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 keep several bottles of water in the fridge at home at all times, and have a reusable bottle with a flip-top lid (I kept spilling my mug!) at work that I fill with water and ice.
At parties I like to set out two or three different pitchers of ice water, one with cucumbers, one with a few sliced strawberries, and the third with whatever else I think would look pretty. Just a few berries or slices of cucumber are enough to just scent the water and make it a fantastic treat.
Our water here in Madison is so hard you can see little floaty bits at the bottom of your glass! Despite that, I love to drink it straight up with as many ice cubs as I can squeeze into the glass!
My favorite ways to drink water are in my stainless steel water bottle and as Irish Breakfast tea with sugar. *goes to make a cup*
I too have used a Brita for years. My obsession with clean water started when I lived in San Jose CA in the late 80’s and the tap water was terrible. I’m picky about how my water tastes, and always keep a Brita in the frige. I drink at least a liter a day, plus tea. I like it straight up! I am currently on a well, and the tap water tastes great, but I also live in a 100+ year old house, so I filter anyway. Cheers (raises glass of clean water to host).
favorite way to drink water? probably just on it’s own! there’s nothing better than pure water!
I don’t care to drink water from the tap. I used to have a filter but it broke. So now I drink tap water with a squirt of lemon. When travel I take a metal bottle filled with lemon water and lots of ice.
As a Southern gal, sweet tea can be a fixture; but for regular water consumption, I’ve found ease with a reusable water bottle with straw attached. Thanks for the op!
Straight out of the tap in a glass usually does the trick. Not too cold.
I drink water in my tea, and when I can’t use filtered water, the tea is almost undrinkable.
I drink lots of water, preferably out of the fridge, as I like it cold, year round. (That’s saying something since I live in far NW Iowa and it gets cold here.) Our family uses metal bottles because they last longer and come in nice easy to differentiate colors.
I like my water in a glass over ice when I’m at home, or in a sport bottle when I’m out walking. Sometimes I’ll add some lemon or lime juice for a little kick of flavor.
I’m a ageless Brita user and cannot go a day without my filtered water and a squirt or two of lemon juice for flavor.
We have pretty great tap water, so if I’m drinking water, it’s usually straight from the tap with some herb – mint or basil usually – or lemon/lime in it.
Definitely room temp straight from the pitcher or as tea, Earl Grey, hot.
I am anti bottled water, so We drink out of re-usable bottles. Since our tap water is very hard, a filter is a must!
I had a pitcher years ago, and never liked that the water tasted stale: maybe this one is different? Since moving to the city, I have a 5 gallon jug that I use for canning, but sometimes wish I had a filter pitcher again for brining and soaking stuff… maybe I’ll win! As for water, I drink it room temp or ice cold with ice cubes, and usually don’t add anything. Unless I’m having tea.
Right now I drink water out of the tap in a stainless steel bottle at home, an aluminum bottle at work, and sometimes hot as tea out of an adorable mug with little German sheep on it. 🙂
iced tea!
specifically an arnold palmer: iced tea (made with six single serving tea bags through my super-cleaned 10 cup coffee maker) with three ice cubes of lemon (made by taking bags of lemons and juicing them into ice cube trays) with a 1/2 cup of sugar.
This is so delightfully good and is a request at dinner parties. I add brandy to spiffy it up for appropriate occassions.
cheers to a happy week, marisa! samantha (from pdx, btw!)
For drinking, straight tap water works for me. If I’m cooking, I get a little pickier (isn’t that odd?). I can totally imagine the value of using water that has been filtered well for canning.
Cold, over ice. Lots and lots of it!
My sigg reusable bottle is never too far out of reach! And I love a squeeze of any citrus in my water.
Oooh – a bit of ginger makes water incredibly warming, perfect for these cool mornings!
My favorite way to drink water is with strong black tea and milk and sugar. Not the healthiest, I know, but I don’t eat refined sugar in many other ways. The water from our old city pipes could use the help from this filter. Thanks for the giveaway!
Cold, from a glass or reusable bottle.
I fill up my Kleen bottle with filtered water from my refrigerator; which I drink cold. Thank you for a great give away!
I drink my water out of a 40 oz. stainless steel water bottle by Kleen Kanteen. I absolutely love it, because I can get my 8 glasses a day and only have to refill my container twice. 😉
I love my water SUPER cold, so keeping a pitcher in the fridge is essential for me. Then I pour it into a gigantic plastic tumbler and go about my business 🙂
oops, forgot to answer the question: I like to drink my water in recycled bottles.
I love the sleek design. I have always wanted a pitcher to filter my water rather than the Brita filter that attaches to the faucet. Hope I win. 🙂
Nothing but the best filtered water for my espresso.
tea with milk
i like it plain at room temperature, though i have recently discovered i like iced green tea.
I use water in my seltzer maker. Add a splash of lemon or lime and it’s delicious!
I love my water simply put in a Quart mason jar, and if I am feeling fancy I will slice some lemons in or just some lemon juice. By the way it catches on, people see you using the mason jar and pretty soon they go find one of their own and start using it too!
Well, two ways; one–straight out of a stainless bottle, and lots of it. Secondly, as stated above, very hot and run through coffee grounds! Thanks for the wonderful blog!
water consumption is one of our best preventions for many things. it is the most important thing we can do to keep our organs healthy and to move toxins out of our systems. this filter looks great. I would be happy with any color lol.
I prefer it on the rocks!! Nice cold ice water, there is nothing better!!!
Tea with milk!
Fantastic giveaway! I love my water over ice and with lemon… some cucumber also gives it a crisp, summery flavor.
I usually drink it plain, cool but not cold, and lots of it. I have a few stainless steel bottles that come with me everywhere (trying to avoid BPA). Every now and again, I get tired of plain water and add citrus, ginger, and/or cucumber.
In a word- tea. Black tea, green tea, white tea, as long as it is tea in some form. There is no better way to consume water than to use it to brew a cuppa.
Coffee, tea, water with lemon… I also use the refillable water bottles, but often our water source is iffy when we travel in our RV. I’ve been wanting to get a filtered water pitcher!
How generous and exciting!! I prefer my water w/ lemon in a nalgene, but that involves remembering the nalgene and the lemon, so it’s usually on ice in the free cups at the office!
I like my water warm when it’s cold out and cold when it’s warm out. 🙂
I drink a lot of water, plain and as tea. We live on a farm and our well water tastes very good, however it’s full of minerals so all glass, brines and clear liquids are cloudy. I also work in a very old building on an old agricultural research center so I bring water with me to drink every work day. We were told there was no lead in the pipes to worry about. Then one day a pipe broke in the parking lot – a lead lined pipe. I never drank the water as I brought my tasty water from home but it was an eye opener for all.
Those pitchers are gorgeous! I prefer to drink tea with milk in the morning, and filtered tap water the rest of the day.
I like to drink it cold from the refrigerator – or with ice cubes to cool it from either a quart or pint canning jar. When I’m in car though I have to use a reusable cup. I purchased a set of 6 – 16 oz eco tumblers that are from Tupperware.
My favorite water-based beverage is coffee, and coffee is definitely better when it’s made from filtered water. My husband and daughter drink water from bottles (their own bottles, not commercial bottles), especially when they’re out and about. I cook from scratch a lot, which means water, too. I’d love to win this pitcher!
I’m not very fond of Philly water so a little lemon goes a long way. A filter would be awesome!
Plain. Simple. No-fuss. That’s how I like my water… straight up, neat.