Hi, all.

I've been lurking/posting a little bit for a while, but I'll introduce
myself. I'm Libby, originally from Iowa now living in Berkeley, CA
and going to grad school. I started canning about 5 years ago and I
like to make mostly jams, sweet spreads, and pickles (pressure canning
kind of scares me!).

My hometown has a nice sized county fair (http://
www.claycountyfair.com) and I'm going home to visit at fair-time. I
was thinking of entering some jam, but I was wondering if it's
feasible to transport it. With the new airplane rules, I can't carry
it onboard, and putting it in my checked bags gets jars turned upside-
down and ugly. Does mailing work? Or any other ideas on how to get
jam from California to Iowa so it'll arrive still looking pretty?

Thanks!

Libby
http://cafelibby.blogspot.com

Libby wrote:
> Hi, all.
>
> I've been lurking/posting a little bit for a while, but I'll introduce
> myself. I'm Libby, originally from Iowa now living in Berkeley, CA
> and going to grad school. I started canning about 5 years ago and I
> like to make mostly jams, sweet spreads, and pickles (pressure canning
> kind of scares me!).
>
> My hometown has a nice sized county fair (http://
> www.claycountyfair.com) and I'm going home to visit at fair-time. I
> was thinking of entering some jam, but I was wondering if it's
> feasible to transport it. With the new airplane rules, I can't carry
> it onboard, and putting it in my checked bags gets jars turned upside-
> down and ugly. Does mailing work? Or any other ideas on how to get
> jam from California to Iowa so it'll arrive still looking pretty?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Libby
> http://cafelibby.blogspot.com
>



Interstate 80? ;-)

Check with the airline ahead of time and see if the pilot will bring it
onboard.

Pickles would survive getting turned upside down without messing them
up. Also maybe really stiff jelly.

Bob

In article . com>,
Libby > wrote:

> Hi, all.
>
> I've been lurking/posting a little bit for a while, but I'll introduce
> myself. I'm Libby, originally from Iowa now living in Berkeley, CA
> and going to grad school. I started canning about 5 years ago and I
> like to make mostly jams, sweet spreads, and pickles (pressure canning
> kind of scares me!).
>
> My hometown has a nice sized county fair (http://
> www.claycountyfair.com) and I'm going home to visit at fair-time. I
> was thinking of entering some jam, but I was wondering if it's
> feasible to transport it. With the new airplane rules, I can't carry
> it onboard, and putting it in my checked bags gets jars turned upside-
> down and ugly. Does mailing work? Or any other ideas on how to get
> jam from California to Iowa so it'll arrive still looking pretty?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Libby
> http://cafelibby.blogspot.com

Hi, Libby --
First, find out what the rules are for entering the county fair. Do you
have to be a resident of the county? Of the state? Find out. If
residency requirements prohibit you from entering, it's a moot point.

If you qualify for exhibition/competition, I'd say shipping depends on
how many you're planning to enter. I regularly take canned goods with
me when I travel. (Color me Nuts.) I put a jar into a sealed baggie
type bag (expelling as much air as reasonably possible), and wrap it in
clothing to cushion -- sometimes I stick a jar in a sock. I also put a
note on the top of my clothes saying what's there that might attract the
attention of the TSA people and to please be careful when they put it
back. :-)

I have mailed cases of stuff to various parts of the country. If I can,
I wrap the jar in bubble wrap and put it in one section of a divided
carton (jar case). I lay a piece of cardboard on top (since the cases
are no longer covered boxes) and tape it in place at the four sides,
cardboard to case. Then I put that box inside a larger one with a
couple of inches of packing peanuts on the bottom and on the sides and
top.

Then I get a bank loan and take it to the post office to ship it to its
final destination.

If I'm mailing only a "few" jars, I wrap each in bubble wrap, securely
taped, and pack amids styro peanuts, then proceed as above procuring
postage money. :-0)

HTH.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

In article >,
zxcvbob > wrote:

> Libby wrote:
> > Hi, all.
> >
> > I've been lurking/posting a little bit for a while, but I'll introduce
> > myself. I'm Libby, originally from Iowa now living in Berkeley, CA
> > and going to grad school. I started canning about 5 years ago and I
> > like to make mostly jams, sweet spreads, and pickles (pressure canning
> > kind of scares me!).
> >
> > My hometown has a nice sized county fair (http://
> > www.claycountyfair.com) and I'm going home to visit at fair-time. I
> > was thinking of entering some jam, but I was wondering if it's
> > feasible to transport it. With the new airplane rules, I can't carry
> > it onboard, and putting it in my checked bags gets jars turned upside-
> > down and ugly. Does mailing work? Or any other ideas on how to get
> > jam from California to Iowa so it'll arrive still looking pretty?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Libby
> > http://cafelibby.blogspot.com
> >
>
>
>
> Interstate 80? ;-)
>
> Check with the airline ahead of time and see if the pilot will bring it
> onboard.
>
> Pickles would survive getting turned upside down without messing them
> up. Also maybe really stiff jelly.
>
> Bob

First time I ever entered anything way back when . . . the plum jelly
tipped over and shifted. I said something to the intake folks about it
and they said it wouldn't matter. It didn't. It won my first blue
ribbon. Jam should be soft and slip a bit anyway -- no problem with
that. I think the judges check for food *at the sealing compound* when
they open, not on the inside of the lid, so even if the apple butter
slopped to the lid, it would be held against you.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - story and
pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007

On Aug 6, 8:13 am, Melba's Jammin' > wrote:
> In article >,
>
>
>
> zxcvbob > wrote:
> > Libby wrote:
> > > Hi, all.
>
> > > I've been lurking/posting a little bit for a while, but I'll introduce
> > > myself. I'm Libby, originally from Iowa now living in Berkeley, CA
> > > and going to grad school. I started canning about 5 years ago and I
> > > like to make mostly jams, sweet spreads, and pickles (pressure canning
> > > kind of scares me!).
>
> > > My hometown has a nice sized county fair (http://
> > >www.claycountyfair.com) and I'm going home to visit at fair-time. I
> > > was thinking of entering some jam, but I was wondering if it's
> > > feasible to transport it. With the new airplane rules, I can't carry
> > > it onboard, and putting it in my checked bags gets jars turned upside-
> > > down and ugly. Does mailing work? Or any other ideas on how to get
> > > jam from California to Iowa so it'll arrive still looking pretty?
>
> > > Thanks!
>
> > > Libby
> > >http://cafelibby.blogspot.com
>
> > Interstate 80? ;-)
>
> > Check with the airline ahead of time and see if the pilot will bring it
> > onboard.
>
> > Pickles would survive getting turned upside down without messing them
> > up. Also maybe really stiff jelly.
>
> > Bob
>
> First time I ever entered anything way back when . . . the plum jelly
> tipped over and shifted. I said something to the intake folks about it
> and they said it wouldn't matter. It didn't. It won my first blue
> ribbon. Jam should be soft and slip a bit anyway -- no problem with
> that. I think the judges check for food *at the sealing compound* when
> they open, not on the inside of the lid, so even if the apple butter
> slopped to the lid, it would be held against you.
> --
> -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJhttp://www.jamlady.eboard.com- story and
> pics of Ronald McDonald House dinner posted 6-24-2007


Hi,

Thanks for the tips! I looked up the rules in the fair booklet and it
looks like I can enter. I'm in Iowa for a short visit before the fair
and I brought some jars back to leave here for my mom to take in.
(They have to be dropped off in a very narrow window of time a week
before the fair so I won't be back yet).

I checked 24 half-pint jars in one large suitcase. I wrapped them all
in plastic sacks and then a layer of paper and packed them into the
boxes the jars came in. Then I covered the boxes with cardboard (with
a nice note on it for TSA) and put the boxes in plastic grocery
sacks. They ended up taking up about 3/4 of my suitcase space! So I
packed my clothes around the boxes and checked the bag and hoped for
the best.

I'm glad to say that all the jars made it here in good condition.
Most of the jars' contents look okay except for my fig preserves,
where the jelly the figs were suspended in got all broken up into
chunks, and my apple butter, which has lots stuck up by the lid. I'm
glad this works--as long as I'm coming home, it's a lot cheaper than
sending them!

Now I'm getting kind of excited. I've never entered anything in the
fair before!

Libby