BLOG IN A BOTTLE

The Facts:
Glass jars have been around since the 1800s but it wasn’t until the after 1900 that home canning was encouraged and seen as a way to provide better diets, preserve flavor, food longevity and reduce the cost of living. By the end of the century, the decline of the family farm, the low cost of commercially canned foods and the widespread use of freezers had made home canning more of a hobby than a habit.

The Trends:
In the new millennium, we have other things on our mind. With the growing concerns over global-warming, as well as our valid worries over food safety, the relationships between food, flavor, health, packaging and sustainability are now at the forefront of our thoughts.

A trend among consumers is emerging: the desire to live a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. This has been seen in the rapid rise of organic food and farming, the return to popularity of home-cooking and preserving, and an increasing awareness and interest in our foods’ sources and ingredients.

More and more of us are realizing that the future of our planet may very well depend on where we get our food, what we choose to eat and how we decide to store it.

The Research:
Commissioned by FEVE (the European Container Glass Federation), the InSites study asked over consumers in 17 countries across Europe what they thought about various packaging materials.
In a nutshell, the survey reveals:

-          65% of consumers prefer glass because it preserves taste,
-          63% perceive that it is safest health-wise,
-          50% say it is the most environmentally-friendly.

The same kind of survey was carried out in the States in 2006 with the same results:

'Glass is Life' Awareness Campaign, USA

Furthermore, glass is the only packaging material rated “GRAS” or “generally regarded as safe” by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
(Newton Marketing & Research of Norman, Oklahoma)

Clearly, consumers agree that glass is their preferred packaging for consumer health and the environment.

Nutritious and Delicious
The InSites survey goes on to show that the preference for glass is particularly high when it comes to certain food and drink categories where flavor is everything, such as spirits, wines and beers. More than that, glass also preserves the natural aromas, tastes and textures, making it the perfect material to store fresh and perishable products as fruit juices, smoothies and tomato-based sauces.

Glass is the material of choice for chefs, in particular, Geir Skeie who knows that glass is a true food lover. The purity of glass ensures that food retains its great flavour.
WATCH THE VIDEO:

Recipes and Instructions
Why not give it a go? Here are some handy links to get you started:

Canning, The Epicurious Way
Canning Safely, Weck
Home Canning, Kaufmann Mercantile Blog
Meyer Lemon Marmalade Recipe, Kaufmann Mercantile Blog
How to Can, Fresh Preserving
Food in Jars Blog
Recipes, Saving the Season
Preserved Fruits and Sweetmeats, Jennie June’s American Cookery Book, by Jane Cunningham Croly. Google Books.
Kitchen Lighting Made From Weck Canning Jars, The Kitchn
Weck Canning Jars, Katy Elliot

Photo by: Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images

Imagine that your glass wine bottle is lighter. Now, not because you’ve emptied the contents in the most civilised fashion, but because the glass itself has been manufactured to be lighter in weight.

That’s exactly the Big News from the Australian Packaging Association, who recently dished out their Annual Packaging Award to a glass manufacturer whose glass wine bottle is up to 28% lighter than standard wine bottles!

We may not necessarily notice the difference in our shopping bag, but the glass, designed and manufactured by O-I Australia, has major logistical and environmental benefits.

By reducing the weight of their wine bottles by anything between 18-28%, they can save almost 20,000 tonnes in glass packaging per year.

That translates into a further 20% reduction in energy use and a CO₂ saving of over 11,130 tonnes per year.

On top of which, there’s a saving of 12% in water usage. And of course, the reduced carbon footprint in freight distribution to packers and customers around the world.

It’s fantastic to see that glass manufacturers continue to find ways to make nature’s favourite packaging material even more green and lean.

It may be the final day of profiling the top 10 products for the Friends of Glass award for the most original and creative glass packaging… But we’re pretty much determined to end on a high – so please step forward Flower by Kenzo perfume (pictured) and Solan de Cabras Water… Readers feast your eyes!

First it’s Flower, a perfume designed to echo the beginnings of Spring, and with its distinctive bending flower stem bottle, one can almost feel the freshness permeating through the simple, clear design. They say “dawn breaks at the end of a long winter; a singular light warms the atmosphere, permeating the landscape little by little. Spring is here.” We say the packaging just looks lovely.

Next it’s Solan de Cabras Water, a brand that may have been underrepresented in the voting, but one that certainly catches the eye. Apparently the bottle presentation targets “an on-trade segment only with a minimalist design, meant to evoke the old Solan de Cabras bottle designed over 150 years ago.” The brilliant blue colour only adds to the luxuriant look of the water.

Have your say below…

“Water has no taste, no color, no odor; it cannot be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself. It fills us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses” so said French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery – and it seems the nominators of the Friends of Glass award for the most creative and aesthetic packaging agree.

You see, 4 of the 10 shortlisted products are indeed water, and in true H20 style, today we feature Perrier, and O Water. The former is synonymous across the world with its distinctive green bottles in the shape of Indian clubs the founder of the company used for exercise. These have been a major part of the brand in both aesthetic appeal as well as advertising since its inception, as the video below shows.

Meanwhile, another product chosen up was the eye-catching ‘O water’, a bottle produced for a stunt event by an event production company. The bottle is supposedly quite small, to mimic the effect of a test tube based on the idea of a ‘specimen of purity, and packaging blog thedieline.com are clearly fans; “I think the bottle shape is special – no neck or curves at all, and has a nice, slender quality. The foil cap is another attractive detail that keeps this design looking fresh.”

Like? Prefer Absolut Vodka? Vote below…

Day 3 of our look into the top 10 nominated glass packaging designs – and it’s another couple of exhilarating examples of mass-market glass products that have really caught the eye.

Firstly we explored the official Diesel ‘Only the Brave’ site to discover more about the appealing fist packaging, and were interested to read that it represented the values of ‘courage, force and conviction’ – while apparently mixing street culture with pop art. What is for sure is that a number of nominators were drawn to the elegance, and originality of the bottle – indeed, it is the only fist shaped entry in our final ten (a surprise that)…

Meanwhile, Absolut Vodka (as it stands) is actually narrowly leading the votes so far, with the clear/opaque rounded bottles – with “Much of Absolut’s fame due to its long-running advertising campaign, created by agency TBWA, based on the distinctive bottle shape”.

Coupled with that, “over the years Absolut has commissioned not only over 300 painters, but leading artists in all fields, including sculptors, glass designers, musicians and fashion designers” – to create some rather super limited edition versions of the bottle.

Vote below and have your say..

A real mixed bag today, as we feature two more products that have been shortlisted for the Friends of Glass award for the most original and creative glass packing.

First it’s the turn of Tabasco Sauce, which, we’re told, is still presided over by a member of the same family whose ancestors invented the sauce back in 1868 – and presented in a simple, subtle small glass bottle. Obviously a staple of the cupboards of several of our nominees, a quick look on Twitter reveals it’s popular in all sizes, @brambleberry saying “I absolutely love the look of the Tabasco 1 gallon size http://bit.ly/6hP7k”

Meanwhile, another simple, yet particularly eye-catching product nominated several times is this Iskilde water (pictured) – no doubt reflecting the icy, refreshing feeling evoked by a long-secret Danish spring discovered in the highlands. Indeed, with the icy blue and clear look one can almost feel the -8 degree temperature of the “unusually cold spring”.

Vote below for your favourite.

As you may, or may not, know – here at Friends of Glass we’re currently looking to find the most original and creative glass packing. After hundreds of nominations, and some truly epic entries from all corners of the globe – we’ve shortlisted 10 final products (the 5 most popular, and 5 we loved for their technical merit) – and we’re asking the public to vote on which they believe is the very best.

Over the next few days we’ll be featuring the products more closely – starting off with Coca Cola and Tous H20 Perfume. As far as the former is concerned, where on earth to begin… Coke has been bottled since 1886, and although originally intended to be medicinal, soon became one of the most popular soft drinks of the 20^th century, sold in more than 200 countries.

Popular opinion suggests it tastes that bit better out of bottles than cans, and for perfectionists, note that according to Coca-Cola authorities, the best Coca-Cola is made in Skopje, Macedonia, where the company has granted the Skopje Brewery its “Best Bottling Company” award

Next in line is the Tous H2O Perfume, apparently inspired by the union between beauty and stability and presented in this fabulous bottle (pictured). According to geniusbeauty.com, “the bottle is made from 25% recycled glass, and the fragrance packaging contains certified eco-friendly materials.” Also, a portion of sales will be donated to Intermon Oxfam fund to provide drinking water for those who need it most.

But do either of these get your vote? Take a look at the examples below and pick your favourite.