Preserving/Canning...

I am about to make my first attempt at preserving.  We have a damson tree in the back yard that is heavy with fruit, so I'm going to have a go with making some damson jam today.  Hopefully it works! 

That sounds good!  I like red plum jam.

I am not sure if this has been addressed, before - but where do I buy water bath and pressure canning pots in the UK?! I am looking for the extra-large ones, suitable for a small gourmet condiments business. The only websites I can find are based in the US (and current shipping rates are skynormous), and Lakeland is entirely too dear for my husband and I to afford. Any suggestions?

Made my strawberry jam for the year today!

Made my strawberry jam for the year today!

Nice! I made a single-jar batch of strawberry rhubarb jam the other night after dinner. We've got a MASSIVE amount of stone fruits right now, though (plums and nectarines mostly) so I'm going to do a big batch of those at some point this week. I wonder if they've got enough natural pectin or if I'll need a green apple peel... Hrmm.

Jynxie - have you tried the English way, sterilising by the oven? IMHO it's way, way less hassle than the American way and requires no special equipment. I've yet to have a single batch go bad.

Plums are high in pectin.

Nectarines, the pectin is in the skin, so leave the peel on those if you don't want to use pectin and/or jam sugar.

I agree, the UK way of sterilising in the oven is awesome! I'll never go back to water baths, etc.    

However, I can easily find water bath and pressure canning stuff in my local all in one shop called Farm & Household and also at the local Garden Centre. So it helps to look around Jynxie to see what you can get .  

Plums are high in pectin.

Nectarines, the pectin is in the skin, so leave the peel on those if you don't want to use pectin and/or jam sugar.

Awesome, thanks, you saved me a Google search. The one and only time I relied on jam sugar, the bleeding thing didn't set, so ever since then I just use the whole fruit, or add in some green apple peel to fish out later. Much easier!

Just wanted to let you guys know that they had proper Kilner jars at my local Morrisons today - the screw-top kind in the regular size and a larger size with a flip top, plus a few other accessories, though I didn't have time to properly look.

Jynxie - have you tried the English way, sterilising by the oven? IMHO it's way, way less hassle than the American way and requires no special equipment. I've yet to have a single batch go bad.

I have no idea if I'll ever can anything, but I'm intrigued in this method. I think I never bothered before because of the hassle with all the boiling and equipment. Can you give tips on how this works?

You can also use the dishwasher! 

I have no idea if I'll ever can anything, but I'm intrigued in this method. I think I never bothered before because of the hassle with all the boiling and equipment. Can you give tips on how this works?

So easy! Wash your jars and lids in hot soapy water. 
Put on tray.
Start oven (need to not preheat oven as glass may shatter from cold to warm quickly, but minimal risk if washed in hot water) to 350ºF/180ºC.  Leave for about 25-40 minutes. Fill hot things into hot jars. Or let cool and fill with cool things. Don't touch insides of lids and jars. 
Bob's your uncle.

You can do the same thing with the dishwasher on a hot cycle, just don't touch insides of jars. (But my dishwasher often leaves things wet with the nasty dishwasher water, even after drying, so I don't use this way)

You can also use the microwave! Leave the jars a bit wet after washing and microwave for a minute or so. 
 

So easy! Wash your jars and lids in hot soapy water. 
Put on tray.
Start oven (need to not preheat oven as glass may shatter from cold to warm quickly, but minimal risk if washed in hot water) to 350ºF/180ºC.  Leave for about 25-40 minutes. Fill hot things into hot jars. Or let cool and fill with cool things. Don't touch insides of lids and jars. 
Bob's your uncle.

You can do the same thing with the dishwasher on a hot cycle, just don't touch insides of jars. (But my dishwasher often leaves things wet with the nasty dishwasher water, even after drying, so I don't use this way)

You can also use the microwave! Leave the jars a bit wet after washing and microwave for a minute or so. 
 

Holy crap! So easy! Now I want to go can something!

Wow, eye-opening thread!

I have piles of green tomatoes and just been given a friend's excellent recipe for green tomato relish.  Trouble is, the instructions say to use a hot water bath.  I spent quite a  while searching through UK kitchen sites trying to find the necessary equipment before I found the info on this this thread which explains the different methods used in the UK.  I'm still confused about how to adapt the recipe though. Is it just the empty jars I put in the oven in order to sterilize them before filling, or do I put the filled jars in the oven?

Is it just the empty jars I put in the oven in order to sterilize them before filling, or do I put the filled jars in the oven?

Empty!

Yes, empty was what I thought.  But this link provided by an earlier poster confused me...

http://www.allotment.org.uk/allotment_foods/bottling-canning/Bottling-Canning-Methods.php]
[url]http://www.allotment.org.uk/allotment_foods/bottling-canning/Bottling-Canning-Methods.php  [/url]

Sorry, wonky link

http://www.allotment.org.uk/allotment_foods/bottling-canning/Bottling-Canning-Methods.php