, they are easily reusable. Pickle jars cost much more.

As for the large canning jars of the late 1850s, I use those in my pantry for flour, sugar, grains, rice, and pasta. Figure the cost of those to be $5 for the small, $10 for the large, and $1-$2 for the lids. If you go with the milk glass liner as well, figure $3. These styles of storage jars have become rather collectible thanks to Country Living Magazine, or Country Home Magazine. The key to buying them is to start shopping in the smaller towns, and attend barn sales or tag sale markets. Also, make a good investment into buying collectible kitchen books, or books about antique canning so that you are acquainted with the brands and shapes of the jars.

And yes, I know that someone here is going to nag me about using them, those old jars. But tell me, is it any better to leave them on the garage shelf or floor? Glass jars can break anywhere, so you might as well enjoy them if you got 'em. Who knows how some of these jars get broken. I am looking at a lovely bullet Ball-Mason loaded with bubbles and waves in the glass and some how or other it got a crack running down the side. It will still hold grains, but I won't use it so will likely relegate it to some other task until it's not worth keeping. And for those totally busted pieces, (china-glass-old tinware) save them in a box to put out by your period dump. If you wanna good looking period house, you gotta have a fun lovin' dump!:wink_smil