It's all about preserves

We love seasonal fruits and vegetables, but if you sit back on a cold winter day, longing for those hot summer days and the tastes of those foods, you can go back in time if you have a larder full of preserves and jams. The preparation is easy and the tools are all here!

DELLA CASA offers a wide range of glass jars and preserving bottles, everything you need for canning and preserving: from the funnel for preserving jars to the preserving set with thermometer and the tongs for removing sterilized jars from boiling water.

The preserving set is a brilliant idea for saving space in the kitchen: you just have to apply the adaptor to any deep pot with 24 cm diameter. A precision thermometer completes the set, together with a glass cover and a grid for protecting jars from the high temperatures at the bottom of the pot.

Freshness guaranteed

Thanks to the innovative DELLA CASA lids you can always check the vacuum inside the jars: is the indicator on the lid clicks it means the food isn't being kept in a vacuum. Lids can be re-used several times and replaced if needed. Food in jars with a screw-on cap is perfectly preserved in a vacuum for 1 to 2 years; jars with flip-top closure and natural rubber seal preserve food from 3 to 6 years!

Once the jars are filled and ready for storage, use tags and sticker labels from the same range to write the contents and date of preparation. You can either attach them to the jars or hang them.

The secrets of preserving, step by step

1. First of all you need to sterilise jars. Dishwash them or wash them under hot water with some detergent. Sterlising requires reaching a temperature of 100 °C and keeping it for a few minutes in order to destroy all bacteria.

2. Check the seals: they must be intact in order to be re-used. If they're not, replace them, you can buy spare ones.

3. Fill the jars up to 1,5-2 cm below the rim. Use the funnel to keep the rims clean.

4 Pour in the brine according to your recipe and close the jars.

5. Prepare the preserving set: put a ø 24 cm vessel onto the cooker, insert the steaming pad and pour in about 1 l lukewarm water. Place filled and closed preserving jars onto the steaming pad. If you preserve food in tall jars or in several jars stacked one onto another, assemble the universal adapter and place it onto the rim of the deep pot. Close the set using the cover with thermometer.

6. Set the cooker to medium output. As soon as the thermometer indicator reaches the green range, reduce the heat to stabilize the temperature of the steam bath between 80 and 90 °C. Preserve and sterilise food in a steam bath for 15 to 120 minutes depending on the type of food.

7. After the time required for preservation has elapsed, turn off the cooker and remove the cover. Hold hot preserving jars using tongs and remove them from the deep pot.

8. Check the vacuum: DELLA CASA lids are provided with an indicator which clicks if the food isn't kept in a vacuum.

9. Put the jars in the larder or in a fresh and dry place, away from light.