Using filtered water, like that you can get from a Mavea water filter, improves and taste and experience of your jams, pickles, and jellies.
As many of you have come to know, water is often a primary player in canning. Most pickling recipes call to dilute vinegar by half. We can whole fruit by making a syrup of sugar and water. When I want to include an intense flavor (like ginger) in a preserve, I blend it with some water before squeezing it through some cheesecloth to get a potent little brew.
In all of these recipes, I make a point of using filtered water. Preparing fruits and vegetables for canning is often a process of cooking down and concentrating your ingredients. I really don’t want to concentrate any extra crud or crap in my finished product. I live in an older apartment building, so who knows what kinds of funky particulate matter is in the H2O that comes out of my tap? It’s just one of those steps I like to take to ensure that the quality of my product is as good as I can make it when I go to open those jars six or eight months later.
Edited to add: There’s been a little confusion in the comments. I don’t use filtered water in my processing pot. I only use it IN the canning recipes. Regular tap water is fine for the outside of the jars.
For most of my adult life, I’ve been a Brita water filter user. Recently, I had an opportunity to try the new Elemaris filter and I really like it. It’s made by Mavea (which is part of Brita), is entirely BPA-free and the filters are recyclable. It has a meter on top that tells you when the filter is due for a refill and the lid is designed so that you can simply position it under the tap and fill, no need to remove a piece or flip open a flap. They’ve even created a nifty blog called Inspired Water to help spread the word about this product.
Disclosure: Mavea gave me that black Mavea water filter you see above. I’ve also filmed a series of canning videos with them that will be appearing in the next few weeks. No money has changed hands and I wouldn’t say nice things about their pitcher if I’d didn’t genuinely like it.
I drink water all day, in a glass. Not ice cold though, it hurts my teeth. When I need to take water with me, I fill up one of our many stainless water bottles. My favorite and most used wedding gift (almost 17 years ago) was a 2 gallon Brita system that stays in the fridge and has a button type spout. It came from my stepfather. I think of him every time I open that fridge door. 🙂 At work we have a filtered water system and I brought in a glass from home to drink it from.
Excellent post! I keep a container of sliced citrus (lemon, lime, orange, etc) in my fridge and add varied sliced to my reusable water bottle. Very refreshing, especially in the summer!
I start with hot tea in the morning and then ice tea in the afternoon. I finish my day with a glass of ice water. Probably at some point in the day, a beer sneaks into the plan. Good water is important.
I like plain water. I’ve been wanting one for sometime,it would probably break hubby of bottled water.
I love water in a giant mason jar. I like to see what I’m drinking and have 32 ozs in one cup.
I love to drink water in a tall clear glass, with a few cubes of ice and a thick slice of cucumber.
In my coffee. I always start with cold water….
Just got a soda stream for Christmas so I use my filtered water to make seltzer. It is so nice not to have to lug home bottles of seltzer from the grocery store anymore!
Cold water from a reusable bottle is how I roll.
Absolutely nothing is better than a cold glass of water with ice, and a slice of cucumber. SO refreshing!!
(I like red.) 🙂
Tea! At least 3 cups a day!
My favorite way to drink water is cold, straight from the bathroom tap, in the middle of the night. Of course, now that I’ve moved to the Philly suburbs, I’ve been crying that our water tastes like dirt, and doing everything in my power to avoid that middle of the night thirst quencher. I would put one of these containers next to me on the nightstand!
I currently get my drinking water from the local natural food store. They have a reverse-osmosis system and I pay by the gallon. I take the water to work with me almost every day in a stainless steel bottle and drink it straight or heat it up in a mug for tea. It would be great to try one of the Mavea pitchers!
I like to drink room temperature water, straight from the tap, out of a wide mouth pint jar. I loooove how the water in my area tastes! I was reminded recently how lucky I am, because my husband and I went to Hawaii, and brought an empty bottle with us to fill and drag around with us; Hawaii water tastes HORRIBLE!
In the winter, I like my water boiling hot, in a mug, with a wedge of lemon. In the summer, I drink my water at room temperature — ice-cold water hurts my teeth.
Thanks for this giveaway offer!
My family of 5 drinks oodles of tea, many of which are herbal potions created by my 7 year old son. We use Kleen Kanteen bottles for water and Contigo for teas when we are out traveling.
We are on well water while we do not have additives such as chlorine or chloramine put in our water that municipal sources do, we have fluctuations in levels of thing such as arsenic and uranium. We currently use a reverse osmosis under the counter system, which works wonderfully at removing these, but wastes a LOT of water in the process. I’d love to find an alternative to this.
we recently installed a Pur filter on our ancient taps, but we keep a brita in the fridge for the kids. it makes me nuts because of the bpa aspect, and it seems silly to filter the water then filter it again (though the amount of crap that lives in out pipes it’s probably a good idea). the mavea is on our neverending list of too little $ to actually purchase items that we really should purchase.
Rooibos Tea brewed with water and chilled–served in Nalgene
With a twist of lime and NO ice!
In our apartment, the water comes out of the tap smelling like a public swimming pool, so we use our filtered water for EVERYTHING: cooking, baking, drinking water, coffee/tea…
I’m an equal opportunity water drinker…. but my favorite is with cucumbers, lemon or lime!
I love my water super cold from the Brita pitcher in the fridge. I’ll always worried about the BPA (well at least since the danger of it became known. Plus I hated having to throw out the filters. This seems like the perfect solution!
I love my water COLD- I try to get in 4 liters a day. Usually my fourth liter I’ll ad Pure Fitness Crystal Light to get it down! I just refill a liter bottle- 4x a day. I’ve never owned a filter system and would LOVE to try it 🙂
I’m not a water drinker, sorry to say. I like mine with coffee or tea in it! :o)
Oh, I’m so excited to see these! I hope I win. (Our Brita filter has been out of use for some time now. I just don’t love the plastic.)
My favorite way to drink water is out of a quart sized Mason jar, sometimes with a slice of lemon, usually just plain and always at room temperature (much better for the digestion). A container that larger means you don’t need to refill as often.
Nothing like cold fresh water!
Five!! Wow! I’m a huge fan of water in a cup with ice and a quarter slice of squeezed lemon. YUM – cures my thirst every time.
PS. LOOOOVE your blog and just can’t get enough of reading over the archives!
I once learned in a class that using ice water with food actually numbs/dulls your taste buds-not allowing you to taste everything that you should be. So now I like mine at room temperature or slightly cold-straight up 🙂
I like to drink my water with lots of ice, but without an ice maker, I’ll just drink it twice filtered(we use a well)! Whenever we’re out, I usually down four or five big glasses of iced water just because it’s no extra work for me!
I love drinking it plain or with lemon!
I like water in a ceramic mug, no ice. And I really need a filter/pitcher — so pick me, please! Thanks for the giveaway.
In our house, we love making Ginger Peach Iced Tea!
in my non BPA free Nalgene. I should replace it, but I never get around to it!
I love my water ice cold from the fridge. When I’m out and about I have a beautiful stainless steel bottle that I adore.
Straight up, cold, no ice. I never drink enough though.
I love water with Ice and sometimes a dash of cranberry juice!
I drink my water ice cold. And usually with a straw.
I love water with cucumbers and strawberries. Yum yum.
Mostly I drink water plain or with a couple ice cubes, or use it to make coffee or tea.
I work at home and drink water exclusively. I refill my pint container approx four times daily and use increased amounts of lemon. I noticed the other day that my water might be considered a weak unsweetened lemonade! Lately, I’ve taken to mixing equal parts lemon and lime.
I like my water with lime in it
Straight from the tap. Sometimes with a lime wedge if I’m feeling fancy.
I love “spa water” with cucumber and lemon. It’s so refreshing.
Ha, plain ol’ water please! I usually have several drinks at hand… one tall pint of tap-temperature water (I have cold sensitive teeth) and a mug of hot tea made with an herbal loose leaf. I live in Florida and am very active, so staying hydrated at all times is paramount and, fortunately, I also love water!
I drink it straight up. And cold!
straight up!
In her book “What to Eat” Marion Nestle (http://www.foodpolitics.com/) has a really good chapter on bottled water. In the end her recommendation for the safest water, the most economical to drink and often the best tasting, is filtered water from a reliable domestic water system. We like ours that way and use it for cooking and drinking. My favorite is with two key limes juiced and one half left floating in the glass. Chilled of course! Very refreshing!
I love water at room temperature with no ice (unless it’s July or August). My husband wishes we kept our Brita pitcher in the fridge, because he likes it cold. If I won this, he’d get his wish!
I either drink it in my reusable bottle, or I love the Crystal Lite Peach Tea 🙂
Plain old water is mostly what I go for, but I do like a cup or two of herbal tea each day.