Amanda
I did call Fowlers directly as they are only 25 mins away if I had to go there. The girl was helpful and suggested I get it thru my local Mitre 10. Otherwise they generally don't sell direct to public, except to those out the back o' yonder who can't get to a retailer. She emailed me some info and a link to www.centre.net.au where you can buy online. I then looked up the Trading Post and there are some second hand which I may look at.

Re the mixer with the seed and skin separator - they are easily available here in Melb at places which sell kitchen goods, the Queen Victoria Market et al. You can get hand operated and those with an electric motor in all different sizes. If you can't get anything like that over there I will have a look around and get some prices if you like. I think the hand operated ones aren't too dear, plastic and around $80-$100 from memory but I know they can range up to $600 for a stainless steel motorised one. Let me know if you want me to check them out for you.

You guys always come up with something else just as I am typing a response. Perhaps I should learn to type faster, or talk less rubbish.

You still need to boil the tomatoes as that is how you separate the skins but no need to touch the hot buggers to do it.

BTW, fortunately or unfortunately, depending which way you look at it, I don't come from an Italian family. We come from a little group of islands about 100kms south of Sicily called Malta. Very close though!

This is similar to what my in-laws have, which they bought in Italy about 8 yrs ago. Perhaps when Finbar sets up his import/export business we can get them REAL cheap!

The elongated cone to the left of the machine is perforated and the juice seeps through it with any seeds and skin travelling the length of it and coming out at the end, fairly dry - compost perhaps!

The hand operated one works on similar principles but smaller scale.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato machine

Amanda,
Yes, I have the Vacola Dehydrator. But ike the Vacola itself it has never been used. Waiting for the mother of all crops. Could this be the season? I hope so.

spatzbear
dried, roasted and slated broad beans are wonderful, I bought them once, and have never seen them again. Unfortunately i think that growing broad beans is not possible where I live now.
Dorothy

Hey Grub, give me a shout when you're ready to go with the preserving, I'd love to come & play with your toys!

PS I tried to get the kids to take the Herald article in to school for news, Sam has, after all, met the owner of the tommies in the photo but all I got was the "what planet are you on Mum" look!!!

Give him a good thump around the ear from me.

Okay, I'll let ya know when the production line begins. I've never used any of it so I might get the first few batches wrong. Not sure how far to fill the jars. Bad past experiences with pressure cookers and cans of baked beans in fires.

12mm head. It's in "The Book".

What are you bottling?

My thanks to Pepino, Finbar & Sarah_may for the butter/oil advice.
Bumped into the son's inlaws to day who are Germay-Italian and got the same advice. So hey! Plain sailing with lottsa pasta!
Denis

Guess what?! Guess what!? Guess what!?

*jumps up and down excitedly*

I got my preserving kit. Bought the last one from our local Mitre10. Yes!
*wildy looking about for things to preserve*

Will now try to get more jars and then wait for the first bumper harvest of any kind.

Unfortunately, we ate all the asparagus as soon as it came up. It's now sort of finishing - the asparagus. Artichokes? Hmm... Broad Beans? hmmm...

Hehe, new toy, new toy! Goodonya Spatz

Thanks to all the advice in the other thread, I had a go with my new toy. I preserved Artichokes and Broad Beans in a vinegar/water solution (50/50). I'll have to wait a month till I know what it tastes like. (As advised in the Vacola book, uncooked veggie pickles/preserves should be left for a month before consumption.) Fingers crossed. I didn't add any herbs or spices as this really is 'only' a test batch.

Before:
{{gwi:2116676}}

After:
{{gwi:2116677}}

Ignore the jar on the left hand side, this is a Dhal dip I preserved. Just to see whether I can do it.

You little bottler!!! *said very excitedly*

Amanda
*thumbs up and big grin to Spatz*

Omigod! I missed the news that you got a Vacola. Wow-wee. Top looking broadies and and arties. Keep me posted as to what works and what doesn't, especially with you-know-whats, coz we sure are going to have some. :))grub, making note to get the Vac out and read-up on how it works.

Yeeepeaaahhhhhhh.... got 45 No 20 Fowlers jars for 5 dollars at a garage sale today!!! (They actually only charged 2 dollars, but we gave them 5 as it was a charity shop.)

I'm sooo excited! :)

Looking in the book. No.20: takes Size 3 lids has a capacity 600ml; for pears, peaches, plums, figs, tomatoes.

Well done Spatz!!!

YEAH! Just what I wanted.

It'll be interesting to compare / swap recipes with you all come harvest time. I've got some great recipes for tomato sauce, tomato paste, zucchini pickles, etc. .

Hello,

I have been canning for about 15 years and have just moved to Sydney from the States (I from Alabama and Texas) and am looking for canning jars like we use in the states. Does anyone know where I can purchase any? I am also researching the Vacola kit but am unfamiliar with this type of canning and the procedure for this type of jar. As soon as my stuff arrives I also have about 20 books on preserving/canning/freezing, etc. and do highly recommed 'Keeping the Harvest'. If anyone needs recipes and especially for tomatoes, sauces, etc. I am happy to share. Thanks in adavance for anyone information, direction and assistance.

Ryan
r_propst@hotmail.com or ryan@ryanscateredplate.com

Welcome, Ryan. You seem to have a slightly different system in the States, from what I gathered on the Harvest Forum. Are you shipping your stuff, including jars and canning kit, from the States? Then you should be fine.
The Vacola kit is really easy to use, it comes with a booklet full of instructions. The jars are harder to find. Either garage sales, or classifieds will do the trick.

Ryan, welcome to Oz, and a particular welcome to the Cornucopia forum.
As you've probably noticed, the Aussie forums aren't nearly as numerous as the US ones, so we tend to post all sorts of things in the one forum. This forum covers fruit, veggies, their care, selection, etc. It's the etc that's important. Just about anything food related - where to get seed, how do you grow this or that, great recipes, advice on preserving. So come visit often and enjoy!

Hello there,
I have had my Fowlers Vacola for around two weeks now,l got it from an old lady who was moving. Its an electric one made from hard plastic, l was lucky it had all of the pitting spoons, packing stick,bottles , lids etc.I just got my vacola book from Fowlers in Melbourne delivered. I just wanted to ask some questions please,
Whats the best way to peel nectarines,apricots, or do you peel them at all to preserve?
When chosing the fruit, do you get them still hard? l got some peaches that were a bit too ripe, but would buying them still hard make them sour when they were bottled?
What fruits do you have to add citric acid into, l wanted to do some bananas and how much do you put in?
My last question, l did a batch of three jars of peaches, two of which didnt seal and l was very dissapointed, l had new seals,clips and lids, the seals weren't twisted,l cooked them for the 60 minutes in the vacola as recommended in the instructions, what could l have done wrong? on the back of the seals it says to press down firmly in the middle of the jar lids when the come out, l didnt do this, should I?
sorry for all of the questions :) but l have lots more
best wishes
Lynn

Lynn,
I don't use a vacola so can't help you there, however 'Keeping the Harvest', the book Ryan & I recommended says to use good quality ripe fruit, unripe fruit has less flavour & lower sugar content. I'd really recommend this book if you're planning to do a lot of preserving as it's full of information & recipes.
It seems though that Vacola type jars are not recommended in the US, I had never seen them in the UK & always use mason type jars.

I don't peel apricots or nectarines. I use ripe fruit. I don't bottle bananas, nor do I use citric acid for anything except making cordials. Had you washed the new lids, clips and rings in hot soapy water before using them? Were the rings soaking in warm water before you put them on the bottles? I always use two clips on my bottles. I always press the tops of the bottles when I remove them from the steriliser. Did you keep the temperature at the specified degrees for as long as recommended in the book? Note that you check the time from when it reaches the correct temperature.

Hi Lynn!

Can I add that if a bottle comes out unsealed - I take the lid off, wash it, wipe the rim to make sure there's nothing there getting in the way (like a tomato seed *blushes*) and then run it again... shame to waste it!

I use citric acid when I bottle tomatoes, how much depends on the size of the jar, it should be in the Vacola book.

I haven't done any fruit or other veges yet, just tomatoes. Lots and lots of tomatoes...

Amanda

I do the same. Just clean the rim and the lid, check the rubber seal, pop the lid and clips back on and do it again.

I'm only experienced with plums, apricots and pears. The plums and apricots don't need peeling, pears do. Plums have a better flavour if you cut them in half and leave the stone in one half. The fruit should be ripe but not over ripe and you should cut out any questionable bits. My mother and I both have very old vacola books, which use varying times and temperatures for different fruit (also interesting and very scarey pages about preserving meat, fish etc!). I think the newer instructions have more general times. Mum had problems with the jars sealing using the new instructions and has returned to the old book. What books do you all use?
Danielle

Pressie time... totally unexpected but I am today the proud owner of a Vacola Dehydrator...

Woo hooo!

Has anyone else used one of these?

Amanda
*doing a Spatz - looking around for something to dry*

I have a Harvest Maid dehydrator which I used a lot for making fruit leather and dried fruit. Since moving, I don't have the access to fruit (for free). They are great if you don't have to buy your produce.

Welcome to OZ Ryan. As Ray said this forum covers everything to do with fruit and veg. The baby photos thread is up to about 1700 posts so far and deals mainly with tomatoes. But beware, old George Dubya gets a bit of a caning at times as does our little Jonny.

Cheers
Mantis

Amanda, aren't the peaches and apricots ripe yet? Dry a few of those - they make lovely snacks. Great for baking, too. :)

I have a dehydrator but I use it for making dried liver treats for training the dogs. I have three Fowler's Vacola books, two quite old, paper backs and one hard cover from 1988. I prefer to use the longer times in the older books to make sure. I haven't tried bottling meat and wouldn't. The freezer has replaced bottling in lots of cases, eg, I'd hesitate to bottle tomatoes as they're so easy to freeze. I often make fruit puree and freeze it too.

Hi again, well I have had some success thanks to everyone for their help. I am ready to try some tomatoes now, just been looking at yours again on here Amanda :). I have bottled some grapes even, they look great, we have opened a few bottles to test them hehe. For the citric acid which l know they sell at Woolworths, l have lemon juice in a bottle the shape of a lemon do you know if this will work ok as instead of fresh lemon?.
I still havent managed to get any fowlers bottles though, If l hear this once more l will scream " oh if you had asked me last week we had heaps" or this one will kill you " last week l took around 200 of them to the tip"
best wishes
Lynn

Lynn, the world is full of vandals. Have you tried your local CWA?
Danielle

Keep watching your local classified adverts! Do you have the Quokka? I did that for a long time, getting the paper early and ringing, even then I'd often miss out because I was too late!

You'll be able to pick up small batches and eventually collect up what you need. Or get lucky with a big collection. The Vacola book has all the sizes so you'll know which ones you particularly want.

Collecting bottles is a bit of a project in itself but it does finish because once you have enough that's it - they do last forever!!!

Amanda

Hi, I've been preserving apricots and peaches in the last couple of days using Fowlers jars and a big Fowlers stove top preserver.

I'm after some advice..

I've been cutting the apricots in half, then very tightly packing them and covering with a light (1 cup sugar, 2 cups water) syrup then boiling in the preserver for about half an hour. I am getting a good seal, although the fruit is rising to the top of the jars leaving a gap of about 2cms from the bottom. I tried chopping the peaches into smaller pieces (I tried quarters, eighths and half) with no success either..

The fruit is also rising above the level of the syrup at the top - which will probably cause the fruit at the top to discolour?

I'd appreciate any advice relating to these two problems!

Ta.

Nick.

p.s. LynnH, I've got heaps of jars + lids if you're interested in a quantity...

I'd say that's about right for apricots. I pack mine with the cut side down and overlapping. I fill the bottles right to the brim or just over with fruit and fill with syrup. When I put the lids on, I need to push the fruit down, and some syrup overflows. I always use two clips on my bottles too. If you get discoloured fruit at the top of the bottles, the Fowlers Vacola books say you can just dispose of them - the rest of the fruit is OK.

Hi Nick, I would be interested in a quantity of the bottles and lids, if you would like to email me with details l would be very happy. As for the fruit coming to the top, mine does the same, I opened one last night of nectarines, the top one was fine but l discarded it anyhow, they were so delicious!!
best wishes
Lynn

hi all. I've just acquired a very old but totally unused vacola, sans instruction book. It is about 30 years old - has a thermometer, but no thermostat. I'd like to try it out on some of the tomatoes rotting in my backyard.

Can someone give me the 'recipe' please? Do I HAVE to take the skins off - or, if I'm not as fussy as finbar, and don't mind the 'skanky' texture in the finished product (LOL) can I just leave the skin on - does it affect the keeping quality of the finished product at all?

I think Amandas photos of her tomatoes look FANTASTIC - I hope mine turn out as well!

Also, does someone have a recipe for mangoes or apricots? lots really cheap in the shops ATM.

Finally - does anyone know where in Brisbane I can get more jars, lids, rings etc? I did find a couple of internet sites - but they are in Vic and SA, and the freight was exhorbitant. Mitre 10 will order them in, but it will take 2-3 weeks, and I WANT TO DO IT NOW!!!!

Hi there all, if you want to preserve something that shouldn't go all "mushy", I had good results with putting the, say for instance cucumbers, into the jar, fill with the hot mixture of vinegar, spices, etc. and then put a good drop of high %age of alcohol into the upturned lid, then light it and when the flame is still burning, place the lid on the jar straight away and put the clamps on it. It keeps well too and you don't have the "very hot" part of the work as with the cooking. Good luck!!!

A good sauce for recipies on preserving is your local op shop. You can normally find preserving jars by the trailer load during the winter too. Not so many this time of year. jan

Hi wishful,

When I was checking out Mitre 10 over here in WA, I found that some stores were better than others. It's probably worth getting on the phone first.

For any other WA people interested - as I recall - Inglewood and Forrestfield were good - Malaga had very little. There's also another place along Gt Northern Hwy that sells hardware, fruit and nuts (odd combo!) that had a pretty good range of lids and clips which is where I ended up getting mine.

My bottles were all secondhand. It was almost a hobby the first year: getting the papers, checking the classifieds, chasing adverts, stopping at op shops etc.

Amanda

good to hear from you again Amanda pet, hope you're on the mend. I can't wait to start the preserving thing. Better start looking now I 'spose. Before we move to the country.

Amanda... I've been local St Vinnies and Salvos - no luck (and they haven't had any in years).

I was looking in Kmart - I can buy Mason jars for $3-$4 each - would they be ok to use (until when/if Fowlers Vacola in Melbourne decide to return the 2 phone calls and 1 fax message I have sent them this week!)?

And, I'm worried that the instruction book is so old it probably has incorrect information. It certainly has quite different instructions to a couple of canning/preserving books I got from the library, that were published in 2002/2003. I'm not sure if this is just because they are US, and using mason jars - would that make the difference?

e.g.

"headspace" - newer books say to leave headspace at top of jar; old FV book says fill jar to brim

water level - newer books say to have water 3-5cm above top of jar; FV book says to have water THREE PARTS up side of bottle. Three parts of what? 3/4? 3/10?

time for processing - e.g. for precooked tomatoes, the newer books have times like 20mins (depending on size of jar etc) while the FV book has min 2 1/2 hours. that is a BIG difference! (even taking into consideration the other different instructions about starting temperature of water bath etc).

As I LOVE the picture of your tomatoes so much... would you mind telling me EXACTLY what you do???????? I'm worse than a child at Christmas... if I don't bottle something soon, I'll burst! ROFL!

There's another thread running with a discussion of different types of bottles. I'll put the link below.

If you have excess tomatoes that have to be dealt with *now* - you might be better off chopping them up for a quick simmer and freezing them. I bought a whole bunch of 500ml containers just for that. Even when I'm bottling there's often some stuff left in the pan - too much to eat - not enough for another run through the bottler - I freeze 'em!!! That's how I know that frozen skins go skanky and bottled ones don't. Still fine to eat either way!

I just follow the recipe in the FV book - the one I have is called _Australian Preserving with Fowlers Vacola_ published in 1980. Is there a newer book than that?

*********************

1. Put citric acid in the bottom of the bottle. The quantity varies with the size of the bottle. The No.36 I used in the picture needed 1 tsp.

2. Chop up the tomatoes into a big pot. Crush the first few to make a bit of liquid in the bottom of the pot or add a little water to just cover the bottom. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. Allow to cool.

3. Soak the rubber rings in warm water for 15 minutes.

4. Fill the bottles, leaving 12mm head space. Wipe the rims. Put on the ring, lid and clip.

5. THERMOMETER CONTROL: Place the bottles in the preserver with enough water to come 3/4 of the way up the sides of the bottles. Bring temperature slowly up to boiling point - 100ºC - this will take at least 45 minutes and maintain at boiling point for 15 minutes. Then switch off heat source and allow bottles to stand with preserver lid on, undisturbed for another hour before taking out.

THERMOSTAT CONTROL: Turn thermostat dial to HOLD BOIL, switch on at power point and leave on this setting for 1 hour. Then switch off at power point and allow bottles to stand, with preserver lid on, undisturbed for another hour before taking out.

6. Take out the bottles. Press down firmly on the centre of cover and clip being careful not to disturb or knock either. Leave them on cake racks or folded towels etc to cool for at least 12-18 hours. Remove clips by sliding sideways.

7. Test for a vacuum by placing a pencil or rule across the top of each bottle. The cooling down process should have pulled down the centre of the cover. If the seal is faulty, take off the lid, clean the rim, check the rubber ring or fit a new one. Repeat all the above steps. If it's just one bottle, I would probably put a plastic lid on it and put it in the fridge to use!

***********

Here is a link that might be useful: Home preserving stuff

Wishful
I spoke to Nicole at Fowlers Vacola some time ago and she was very helpful. Her email address is nroy@fowlersvacola.com.au
Hope this helps.

thanks Amanda - that is quite different to the instructions in the book I have (not dated, but obviously much older. and very quaint phraseology "Very much research work has been done in our Laboratory over the last few years, and we have found the following method to be more satisfactory than instructions given in previous editions of this book".

My instructions do not say to soak the rubber rings, they say to add salt instead of citric acid, fill to the brim (this I imagine would then overflow during processing, and interfere with the seal), and it also says to hold at boiling point for just 10 mintues, not 15. All these qould make a considerable difference, especially to the shelf life and probability of giving your family botulism!

pepino - thanks for the contact info - I have phoned twice (phone not answered, left message on machine) and faxed once in the last week - still have hd no response from them. I will try emailing.

Hi Guys
When preserving it is best to remember that the basics are to understand about a few key points....
Thermal shock...do not put cold jars into hot water or on cold benches...best to put cold jars into warmish water and then raise the temp...if doing more than one batch you can bail some of the recently boiled water out and replace it with cold water to cool the water temp before inserting bottles
On the point of filling to the top or not...
if using screwtop 'airproof lids' such as mason jars or jamor vegemite jars for example then it is best to leave a cm of air inside the jars...this air will cool down and then suck the metal lid down and seal the jar...if using fowlers jars then my recommendation is to leave the fruit about one or two cms from the top and fill to the brim with water before placing the lids over the seal and putting two clips on....in the boiling the lids will be forced up by the expansion of the water in the jar and only water will be lost and the jar not covered with sticky fruit...the clips will keep the lid down firmly and when the jar and contents cool the lid will be sucked down tight by the contraction of the contents
Basically you only need to know the principle of sterilisation and also make sure you eliminate as much air as possible when filling...if you sterilise for 10 minutes in a clean kitchen using clean technique then you shouls never have any problems
I often just sterlise my fruit in Fowlers jars and later on I will either cook the fruit into deserts, or pies or I will then add sugar and cook into jam if I am short of jam or cook into pickles if need be...having the fruit stored gives me the versatility that I do not have if I decide to make it all into jam or pickles first and then find I really should have kept more for deserts etc
You can also use the above points to preserve fruit in jam jars or even coffee jars...you need not even purchase a a fowlers jar if you find them hard to come by
I get mine for 10c each at the local opshops where they are put into the bin to be smashed into recycled glass...bloody disgrace but the demand is not high enough down here ...the opshop is full of fowlers jars
As for the rings...put all your rings into boiling water for 10 minutes and then you can let them cool a little and put them into the bottle grooves before adding fruit....easier to do this than try to put them on when the bottle is full and hot
Hope this is of some help
cheers
Peter

Hi folks,
I too have been preserving with FV for many years ...and it wasn't until a couple of years ago when I visited the Wimmera field says that I found you can also preserve in your microwave using any jam.pickle jars! Yes even with metal lids!! There is a book available called Microwave Preserving by a an Australian lady ....don't have the book handy just now as it is packed ready for my big move.
One thing you all should know is that in preserving tomatoesit is safest to preserve them twice, do them again after they cool...this is to entirely kill any organisms that may grow in time. Fowlers Vacola now do not recommend anyone to preserve vegetable or meats ...in fact they spend a lot of time in their later books telling you it is not safe.
Tomatoes are considered fruit and safe...I have some from several years ago that are as good today as when I preserved them.
There are a couple of things in the fruit line that don't preserve either...one is canteloupe...it becomes poisonous and ferments as weel UGH....it fermented,broke the seals and flowed all over my pantry.
I have about 30 size 27 Fowlers jars if anyone wants them..they take the size 3 rings,lids and clips and hold 750grams.I also have a dozen screw top Agee jars too/no lids ...any takers..I live in the Wimmera.

Hello all,

I found your list tonight, after looking for somewhere to sell some FV bottles! I have never been so pleased to find a thread talking about preserving. I searched for something similar when I started and found nothing!

Anyway, I note that some of you are looking for cheap bottles, especially in South East Queensland. Well, you have had trouble finding them, since my parents have hunted down every bottle ever made and sent to this part of the world! Suffice to say I am sure they owe all potential FV bottle owners an apology for drying up the supply.

As a result, I have a distinct over supply of every size and am looking to downsize.

I live on the Gold Coast, but am often in Brisbane. I am not looking to make a profit or exploit, just move them on to a person who will use them as well  say $1 a bottle.

If you are interested, please call (0409841272) or email me.

Cheers,
Annie