[Tullywood Farm]

Is Ascot the best place to buy jam jars, butter and cheese making stuff and other itmes or are there cheaper places - as some of the ascott stull does look expensive

any suggestions - need to be able to mail order to ireland

Julie

[rustyme]

http://www.colouredbottles.co.uk/store/catalog/index.html
http://www.cheesemaking.co.uk/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?page=home.html&cart_id=7225227_1760

Hello Julie,
          the prices on the glass bottles/jars on the link seem good , nice selection of glass too. The cheese link looks to be comprehensive , a one stop shop for everything cheese lol...
 just found this site too:
http://www.jbconline.co.uk/index.php


cheers

Russ

[Tullywood Farm]

Thanks Russ

Should change rustyme to TrustyRusty

you always come up with cheaper or better options

Julie

[Troubled Waters]

Hey Julie,

I bought loads of these preserving jars last year:
http://www.ascott.biz/acatalog/Glass-Preserving-Jar-500-gm-Pack-of-6-DP127.html
I was really disappointed as many of them didn't seal properly because the clips were wonky, or lose, or otherwise disfigured.  Personally, I will stick with Le Parfait in future if looking for this style again.  I think they are made by kitchen craft.
There's also wares of Knutsford: www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/ not sure how they're prices compare.
HTH,
Helen

[Tullywood Farm]

Thanks for that important info Helen
- will check out the prices
Julie

[Bodger]

We use Mole valley Farmers for as many things as we can. They are still a proper farmers co-operative and their prices are extremely competitive. We live a couple of hundred miles away from them but even with carriage I save pounds and pounds.

Under thirty kilos carriage is £5.95. Under thirty kilos and over £150 carriage is free. The range of stuff they stock is humungus.

Our local co-operative was taken over by Wynnstay several years ago and I'm talking about Mole valley Farmers being 25% and more cheaper than them.

Contact MVF and i'm sure that they'll give you a price on carriage to Ireland. They have always been extremely friendly and helpful to me.

PS. I'm honestly not a shareholder, although I do wish I lived closer to them and then i'd be buying my animal feed from them as well.

[JulieS]

I'm lucky to be near a Mole Valley Farmers.  I've found them very competitive on prices for everything. 

Worth taking a look.

[Tullywood Farm]

It was Jam Jars and canning equipment that I was searching for - oh and a butter churn.

I managed to purchase glass jars from a manufacturer cheaper than anywhere- and he happened to be in Dublin, so that was good - still searching for a butter churn.  Found a nice antique one in America but might not pass our Health Inspectors tight guidelines as it had a wooden paddle - now everything has to be stainless steel - but the ones at ascott are plastic, and I hate plastic, would prefer a glass one.

In my search I found some really interesting links for other smallholders stuff so will put them under coffee shop later

Thanks for all your help

Julie

[Troubled Waters]

If anyone is still after glass jars i came across these people just now.
http://www.carterspackaging.com/category-27-Glass_Jars.html
Haven't used them and not sure if they are wholesale only or sell to general public too but they also sell on eBay. They seem to be quite reasonably priced. I never thought of looking on a general packaging supplier rather than specific preserving/small holder supplies site.

Was looking for some other stuff on ebay and they really do seem to have everything, and brand new/unused and cheaper than a lot of other supliers.

Hope this is of help to someone.

HElen.

[Snoopy]

Helen - thanks for that, will check it out later.

Met a lovely new friend here, Jean, bought from our farm shop last week and we have just
hit it off - she's originally from Aberdeen, where all the best people come from (hey Annie)

Anyhow, she came up with a great way to get jam jars cheap.

ASDA

They are selling Curry Sauce for 4pence per jar.  Thats a large 16 oz jar too, with a plain green lid.

Now you could always buy the lids from ascot or somewnere, but where can you buy jars that size for
only 4pence each, and you can always feed the curry sauce to the animals, or add it to something too.

ASDA also sells mint sauce and other items in nice small jars for less that the price of the jar too

Happy shopping folks
Julie

[r+lchick]

Brilliant tip.  Will keep a look out for them next time I go.  As for butter churn.  One on ebay at the moment for under £100 (inc. P/P).  Used Ascott myself, very high in price, but the carriage turned out cheaper in the long run.  Ros

[doganjo]

You coudl also try Freecycle - or as it is now known Freegle! FREEly Given, Locally, Easily
http://www.ilovefreegle.org/groups/

[Snoopy]

Brilliant tip.  Will keep a look out for them next time I go.  As for butter churn.  One on ebay at the moment for under £100 (inc. P/P).  Used Ascott myself, very high in price, but the carriage turned out cheaper in the long run.  Ros

Thanks for the info 

We bought a churn on ebay a month ago, a milky clair, and it arrived in a condition so bad we knew the seller
had sent it our knowing it would never work - it was beyond repair, and the cheeky B1*ch had charged us 250
sterling plus postage, and then requested we paid by bacs and not paypal - we paid by paypal, she sent it, we
complained and took photos of the burnt out main drive cog and the broken switch and she agreed to refund if returned, then tried to say it was broken by us and returned damaged.

We had the evidence that it was broken a long time ago and would never work, that she had tried to get us to pay outside paypal so that she didn't have to refund, and that she was not wanting us to claim on the return postal insurance so she got away with her little scam.

Anyway - after giving paypal all the evidence we were refunded this week -  some people are real chancers.

So, still looking for butter churn - we were so dissapointed as it was a perfect machine for us, had it actually worked.

Never mind - at least Paypal's system works if you cover yourself by keeping all correspondence with the seller and take pictures of products and packaging for reference.

[Troubled Waters]

Read about cheap food jars at supermarkets before. I'm just not sure I could throw away the food, but not sure I would want to eat some of it...you never know quite what all those additives with weird names are. 

Sorry to hear about the churn Snoopy.  Good job Paypal are on the ball.

[HappyHippy]

I'm currently stockpiling baby food jars (I know, I should cook everything from scratch - but just don't always have time, terrible mother me  ) I had intentions of making rosehip and rowan jelly to fill them. But after an unfortunate incident involving rosehips and maggots I've shelved that idea ! 
So instead I'm turning them into engraved candle pots........ watch out for photos coming soon to a forum near you