Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Cardboard box treasures and yard sale finds

Hello, everybody!

 The Fresh Pioneer is back and I'm hoping everybody's having an awesome summer! We've been... Weird, I can't seem to think of anything really amazing we've been doing. Every day feels packed and full and we're exhausted at the end (and some of us are usually covered with ice cream and dirt) but there's not much to really point to as 'big projects'.
 
 
So, I was going through some boxes of jars I'd been given (they were going to be donated) I saw some interesting jars. Lots of wide mouth, zinc lidded, half gallon, Ball and Kerr, vintage stuff. I was sort of looking for blue glass, but no luck. But in one box, I saw some nice pint jam jars for a friend. And with the jars I saw:
I knew they were old. But... what were they exactly?

Edna was very interested as I brought them into the kitchen. She needed a closer look so I washed a few and brought them for inspection. She declared them to be vintage jelly jars but it was hard to tell from what era. The angel and crown imprint on the bottom is indented. Edna said it makes a nice mold detail for aspic that could be set on a plate at the table.
 
 
 On Food Network I found a great article about glass and canning and vintage stuff.

This here's a hand made  jar which you can tell by the pontil mark on the bottom, which made me think of all those hand-made marbles we have somewhere and then I wondered where they were and if they were in a box or if the kids had rolled them under the couch and the Edna whirred her beaters and I remember... CANNING JARS. Yes, back to what we were doing.

"Purple jars (the color is the result of sun exposure to the manganese dioxide in the glass) were made prior to World War I because during the war manganese dioxide, which was scarce, was replaced by selenium."

 
 These are the precursor to the two-part lids. Hm. Definitely old. It's even sideways.
 This was a very COOL nifty little time line for Ball jar marks. I didn't see one for Kerr, but it did help me sort a bunch of jars from the ten boxes and set them aside. They can be shown off instead of ending up holding nails in hubby's shed.
"Thumb Screw Clamp  During the Civil War and later some manufacturers used a clamp and glass lid design. The jar has a cast metal wire that clamps down on a glass lid and holds it tightly in the neck of the jar. These were used with round gaskets to create the seal. "
 
I have to say, if I saw jars like this I would pass out. That's some OLD STUFF.

 Ok, so now that we knew WHAT they were, we decided to make some jelly! So, pectin (by the Ball company, don't tell the Kerr glass we were using).
 And then I thought, wouldn't it be neat if those extra lids fit on one of my Fireking teacups??
 Oooooo! Perfect! Now, usually there would be a layer of wax of the jam, but we're just going to eat it (like in a day or two) so I didn't bother worrying about keeping it sealed. If I was going to give this away, I would definitely do the wax step. Maybe I'll hand some out next time. *Remember to buy wax!!
 Blueberries from the store that really don't taste like blueberries so they've been sitting in the fridge. Three cups of blueberries. 1 cup sugar. I know that's a lot of sugar. It's TASTY. A few TBs of lemon juice.
 I turned around to see the vintage percolator had joined the party. They were all have a great time reminiscing over breakfast brunches from the forties. Mr. Perky had been used for a camp coffee maker for a while. He told a roaring tale about nosy bears drinking from his spout which had Edna shrieking with laughter and poor Kerr jelly jars shivering under their lids. The Fireking teacup was cheerfully enjoying the tale, as always.

 Before boiling the fruit, I stirred in 3 TBs of pectin. When it cooled, some of the jam went into the teacup.
 Two jams, and one jelly, for the child that prefers no chunks on her toast.
 I think these lids are so elegant. There were about 5 extras and I'm wondering what to do with them. *Must search internet late at night for crafting ideas when I should be writing!

And a jaunty bow, because the jelly jar had been in storage for (according to the donor) about 25 years. After that long in a cardboard box in the attic with the spiders, Edna declared sweet little jelly jar deserved some pretty in her life. When I tied it on, I think she blushed a bit and was feeling quite special!

 So, until next time my dears!

21 comments:

  1. OH!!!!! I am SOOOOOO jellyous!!!!! Love everything about this post. Even without the gratuitous child pictures I love so much.

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    1. I should attach one of them EATING the jam... but it would have been totally gruesome.

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  2. neat! now I'm wondering just how much sugar is in that muscadine jelly my aunt gave me...it's good though! but wow lotsa sugar!
    Susanna

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  3. I'm convinced you need to start a kitchen utensil picture book, Virginia! There aren't enough out there and Edna deserves to be a heroine. Mr. Perky sounds like he has a story or two as well. :-)

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    1. My husband was telling me that was a bad name... but I like Mr. Perky. Not my fault he has an overactive imagination.

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  4. Now you have me swooning over retro canning jars! I love those lids...awesome.

    And I love making jams and jellies. (note to self: PLANT FRUIT BUSHES!!!) They're so lovely sitting on the counter with the sun shining through them. Especially raspberry. Raspberry jelly has to be my favorite.

    Now I'm off on a rabbit trail...where are those raspberries going to be planted?

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    1. Raspberry is ours, too! And there is NOTHING like fresh raspberry jelly.

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  5. I'm with Jan on the canning jars. It's been a few years since I've made jam, but blueberry was always my favorite. Though I usually made the token strawberry as well. They make great gifts for those who think homemade is a thing of the past. :)

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    1. I get a gift of jam every few days in the summer. Everybody I know cans or makes jam. But I never have because I'm lazy and choose to just enjoy everyone else's labor, haahaha!

      But these.... these are awesome. So cute. So fun!

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  6. a friend of mine gave me a cute little jelly jar filled with lemon curd one year...sigh..that was some good stuff! REALLY good stuff..probably fattening too since it was so good! wasn't sure what to do with it so I got a spoon and just ate it! was probably supposed to make some kind of fancy baked stuff to smear it on...
    and ya'll don't faint but I'm cooking today! :-) my only boo boo was wanting it for lunch then deciding to look at the recipe again and saw 6-8 hrs! oops slowcooker section but it said 3-4 on high so that's what I'm aiming for if my german shepherd doesn't decide it's worth yanking off the counter - these darned short cords they put on these things now limit me severely and the only place that dog can't reach downstairs is the bathroom...ick...I know it's like 100 degrees outside but I'm making a potato and double corn chowder - easy peasy - hardest part was chopping the onion... 4 cups frozen hashbrowns, can of cream corn, can of undrained regular corn, can or evaporated milk(trying fat free), 1/2 cup onion(used the whole thing), 1/2 tsp worcershire or however it's spelled, salt and pepper..think that's it...may stir in some cooked chicken breast or put it in the salad..sigh..bought salad mix 50/50 today and now see online that there's some nasty stuff in prepackaged salads but they wont' say which :-( guess i'll wash it off and hope for the best
    Susanna

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    1. That sounds delicious!!!! I had a huge slow cooker... and gave it away because waiting 4-5 hours for anything is just ridiculous around here! And that cord...

      But I know this is going to be delicious! Let us know how it works out!

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    2. well..sigh..it tastes like a can of cream style corn - can't taste anything else :-( at least I like the taste of cream corn...can't believe Betty Crocker did this to me...
      Susanna

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  7. Great post. Here's what I do with old bar jars: I fill them with antique silverware from my travels. I fill them with buttons. I am a button collector (minimally-must control collecting urges). I fill them with marbles. I fill them with Scrabble tiles.

    I will admit that filling them with delectable food never occurred to me because delectables don't last that long here.

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    1. Ohhhhhhh!!!! I love buttons, too!! And marbles!! And sparkly objects!! I'm trying to go for clean and minimal look but I need shelves for that. Too bad I never find a handyman at any of these garage sales...

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  8. How fun.
    My mother used to make and give away apricot jam from her tree. That is another state so I do not get the pecans or apricots anymore.

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    1. Someone just gave me some pecans and I was so excited! Mostly because I'm thinking I NEED a pecan pie!

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  9. Those are awesome jars, love them! I made all kinds of peach jam last year (we have peach trees) and my kids won't eat jam. My favorite recipe was peach lavender jam, so English!

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    1. Oh, WOW! We have a peach tree and they're about a week from being ripe. You need to give me that recipe! It sounds amazing!!

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  10. I love old jars. I love those tops. Christmas ornaments, of course, for a cool look either hung from a ceiling lamp or a beam or a tree.... Vintage rocks!!!!

    I miss making jelly and jam. I keep telling myself that once the house is fixed... and that's twenty years of non-fixable income we're talking.... then I'll make jams again.

    Although I do try to make sour cherry jam ( a family fave) and sometimes raspberry because I use raspberry fillings a lot.

    I love berries.

    Mary Virginia, how delightfully fun this is!!! I love the walk through yesteryear!!!

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    1. Heyyyyy! Can you see it? A vintage-inspired Christmas tree? All tin cookie cutters and vintage cards and home made ornaments and these tops? Ooooh, Ruthy. Genius!!

      An now I have a few MORE tops than I did before, because I was washing the glass bottoms and broke them both when one slipped out of my hand right onto the other. ARG.

      Sad they survived a hundred years (so says the internet) and I broke them.

      But I still have 8 more and I'll be making sure to be extra, extra careful now.

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