http://articles.kitchenthingsplus.com/rss.xml A blog about kitchenthingsplus.com daily 365 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://articles.kitchenthingsplus.com/?a=36138 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>Before refrigerators became widely available, one of the most common methods for preserving food was canning. Oddly enough, when most people say they can foods at home, they actually mean that they're preserving food in jars. The type of jar most often used in canning is the mason jar. <br /><br />People have been using canning jars since the 1850's. The term &quot;mason jar&quot; comes from the inventor of such jars, John L. Mason. Mason didn't invent the glass jar, of course. What he did was design and patent the metal screw-on lid for such jars, which made preserving food in them possible. <br /><br />Mason jars used for canning have three parts. First is the glass jar itself. They typically come in one of two styles: regular and widemouth. The glass jar is usually clear, but they've been manufactured in other colors as well. Another common color is aqua. However they can also be found in pretty much any color. It may surprise you to learn that there are collectors who specialize in collecting antique mason jars. The colored ones are the most valuable as they are the rarest kind. <br /><br />The second part to the canning jar is the metal screw-on ring. This ring is not as important as you might think. In fact, many experienced canners store their jars with the rings off. The main purpose of the ring has nothing to do with sealing the jar. It's just there to protect the center portion from being knocked off. Also, if the seal breaks, the metal ring will help keep the contents of the jar from going all over your cupboards or pantry. <br /><br />The third piece to the mason jar is the metal center cap. This cap is ringed with a sort of rubber sealing compound which is what actually seals the jar and keeps the food inside from spoiling. Again, this piece is what seals the jar. The metal ring is there just to protect the center lid. People store their jars without that ring because it can hide a bad seal and they're prone to corroding. By storing your jars with the ring off, you can quickly ascertain the integrity of the seal. <br /><br />If you ever have any doubt as to whether or not the seal's been broken, throw out the jar of food. It's best to not risk it. There is plenty of information available to assist you in determining if a seal is broken, but the advice you're going to hear and read again and again is, &quot;When in doubt, throw it out.&quot; <br /><br />Another popular lid for the mason jars is the bail closure. While not the most common form of lid, it's still fairly common. The bail closure uses a strong somewhat spring metal wire clip which when closed forces the lid down and holds it shut. <br /><br />Mason jars aren't just for drinking out of! Many people use them for preserving food. That's what they're intended for, but they can also be used as decoration, especially the valuable colored ones.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as other kitchen things at <a href="http://www.kitchenthingsplus.com/">http://www.kitchenthingsplus.com</a></p> 2006-10-21T15:04-04:00 http://articles.kitchenthingsplus.com/?a=36137 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>For almost a hundred years now, no home has been complete without a freezer refrigerator. They first became widely available in the 1920's. The fridge, as its affectionately known, has become as necessary in today's home as the toilet or the walls and roof, for that matter. There are many types of freezer refrigerators. If you're old enough to remember them, or have come across one in an antique shop or junk yard, freezer refrigerators used to be made with the freezer built inside the refrigerated compartment. You had to open the fridge to get to the freezer. Modern freezer refrigerators can basically be broken down into three categories: side-by-side models, top freezer refrigerators, and bottom freezer refrigerators. <br /><br />Side-by-side refrigerators are pretty popular, but they're not all that convenient for someone who stores a lot of food in their freezer. If you have such a refrigerator and plan on doing a lot of freezing, then you're probably going to have to invest in a chest-style reach-in freezer. The narrow door on such refrigerators can make accessing your food somewhat difficult. <br /><br />Top freezer refrigerators may be the most common style of fridge. These, of course, have the main refrigerator compartment on the bottom and the freezer on top. Unless you're really short, the food is kept at a convenient height. The wide door makes accessing your food relatively easy. The wide-open freezer area can store a fair amount of food and not restrict you to a bunch of narrow shelves. <br /><br />Bottom freezer refrigerators place the freezer beneath the refrigerated compartment. Of all the designs, the bottom freezer refrigerator makes the most sense. Warm air is less dense than cold air so heat rises and cold sinks. Given this truism, don't you think it'd make the most sense to put the coldest part of a freezer refrigerator on the bottom and the warmer part on top? Well, to many of us this does, indeed, make the most sense, and that's why the bottom freezer refrigerator has become increasingly popular in recent years. Because of this basic law of physics, bottom freezer refrigerators are the most efficient refrigerator design. Such efficiency means more money in your pocket because your electric bills will go down. Plus, these days we need to be more concerned with energy conservation as it pertains not just to your wallet, but to the environment as well. The less energy we use, the less fossil fuels we consume, and the less greenhouse gases we emit into our fragile atmosphere. <br /><br />Freezer refrigerators come in a myriad of shapes, sizes, and styles. They can range in price from cheap mini-fridges to exorbitantly priced luxury models found the homes of the rich and famous. For the money, the best design is the bottom freezer refrigerator. It takes advantage of the laws of nature to more effectively freeze your food and keep it frozen.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as other kitchen things at <a href="http://www.kitchenthingsplus.com/">http://www.kitchenthingsplus.com</a></p> 2006-10-21T15:02-04:00