Jam today, and tomorrow, and tomorrow ...

I've just invested in a small piece of kit that should make my jam/chutney making a lot easier - a jam funnel. No more sticky jars and lids, no more juggling with a ladel of hot syrupy stuff and a hot glass jar, no more puddles of jam on the counter.

In caseyou've not seen one, it's like a regular funnel, but the opening is wider and should fit inside the rim of most jars. It's metal and there's a handle to hold to prevent sticky burns from the hot jam.

I suspect I'll soon be wondering how I did without it before.

Have you got a priceless piece of kitchen kit? And do I need it in my kitchen too? Answers below, people.

Comments

[Dan]

Excellent, just what we need too - thank you! We tend to end up with a thin film of sticky syrup right across our worktops we we make jam, this is just the thing.

I wouldn't be without a ricer (http://www.lakelandlimited.co.uk/product.aspx/freshcool/helpinghands!6532) - great for creamy mashed potatoes, for swede, and any other veg that would otherwise need to be mashed.

[Muppet]

I have made two purchases this year that I love. The first was a silicon muffin mould, and I now have two. They're flexible and non-stick and just fab.

The other is a ceramic baking dish with a non-stick coating. It's perfect for making pasta bake or gratins and when you wash it, even baked on pasta slides right off. Priceless!

[Sarah]

My Dad always stands the jam jars on newspaper, which is then composted or burned. A thick enough wad of it also acts as a trivet under the hot jars. Is this too obvious a suggestion?

[Talbin]

I love my Black and Decker vegetable steamer. I received it as a wedding present 15 years ago, and I probably use it at least 3 times per week. It keeps a burner free on the stove, and there is no chance of over- or under-cooking like there is with the metal expandable steamers you put into the bottom of a pot. In this day when appliances seems to be engineered to work for only 2-3 years, a steamer that still works fine after over 2,300 uses is something I can whole-heartedly recommend!

[moonbells]

I've got a giant stockpot, which is deep enough to be used not only for making large amounts of jam, but is also capable of taking Kilner jars of fruits and vegetables for bottling/canning. I bottle gooseberries and rhubarb in light syrup, which saves on freezer space (what allotmenteer isn't short of that?!) and at this time of the year, bottle passata (have a great passata machine too, which also de-pips brambles...) and ratatouille, again saving on a lot of freezer space.
I don't know if you can count a book as essential, but my HMSO preserving book, originally written decades ago and before freezers, is fantastically useful. "Home Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables" by Bridget Jones (!), only available in photocopy (!!) but hard to beat. Even helps tell you why, if things have gone wrong!

[Wossername]

The two pieces of kit that I have in the kitchen that I use most are a standard blender and a fruit/veg centrifugal juicer. Use together these are excellent for making extremely healthy and refreshing smoothies and juices from all that extra produce that you don't know what to do with. I tend to make a job lot and freeze it in screw topped plastic cups which I then take to work.

[Ben]

I certainly wouldn't be without a jam funnel either. I bought it last year for making blackberry jam after we'd picked 3kg of them from the hedgerows back home in West Wales. It proved invaluable again this year when we made two batches of chutney (1 Glutney and 1 Smoked tomato).