What you see here is the culmination of a long quest.
For years, we’ve searched high and low for a jam funnel with a narrow enough aperture to fit into our hexagonal jam jars. The one we’ve been using fits perfectly into our fat salsa jars, but its 6cm opening is too wide for the smaller ones.
Lovely Manuela even sent me an email last week with a link to a Canadian supplier. Before I got around to ordering from them, we strolled into Chefs’ Warehouse to pick up a bag of Fairtrade Callebaut chocolate. Pete emerged from one of the aisles triumphant, brandishing his holy grail of funnels.
The brilliant Christopher, purveyor of intriguing kitchenware, has recently sourced and imported these from Italy. The funnel costs $19.50 and divides into two parts – the smaller section narrowing the opening from 6cm to 3cm…
It fits easily into our smaller jars…
Chefs’ Warehouse have just started their own blog, and if you’re a Sydneysider with an interest in cookware, I’d strongly recommend subscribing. They won’t be selling via mail order nor do they have an online store, but they will be providing regular updates on any new stock that comes in. It makes for fascinating reading!
. . . . .
Another recent find for jam makers, this Tala canning kit cost just $12 at the Peters of Kensington sale. It includes bits and pieces widely available in the US, but very difficult to track down here. The tongs, magnetic lid lifter and plastic funnel are all useful…
…but the real find is the jar lifter. With it, you can remove hot jars from boiling water baths without risking serious scalding…
We’ve just used up the last of Pete’s raspberry jam, so it might be time to make a fresh batch. Especially now that we have all the equipment at hand!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
What a find!! We’ve had similar problems locating a funnel for our smaller-mouthed jars. Finally found one with a tiny opening, but it’s not big enough for anything with a thicker consistency. Yours is perfect! Can’t wait to see what you two can with all of these new tools. :)
Abby, we have a tiny holed one as well, which is fine for liquids, but not much else. Thanks for understanding how excited I was! :)
Wow – what awesome finds Celia! Brilliant stuff – bet you can’t wait to use it all.
:-) Mandy
Mandy, I’ll be nagging Pete this weekend. I need more raspberry jam! :)
What a good find! Though I don’t can food that much, but I fine this very interesting and informative :)
Thanks Tes! It’s always so much better to have the right tools.. :)
Is it difficult to find canning jars in Australia? What kinds of places are likely to sell them? I have gotten very spoiled by living in the American Midwest, where you can find a variety of canning supplies in almost any supermarket or hardware store!
Nancy, it’s really hard to source stuff here. I guess we don’t have quite as big a canning culture. I’ve never seen the jar lifters here before, and the canning jars with the two-part lids are available, but they’re expensive and tricky to find.
I end up ladelling my jams/ chutneys into a pyrex jug and pouring them straight into the jars, without a funnel, as also struggled to find funnel that would fit my little jars…
Kavey, pouring it into a jug would work for sure, but I still manage to make a mess that way! :)
This is very spooky!!!! I just had an email a couple of days ago from the jamjar store who have brought out a set of jam funnels and I was wondering if you would like them… and I bought those jam jar lifters and gave them to he who lifts hot jars for Christmas (devious of me to give him presents that benefit me). Anyway now you’ve sorted your funnels brilliantly you probably don’t need the jamjar ones :)
Thank you very much for thinking of me though, dearheart. You are always so kind!!
Oops didn’t give you a linky http://www.jamjarshop.com/ shop not store…..
Now that top funnel really is a thing of beauty!
As for the canning kit, I’ve got that one, and it makes jamming life a hell of a lot easier… (although I NEVER use the jar lifter thing :-))
Brydie, do you process your jam in a hot water bath? If not, you wouldn’t need the jar lifter.. ;-)
Love the funnel… I think my store used to carry those, but it was a long time ago, so I can’t recall the supplier. Brilliant stuff though, and love those tongs too. Happy preserving.
Thanks Lizzy! It’s the first time I’ve seen a funnel like this here, so it was very exciting!
Wonderful sleuthing. I can see you are going to have a lot of jam in your kitchen
Hopefully this weekend, Tania! :)
All this equipment looks very impressive Celia! Happy jamming :)
Thanks Jane! :)
And now I’ll be waiting to see pictures of your beautiful jam! It’s too bad they don’t send by mail or internet.. I’m heading over to take a look… that really is the perfect funnel!!
Smidge, it really is, isn’t it? The top is so large that it’s easy to pour straight from the pot!
Ahhh well, some day they’ll discover us over here in Western Canada, lol!
Oh what nifty little gadgets! I love making jam and chutneys etc. I feel so rich staring at my shelves of glowing jars- like a miser and his jewels! I just use the top of a 3lt milk carton for my funnel, the hole is a good size and the handle is built right in, but I like shiny kitchen goodies better :)
What jams are you making next?
Becca, that’s a great idea, providing the jam isn’t too hot! Raspberry jam next! :)
WOW! I loved them, so nice. Thank you dear Celia, with my love, nia
Nia, thank you! It’s nice to have new kit to play with! :)
You find brilliant stuff :) first the pizza stones now the preserve funnel and the preserves gadgets, I have ordered the stones and will order the gadgets, shame the Chefs place doesn’t do internet/mail order then I could order the funnel – I live in Brisbane
Gilly, if you ring Chefs up and ask them nicely, they might send you a funnel. But I can’t promise.. ;-)
Love the jar lifter, Celia. I use rubber gloves as a poor substitute. I must check if they do mail order.
Meg, I used to use a silicon glove, which would get hot after a while. The jam lifter works much better!
Oh! I need one of those! I make so much mess when putting jam in jars! *lol*
~S.
Sorcha, hope you get your hands on one! :)
I bought that canning kit a little while ago when a kitchen shop nearby had a moving sale. The jar lifter is fantastic! I had the same trouble with the funnel though. It doesn’t fit in my jars :-(
I can imagine how pleased with himself Pete must have been for finding it!
ps. when I saw this post in my inbox I thought it said ‘jam funeral.’ I was wondering what you were up to!
Claire, you’re too funny! My mind imagined all sorts of broken jars and spilled jam then.. ;-)
It drives me mad that we have to hunt around so much for some of this stuff which is readily available in the US. I was in heaven in a couple of kitchen-ware stores on our trip and could have spent an absolute fortune with very little effort. Of course, many of them do have online stores, but a comparison I made between store prices in Williams Sonoma (sigh) and the online prices for Australia was very annoying. On average things were about 30% more expensive to us here in Oz – and that was before I added the postage costs. Grr.
Amanda, it doesn’t make me mad really, just adds to the challenge of tracking things down.. ;-)
Those are great gadgets. I had no idea these things were available! I think I need a bigger kitchen. And yes, that thingy to lift those jars out of boiling water would be fabulous.
Charlie, we all need a bigger kitchen! If you nag Pete, I’ll have a go at Carl.. ;-)
Oh Celia I love that jam funnel – only an avid jam maker could truly understand how beautiful it is. I can’t wait to pick one up next time I am in Sydney! Thanks so much.
Lou, thank you for truly understanding what a quest this has been! I hope you get your hands on one soon! :)
I have been buying my smaller jam making items in Christchurch each year ….haven’t had my suitcase empty enough to fit in a copper jam making pan!
Tomorrow. tomorrow yeah! it’s my chef’s warehouse day………..you may have just guessed I’m excited.
Oooh, have fun! Take money! :)
I keep meaning to ask d you have room to grow your own raspberries? If so I’m pulling up my raspberry runners in Autumn. There the variety that grows in Sydney (Heritage). It’s really a autumn variety; prune back in summer for an autumn crop.
Elaine, that’s a very kind offer, thank you! It sent me running in to Pete to ask him if he thought we had room. Alas, he doesn’t believe we do – the garden is pretty crowded as it is already.. Thank you anyway!!
Hi Celia!
I’m so glad you found the perfect funnel! The jar lifter is great; saves me from burning myself. We already have two–one for each hand to speed up the process of empying and refilling the canner. The kit is easy to find here in Canada, ours is a few years old already. (The kit also makes a useful wedding present!)
Manuela, thanks so much for trying to track one down for me. I was so happy to find this one locally though – I doubt I’d have been able to even cover the international shipping for $20. I didn’t know the jam lifter would work one-handed! :)
I’m actually hearing the Indiana Jones Theme in my head right now…. Holy Grail? Choose wisely.
We love jam. (My mother-in-law makes a mean strawberry.) But I’ve never made it.
It had been a long quest, Maz.. ;-)
Congrats. There is something about having just the right utensil when you need it. Makes cooking a joy.
Maz, you’re so right! It makes such a difference!
oh FAB – the funnel looks fantastic and I’ve just signed up for the blog as since you put me onto it, I spend WAY too much money in Chef’s Warehouse!
Anne, you and I probably don’t need to know what the next their latest and greatest new stock is, as we’d probably have to make a trip in if we did! :)
Homemade jam is so much nicer than store bought, I’m enjoying the mango and red grape jam I made recently in a breadmaker.
Btw that sounds like a combo, I made them separately :)
Cool, mango jam AND red grape jam! I’ve heard about making jam in the breadmaker, but sadly I killed mine.. ;-)
What a neat funnel!! Clever to have two pieces for different size jar openings! I have a canning kit like that, but it hasn’t gotten used too much yet. My first two canning projects didn’t turn out so great, so I haven’t tried again since. I need some good recipes to follow. Trouble is I don’t like too much sugar in my jam and that’s what recipes mostly call for. Hope you get lots of jam made this weekend!!
Mel, it’s hard if you cut back the sugar too much. Pete makes jams with as little sugar as he can get away with and still have the jams set, but it’s that magic combination of pectin, acid and sugar that needs to be in balance…
I really like that funnel, too!
I don’t can much anymore- but it would be good for freezing and pouring soups into jars to give away as well!
Heidi, it would be really good for that. I’m always interested how common it is to use jars for storage in the US – over here we’d pour soups into a plastic takeaway container to give away!
Oh what an answer to my prayers! I’ll have to duck over to Peters to get the canning kit, as I made the most delicious onion chutney last week…but not without splashing boiling water on myself twice while scooping my hot jars out of the water…so was a little apprehensive at the next jam session…didn’t know what i’d do to myself next….just found your blog by the way…enjoying it :)
Thanks for stopping by! It makes such a difference – we used to use a silicon glove, but that was hard to grip and it would get really hot after the first couple of jars…
Dear Celia,
I love browsing kitchen equipment and gadgets as it can sometimes spark delightful ideas for recipes. I have a similar tool like the jar lifter and it’s awesome for lifting up my entire plate of steamed fish, with scalding hot sauce included!
Chopinand, I’m sure my mum had one of those too – I must try and steal it from her! :)
I am going to have to send my sister shopping Celia as I have been looking for a jam funnel for ages :)
I’m sure she’ll have fun there, Tandy! Lots to see and buy! :)
Now that funnel is a clever idea. I always have problems with the narrower necked jars.
Hi Celia
That (wide-necked) jam-funnel was the only thing I bought myself on my birthday jaunt with the girls (which never got further than Rozelle). The Essential Ingredient stocks them. I bought one for me and one for my mother. The small bit that fits on the end is a great addition though…
Vix, we’ve had a large necked stainless steel funnel for ages, but could never get it to fit into the smaller jars. It would be lovely if we could have just bought the attachment! :)
I think I will have to make the pilgrimage next week…mum’s birthday. I bought her Sally Wise’s “out of the bottle” (how to cook with preserves). My big sister’s birthday on the same day and she would like a bright red salt grinder. Don’t suppose you have seen one of those lately?
Vix, I’ve seen several on the Peters of Kensington website! :)
That does it. I am definitely going to Chefs warehouse now. I have been looking for something like that for SO long! Thanks Celia!
Hannah, another person who understands my quest! Hope you get your hands on one soon! :)
You never cease to amaze me – with your finds! Thanks to you, my daughter loves the Turkish Apple tea! Have a good weekend.
That’s good to know, thank you! I’m still drinking the Turkish tea as well!
Could you please tell me the brand of that funnel? I just bought jars with an opening of 3,7cm (a little less than 1.5″) and my existing funnel just doesn’t fit. I was so excited to start a new batch of marmalades today and now I am stuck with out the right tool to fill the jars.
I’m really sorry, but there aren’t any labels or maker’s marks on them. I know they were imported from Italy. I suggest you give Chefs’ Warehouse a call and ask them – http://www.chefswarehouse.com.au. I know how frustrating it is to get caught without a funnel that fits! Before we had this one, we used to pour our jam into a jug and then use that to fill the small jars…