PRODUCT REVIEW: The art of canning requires a funnel

This fall, I reluctantly (and later happily) became one of those people who can their abundant summer produce.

After hearing stories about my mom making pickles and my brother making his own salsa—both through canning—my boyfriend was inspired to make pickles. I got my grandmother’s refrigerator pickle recipe from my mom to share with him, and it quickly turned into “We’re making pickles.”

As we both had an abundance of cucumbers thanks to a mom with a very green thumb, a sister with a CSA subscription and one too many trips to the farmers market, he figured it was the thing to do, and he was right.

My grandmother’s pickle recipe came to us via a text message, without many suggestions on techniques, so we learned a few things the hard way during our pickling attempt:

First, how important it is to routinely clear off your cutting board no matter how big it is and how many cucumber slices you can stack on it, otherwise you might run out of room and take a nice slice into your finger.

Second, when you’re letting your cucumbers, green peppers and onions sit in salt for a bit, do it in a strainer in the sink, not on a cutting board on the counter, where pools of water seep onto your kitchen floor.

Third, when it came time to actually can our refrigerator pickles and pour the vinegar and sugar brine over the top, it was a little messy. “I wish I had a funnel,” I said as I clumsily transferred the brine from my saucepan to the jars, spilling a fair amount.

“I could go get the one from my car,” my boyfriend joked, his quip met with a glare.

Our first batch of pickles turned out to be very delicious despite any mishaps, but when the boyfriend announced he wanted to make a second batch, I wasn’t going to fool around: I bought a funnel set (of the non-automobile variety) on my next Target run.

As the OXO Good Grips name suggests, the two funnels each have four skinny red rubber grips to keep them from slipping and sliding when you use them.

Using the larger funnel from the set made the brine process go much more smoothly with our second batch of pickles. No spills, no sticky residue on the outside of the jars when you go to grab some pickles for your burger.

Rating: A

Price: $7.99 at Target