Fowler-Vacola

Being a long-time food preserver and Ohio State Fair blue ribbon winner, I was eager to start canning here in WA. As it was impractical to ship my complete kit, I planned on picking up a used set here right away and immediately start taking advantage of the long growing season. Canning is cheap therapy for this gal.

Easier said than done. After months of searching every possible corner of the city, I managed to score a set that is nearly 50 years old, 31 bottles, not all the accoutrement and considered myself lucky. Ancient, peeling paint and all evidence of having been well used, the Fowler Sterilizer is certainly not the Mason system. A holed platform is hinged at the bottom. Round jars, rubber gasket at the neck, and full lid clamped on top, are put into the pot, cold water is poured up to 3/4 the height of the jars. The water is supposed to take one hour to get to the desired temperature--which may be anywhere from 150 to 200F. And then kept at that 170F for two and a half hours or however long the directions require for the particular produce being preserved. Newer versions are electric; put in jars, water, plug in, set the thermometer and you're finished. No one was selling one of those for $30.

Second issue was the produce. U-Pick places are almost nonexistent. Double drats. Picking is part of the therapy for me. So I get my produce from farmers markets. Blue ribbons in mind, I measure the width of the peaches, sort the tomatoes by size (all to odd looks from the proprietors.) It's difficult to manage the sub-boiling temp on an electric stove. The peaches, shy of perfect, was my first attempt, also not perfect. Better luck with my tomatoes...a possible ribbon winner in the batch.

The pictures are a bit off. My Hannah Montana cam has a 'viewfinder' but not a captured image screen. I have no idea of the exact picture taken until I upload it into my camera. But still you can see the sun shining off the stainless steel lids atop the Vacola jars, the whole tomatoes in the left jar (my potential winner) and the old pot on our easy-bake-oven sized stove. I have a meat thermometer in the side water well.

The jars are stored in the cupboard under the stairs. I've put the kit up in the spare room but it is a very short distance to retrieve should another canning opportunity present itself.