About 3 weeks ago I got this idea that one way of making sure that I knew exactly what went into our foods was to preserve them myself - so I hit Gumtree, eBay and a host of other online second hand sites to see what I could find in the Perth area. My haul was a stovetop 'steriliser', 40 Fowler jars (size 20 and 36) and assorted other bits and pieces. The best piece was the 1953 instruction book - I'll add some photos of the images one day. You forget that Australia used to ration things like sugar and butter post WWII - there are suggestions that let you know how many sugar rations a syrup will need!
I'm not looking at places for information on how to use these - because even though I grew up helping my Mum do the bottling every year - I was the lowly slave, the one who washed the fruit, removed stones, bruised pieces etc. Also I'm hoping to find some more 21st century recipes - surely there must be some foodies out there that have used the Fowlers Vacola method of preserving - and not just Nanna's from the CWA.
What did I buy:
I decided on a stove top unit for two main reasons - there cheap on the 2nd hand market, and I know what to do (and where to get help -- Mum!). I know that these units use heaps of water, are on the stove for a long time (using gas) and I need to be at home while it does this - but I see this as an investment in the health and wellbeing of our family. So far I've also got some size 20 jars - these are the narrower 3" neck 600ml and should be suitable for putting down tomatoes and small fruit (I'm also picturing olives next year) and size 36 - a wider 4" neck jar. They are huge and I'll have to think carefully about how to use these. I'm hoping to get some cheap stone fruit later this year. That'll be a good start for these mamouth jars. What I'd love is a shorter version of these around the 600ml size - not sure what the official size is, but will find out!
Now before anyone starts a war about water-canning v's pressure canning v's Fowler Vacola preserving, please note - 1) I've found someone who knows way more than me about all of the above and I'll be attending her classes, 2) the Fowlers unit can double as a water-bath for the jars that are too big for my stock pot that I currently use, and finally 3) I can use the FV jars in pressure canning too. So I don't feel as though I've wasted any time or money on this adventure.
Websites I've found so far:
- Urban Food Garden - John in Ballarat (VIC) has a section on his website devoted to preserving his garden produce. A great place to get an overview of the different Fowlers' units and some simple recipes to start out with.
- Eat at Dixiebelles - an old blog, unfortunately no longer updated but with some excellent information on the Fowlers Vacola unit.
- Oz-Farmer.com - online shop in Kempsey NSW that seems to be the cheapest for new accessories.
- FoodPreserving.org - Megan in Perth runs classes on water-bath canning and pressure canning. She is also able to supply conventional jars and new lids at a very competitive price via her eBay shop.
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