To me, there’s something all-around wondrous about a canning jar. It fulfills an important function, yet the form is pleasing to the eye. Probably because I appreciate the fact that these tough little jars do what they’re supposed to do, and in a very clear and unfailing manner.
They’re sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of the home canner’s kitchen, and, with a slap-your-forehead sort of simplicity, seal in a manner that ensures your precious batches of homemade preserves remain shelf-stable for months on end.
It’s become such a common process that we all take the canning jar for granted these days. But it just occurred to me that Kerr, one of the nation’s major canning jar manufacturers, has been around for more than 100 years, so perhaps a little background on how these jars came to be is in order.
In 1795, the study of food preservation took a giant leap forward thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte’s wish to develop safe field rations for his army. The French dictator instigated a contest to inspire the local food experts into action.
Paris confectioner Nicholas Appert demonstrated that cooked food packed in glass bottles then heated and sealed would keep for months without spoiling.
Of course it was nearly 70 years before Louis Pasteur’s work would explain exactly why this was so, but at least researchers sensed that they were within reach of an important discovery. Once the effect of heat on bacteria was finally understood, canning techniques improved.
And so did the equipment. In 1858, John Mason came up with a dandy jar that was sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of home preserving, and fitted with a rubber gasket and zinc lid for effective sealing.
Then, in 1902, Julius Landsberger came up with a wire clip closure and Ewald Golstein developed a new heat-softening gasket. These two discoveries greatly improved the sealing process of canning jars.
Perceiving a lucrative trend, Portland, Ore., businessman Alexander Kerr formed the Hermetic Fruit Jar Company the following year.
In 1904 he changed the company name to Kerr Glass Manufacturing, and by the time he moved operations to Chicago in 1912, had successfully developed and manufactured a string of improved canning jar configurations.
His greatest contribution came in the form of a simple-but-effective screw thread metal band which replaced the spring clip.
For the most part, this invention put an end to further changes in the Mason jar, and is, in fact, the standard type of seal used to this very day.
If you try either of the accompanying recipes, you can give a nod of gratitude to Kerr as you fill and seal the jars. I think he’d like that.
This is a wonderful example of what a peach preserve should be. And it’s truly a simple recipe if you just take it step by step.
Peach and cinnamon preserves
About 6 pounds fresh, tree-ripened peaches
3cups granulated sugar
3tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1cinnamon stick
Peel and slice peaches to measure about 10 or 11 cups of fruit (the fruit should be sliced into chunks about 1/4-inch thick, and about 1-inch wide; but some can be larger, some smaller). Toss the fruit with the sugar, cover with plastic wrap (to help prevent browning of the top layer) and let stand for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature (Note: it would be alright to let the fruit overnight stand overnight in the refrigerator).
Wash 7 half-pint jars; keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs.
Place a large colander in a large, nonaluminum skillet or wide-mouthed pan. Pour the fruit and juice through a colander and let it drain for 20 minutes.
Remove the fruit to a bowl. Add the cinnamon stick, then measure the depth of the juice collected in the pan by standing a chopstick in the juice and marking its surface with a pencil.
Bring the juice to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat enough to keep the juice boiling fairly rapidly (the surface will appear foamy with small bubbles covering the entire surface). Boil until the juice is reduced by half. This will take about 20 minutes. To test the amount of reduction, place the chop stick in the pan and see where the surface hits in relation to your original pencil marking.
By this time, the juice has become a light, slightly glistening syrup.
Add the fruit and any additional juice that has accumulated and continue cooking until the peaches begin to take on a translucent, caramelized look around the edges, and the syrup is quite thick.
This will take about 15 minutes. There’s a great deal of spattering toward the end, so protect your hands and arms to avoid tiny burns.
Remove the mixture from the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick. Ladle the hot jam into 1 hot hot jar at a time, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars.
Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet). Yields 6 or 7 half-pints.
Basic herb jelly
2cups water (or 21/2 cups fruit juice or wine
1cup fresh herbs
4cups sugar
1/4cup cider vinegar or lemon juice
1to 2 drops food coloring (optional)
3ounces liquid pectin
Fresh herb sprigs or 1/2 cup chopped herbs, optional
Sterilize 5 half-pint jars, and keep hot until needed. (To sterilize: place the empty jars right side up on the rack in a boiling-water canner. Fill the canner and jars with hot, not boiling, water to 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Boil 10 minutes at altitudes of less than 1,000 feet.
At higher elevations, boil 1 additional minute for each additional 1,000 feet elevation. Remove and drain hot sterilized jars one at a time. Save the hot water for processing filled jars.) Wash lids according to manufacturers directions.
Bring the water or fruit juice to a boil and pour it over the fresh herbs. Cover and steep until the liquid has cooled. Strain, pressing all the liquid and flavor out of the herbs.
In a nonaluminum saucepan combine 2 cups of herbal infusion with the sugar, lemon juice or vinegar, and the food coloring if you are using it. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, and as soon as the sugar has dissolved, stir in the pectin. Return to a rolling boil, stirring, and boil for exactly 1 minute. Remove the jelly from the heat and skim off any foam.
If you are using fresh herbs as decoration, place a fresh herb sprig in each jar and hold it in place with a sterilized spoon or chopstick. When the jelly is nearly set, remove the spoon or chopstick and the sprig will stay in place.
Stir chopped herbs into the jelly before pouring it into the jars. (If the herbs do not stay suspended, stir the jelly occasionally until it thickens enough to hold.) Process jars for 5 minutes (10 minutes at 1,0001 to 6,000 feet; 15 minutes above 6,000 feet) in a boiling water canner. Makes 4 to 5 half pints.
Adapted from “The Herbal Pantry,” by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead.
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com.
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