Stephanie Thurow - WECK Small-Batch Preserving: Year-Round Recipes for Canning, Fermenting, Pickling, and More

Every effort has been made to ensure that all the information in this book is accurate at the time of publication. This book is not intended to replace the manufacturers instruction in the use of their productsalways follow their safety guidelines.

Copyright 2018 by Stephanie Thurow

Photography 2018 by Stephanie Thurow

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Jenny Zemanek and Mona Lin

Cover photo by Stephanie Thurow

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3562-0

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3563-7

Printed in the United States of America

For Ben

Thank you for your unwavering support and love behind all that I do.

INTRODUCTION

My affinity for WECK jars began after my friend introduced me to them in 2008. I had never seen anything like them before. The ones she had were small, lovely glass jars with glass lids and a rubber ring with two metal clamps. We were a little nervous to try canning with them for the first time, but we quickly learned there was nothing to fear. After our first experience canning with WECK jars, I started a collection of my own, which eventually turned into an obsession. Ive even been called a hoarder a time or two regarding my WECK jar collection, but Im okay with thatactually, even proud to be.

I nannied for my baby cousin throughout my college years, and after reading books on infants and becoming more informed about children overall, I became aware of all the toxins and harmful chemicals surrounding us in our daily lives, so I started to rid plastic from my own household. Years later when my own daughter was born, I was in a full-on war with plastic, BPA (Bisphenol A), phthalates, PVC, and other potentially harmful items around my house. This meant that the regular canning jars I had been using up to this point were also off limits due to the BPA-lined jar lids. Thats when I switched over to using strictly WECK jars for my home canning. I didnt want any toxins leaching into my organic canned goods! In 2012, the FDA banned the use of BPA in infant-related products (baby bottles, formula liner, etc.) and many other brands started moving away from the use of BPA in their products as well, often advertising them as BPA-free. Though it gave me a sense of comfort, I always wondered what safer alternative they were using in place of BPA. Was it indeed safer? I once again began incorporating the other jars and lids back into my home-canning routine until I read a study published by UCLA in 2016 stating that BPA-free alternatives may be no safer than BPA. (Read the study online at academic.oup.com/endo/article/157/2/636/2422708.) So, with the best interest of my family in mind, Ive recently made the switch back to water-bath canning strictly with WECK jars for my personal use. Im sticking with the better safe than sorry idiom. Because WECK jars and their lids are made of glass, the only material touching the preserve is glass, so I do not have to worry about any harmful chemicals leaching into my food, and that gives me peace of mind. Plus, the lids are reusable, so I dont need to purchase new lids after each use and that is a great bonus. This means less waste, which translates to eco-friendliness!

When the J. Weck Company chose to collaborate with me to write a preserving guide, it was a dream come true. If Im not their biggest fan, Im definitely one of their top five! Throughout this book, I share more than one hundred small-batch water-bath canned, fermented, pickled, and infused recipes, all designed for WECK jars. The recipes are written in an easy-to-read format that a novice can understand and an experienced preservationist can appreciate. Preserving in small batches is a fantastic way to try out a recipe without investing too much time, money, or energy. Small-batch recipes equal less preparation time, less cost for the ingredients, and less storage space required. If you love a particular recipe, double or triple it! Ive included a handful of fantastic guest recipe contributions throughout the book with tips from industry pros, as well as note sections paired with each recipe for you to jot down what you liked about the recipe, what you didnt like, what you changed, what worked, what didnt, etc. I want you to use my recipes as a jumping-off point for future creations as you gain confidence in food preservation. I hope this book puts you at ease about how to use these aesthetically beautiful, non-toxic, and versatile jars, and I hope you find this cookbook to be inspirational and educational as it guides you through your food preservation endeavors. Happy Preserving!

Stephanie

PART I

THE HISTORY OF WECK JARS

A chemist named Dr. Rudolf Rempel discovered that food could be successfully preserved by heating it in glass jars with an abraded edge, rubber ring, and metal lid. His discovery was patented in 1892, but he died in 1893. Albert Hussener founded a company which produced glass jars, but the company was not successful, probably because of the lack of advertising for his new product. He sold the patent to Johann Weck.

Johann Weck was born near Frankfurt, Germany. He moved to the town of flingen, in the state of Baden, as soon as he had bought Rempels patent. Weck was a strict vegetarian and an abstainer from alcohol. With his products he wanted to fight against the disease of alcoholism which was very common at the time. The surroundings in southern Baden were rich in fruit trees and fulfilled his wishes of preserving fruit instead of using it to make alcohol. He had acquired the exclusive right for distribution of the newly patented glass jars and canning apparatus for the entire area of southern Germany. He also bought the sole proprietorship of the company and the WECK canning patent.