Who still knows what “bottling” is – or is familiar with Kilner jars? The German term is “einwecken”, and therein lays a tale. In around 1900, Johann Weck and Georg van Eyck founded a company called J. Weck and Co in the village of Öflingen in southern Baden. They sold preserving jars, rubber seals, preserving pots and other accessories under the Weck brand. And that brand name carried over. It became the term used for the method of preserving that involved heating jars to boiling point to create a sterile vacuum. It was a revolution for domestic storage, and is just being rediscovered a century later.
Many farmers even have their own stills and make their own fruit brandies. The still on display here comes from Frickingen and dates to around 1900. To make schnapps, the fruit mash is heated. When it reaches 73 degrees Celsius, the alcohol turns to vapour, condenses in the pipe (swan neck) at the top and flows through the cooling pipe (lyne arm) into the collecting vessel (condenser). Our exhibit illustrates the process very nicely.
All depictions: © Gemeinde Fricklingen
