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Bottling
Only use unblemished, fresh produce
which is in good condition.
Glass jars
Use clean glass jars and accessories
and check them for any defects. Glass
jars with twist off lids or glass lids with a
rubber seal are suitable.
Make sure that all the glass jars are the
same size so that bottling is carried out
evenly.
After you have filled the jars with the
bottled produce, clean the glass rims
with a clean cloth and hot water and
then seal the jars.
Fruit
Sort fruit carefully, rinse it briefly but
thoroughly and allow it to drain. Take
great care when cleaning soft fruit as it
is very delicate and squashes easily.
Remove any peel, stalks, cores or
stones. Cut up large fruit. For example,
cut apples into slices.
If you are bottling fruit with stones (e.g.
plums, apricots) without removing the
stones, pierce the fruit several times
with a fork or wooden skewer as
otherwise it will burst.
Vegetables
Rinse, clean and cut up vegetables.
Vegetables should be blanched before
bottling to help them retain their colour
(see "Special applications – Blanch").
Special applications
Fill volume
Fill the glass jars with produce up to no
more than 3 cm below the rim. Do not
pack it down as this will damage the cell
walls of the produce. Tap the jar gently
onto a cloth to help distribute the
contents evenly. Fill the jars with liquid.
The produce must be completely
covered.
Use a sugar solution for fruit and a salt
or vinegar solution for vegetables.
Meat and sausages
Briefly fry or cook the meat before
bottling. Use the juices with some
added water, or the broth in which the
meat was cooked, as the liquid content
of the jars. Make sure there is no grease
on the rim of the jars.
When bottling sausages, only fill the jars
to halfway as the meat will rise during
the bottling process.
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