Preserving Gear: Maslin Pan from Lee Valley Tools

Have you ever made your own jam? It's really not that hard, and it doesn't take much in the way of special equipment. You usually do need one big pot, though, and that's where this maslin pan from Lee Valley Tools can come in handy.

A maslin pan is a traditional European and British pot for making marmalade, jam, and preserves. It's a solid, heavy pan with a teacup shape and thick bottom. A big part of jam making is encouraging evaporation of the water in fruit, concentrating the fruit and sugar together. This heavy pan protects the fruit from scorching while providing a large surface for evaporation. The handle, handle bail, and pouring spout help you safely get the jam into your jars.

It's also huge - 9 quarts! We think this could also be a fabulous soup pot - not to mention a good stockpot, corn pot, lobster pot... you get the picture.

It features a three-layer base with a central slab of aluminum completely encased in stainless steel to evenly distribute heat and prevent hot spots that could burn pan contents. There is an optional lid as well - very handy if this is to be a multi-use pot.

• Buy a Maslin pan, $75 with lid at Lee Valley Tools

Comments (5)

that is about the coolest pot I've seen! I would love to try making jam but thought you had to have a lot of extra equipment - this is definitely worth trying. thanks.
Tabitha @ http://www.fromsingletomarried.com

posted by Tabitha (From Single to Married) on October 27th 2008 at 6:40am
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Lee Valley is the only place I've found in North America that carries this kind of pan. When they stopped carrying it for several years, I tried without success to locate another supplier...I've been lusting after this pan for years, and balking at the price... When I saw it available again in their recent supplement catalog, I finally busted open my someday piggybank and ordered it last week. It should arrive any day now, and I cant wait, I've got quarts of berries stashed in the freezer waiting to be made into jam. (guess what everyone is getting for holiday gifts this year?)

posted by fjorlief on October 27th 2008 at 8:05am
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Tabitha, the only specialized equipment I would say you MUST have is jar tongs. My mom also swears by wide mouthed funnels but I've had decent luck without them. Other than that you need a deep pot a couple of inches deeper than your jars are tall (for the sealing process), a round cake rack/steam rack that fits in that pot and the pot you're making the jam in.

Here's a link to a home canning online class. I haven't skimmed it but I bet it would be useful. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/#

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on October 27th 2008 at 9:06am
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I've done jam without even jar tongs. Just used regular tongs. The only really special equipment you need are the Ball jars, lids and rings. The same deep pot I boil my pasta in works fine for the hot water bath and the shallow stock pot I use for soups and chilis works fine for the jam itself, no need for a fancy pan you probably won't use for anything else. If you don't already have a pot that size, then sure, get the maslin.

I've made a fair amount of jam in my time and did _lots_ of canning as a kid in my mom's kitchen. Honestly, I can find lots better uses of my time. I hate regular canning. Jam making is a little more creative, but ultimately, it bores me.

posted by RoseCampion on October 27th 2008 at 1:05pm
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i do jam without jar tongs also. I just use the most heavy duty rubber gloves i can find. I can stick my hands straight into the boiling water for a few seconds to grab the jars and there's no risk of dropping them. It's true, you don't need any special equipment for canning...just the jars and the special lids which are only $10-14 a case anyway. I have a special canning pot but my friends who do it less frequently just use a deep pot lined with a dish cloth so the jars don't touch the bottom of the hot pan

posted by fischbowl on October 28th 2008 at 1:12pm
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