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 from a BPA-free Nalgene, and if I’m feeling really motivated, I drop in some cucumber slices and fresh mint!
My favorite water beverage is coffee! The purest water makes the best tasting cup. I would love to win a filtered water pitcher. Mine is officially on it’s last legs, after being dropped and cracked (and patched) so many times!
I like my water with ice in a plain old glass. Lately, I’ve tried measuring out what I need for the day to see if I’m actually drinking enough.
In an aluminum bottle, ice cold!
I’m not a big water drinker so I have to make myself drink it. I like it room temperature out of a pint glass best.
We have a brita filter that we use to fill a larger water dispenser that we keep in our fridge so that we can have a larger supply of water on hand– our brita filter is too tiny for how much water we drink! We use it for everything though– straight out of the tap, tea, our pet’s drinking water, you name it.
I love iced tea with sugar and lemon, and hot tea with half anf half and sugar – a guilty pleasure!
Cold with a slice of lime or orange. In the summer, with a little mint in it.
my favorite way to drink water is with lots of ice and a squeeze of lemon 🙂
We love to drink water in our house but it’s an old house with old pipes. In a town called Springwater, we have the worst tasting water. Too much chlorine. So I have to try and filter or boil it.
i love to drink water all icy cold out of one of either my sigg or klean kanteen (love the way the metal container gets all chilly and makes the water taste extra cold — at least for a little while).
you can never go wrong with a slice of lemon.
and if i find i’m not drinking alot of water, i’ll go for fizzy water with a splash (and i mean wee splash) of fruit juice.
I prefer my water to be room temperature, with a hefty squeeze of lemon!
How does the Mavea pitcher handle removing strong flavors from water? Our well water contains a lot of iron – so much so that even with a heavy duty iron filter in the house, the water still turns yellow if it sits in the dog bowl too long. I can’t stand the flavor of our water, and so end up drinking mostly bottled water (which makes me feel incredibly guilty). I have not had much luck with the Brita filters removing this strong flavor. I would gladly invest in another filter pitcher if it takes care of my rusty water flavor!
Tea! Most definitely.
It’s weird because I have a Brita that I use religiously for my (and my dog’s!) drinking water but your post made me realize I don’t use filtered water in my cooking. Anyhow drink of choice is cold water in my kleen kanteen to go.
Icy cold and plenty of it 🙂
My favortie way to drink water is with some ice and a lemon. I would love a picture. Thanks for such a great giveaway. I agree with you on using great water in preserving. It DOES make a difference in taste.
I’m in serious need of a water filter… these look awesome!
I love to infuse water but tend to only do this on hot summer days–water with mint is my favorite! I also love cucumber water & water with orange/lemon. Yum… making me crave summer! Sometimes I wonder if I drink herbal tea more often than plain water, though. Thank you for the giveaway!
ice cold in a BIG glass
I love water cold out of my Brita in the fridge. Both at work and at home. Ice is always involved too 🙂 Our pitcher at home is starting to look a little ragged, so this would be awesome!
At the moment, my handy little water pitcher is sitting on my desk. If I fill it up in the morning and drink all day, I’m sure to get enough water.
Love your blog — I’ve learned so much from it.
My water has to be cold, i’ve been told that isn’t always the best way for the body to process but it’s the only way i can drink it. Not a big water fan but it HAS to be filtered and cold. This sounds like a great product.
Renee
water with fresh mint and cucumber can be just the trick on a hot summer’s day! i also just love it plain, at room temperature… keeps me going all day long. thanks for the recommendation! i’ve been a Brita gal for awhile, but really like what you’ve described about this filter. hopefully i’ll be one of the lucky winners, but even if i’m not i’ll have to check out mavea!
Water with lemon, iced tea, and brewed hot tea are my staples of life. I have celiac and am highly allergic to msg so most processed food/drinks are out for me, I LIVE on tea these days! (and pepsi throwback when I can find it!)
I’m a Brita pitcher girl too, but I like the idea that the Mavea filters are recyclable. My favorite way to drink water is cold right out of the fridge out of real glass, made out of glass. I drink twice as much water if I’m drinking it out of glass instead of a plastic bottle or cup.
Filtered water ICE. Nothing makes me crazier than icky ice.
This would be perfect for us! The ice maker no longer works and I only drink my water cold cold cold, so I always have to wait hours or constantly be refilling a plastic pitcher in the fridge already. Such a hassle! Add lots of lemon juice and I’m golden.
I run into the same issue/questions in my ancient apt building. We run to the store for filtered water when we brew, and I’d love to make it easy for canning. MY favorite water is simple ginger water (or iced ginger tea, however you look at it).
Icy cold from the fridge
I’d have to say COLD. The colder the better.
I love to use filtered water in my carbonator and a splash of mint!
I love to drink my water cold with a lot of lemon in it!
Neat. Generally in a glass, sometimes in a mason jar. Unless I’m at work, in which case its either the fountain or the Nalgene.
I get most of my water from the green tea that I drink at work all day. We keep a brita filter pitcher on the counter since most of us don’t like cold water and then use that to fill the kettle. I keep the tea mild so I don’t get too much caffeine and it keeps my hydrated. During the summer we’ll often make a pot of mild green tea mixed with mint leaves and let it reach room temperature.
Thanks,
Sherry
i probably drink water the most via tea. I am also guilty of buying the cases of small water bottles on sale– hey, If it makes someone in my house grab a bottle of water rather than a soda, it is WORTH IT!! 🙂
Plain cold water after a salty meal 🙂
lukewarm with a little lemon, or lime.
I love it straight out of the fridge (brita pitcher!) in a tall glass. Delish!
My husband drinks like a horse: sometimes a Brita pitcher over the course of a single nighttime rambling. A pint is gone in four big gulps! So: we drink water quickly. Hot tea would be #2. 🙂
I like my water straight up, especially when it’s cool on a hot summer day!
I use reusable metal bottles all the time. In the early days, when such bottles were not common, someone asked me, “What’s in that thing? You’re addicted to that stuff.” That’s me. Addicted to water!
Thanks for the post! It is nice to hear about new products. My favorite way to drink water is in the form of black tea with a splash of milk.
I love to have a cold glass of water, with no ice, while I’m working in the garden on a hot day. Dirt caked hands are a requirement for pure water drinking enjoyment. It gives me enough time to enjoy and ponder my next garden task.
favorite way to drink water? cold, in a canning jar, of course!
I like it COLD! I always keep a pitcher of water in the fridge so I can have it really cold whenever I like it!
Water, water, everywhere,
And not a drop to drink
Especially if that water
Comes out of my kitchen sink!
We just remodeled our kitchen and found that the new hose connecting our water gives the water a distinctly plasticy flavor…since we’ve always used BRITA anyway, its not a big deal, but it does make one think. My favorite recipe using water, teehee, is good old STRONG black tea mixed half and half with lemonade (its got a golfer name)…or STRONG BLACK coffee with some fresh milk from our goats
Ice cold out of the fridge with a little garden mint bruised.
I guess my favorite way to drink water is in a pot of coffee – but I also drink it all throughout the day from a bottle.
I put tap water in an old water jug to keep in the fridge. that way, we always have cold water. I also drink it with a little lemon.
I have several Camelbak water bottles that I love. One at work, another by the bedside, one in the car, one waiting for me at camp and always 2 chillin’ in the fridge. Love water! Have some in coffee in the AM, but drink straight up H2O the rest of the day.
Cold, from glass when possible.