| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| BStein |
Posted - Aug 17 2006 : 4:18:47 PM
I have about 30 or more and I've never tried canning but would like to. How much equipment is required to get started and is it worth is if you don't have tons to can from your own garden? |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| cathy jane |
Posted - Jan 12 2007 : 6:39:18 PM
I do LOVE my old Mason and Ball jars, too! It is so cool to read of others fondness for and use of these old treasures. I just made bean soup today, and the jar my lentils is stored in is one of the purple/amethyst colored ones with bubbles in the glass and sloped shoulders! It is the only purple one that I have, and is truly a lovely old thing. I use my old jars that I wont't trust for canning as canisters in the pantry and on my kitchen counter for everything from a little half-pint jelly jar for baking powder, to a 1/2 gallon one for rice. All except one have the old zinc and porcelain-lined lids on them. The one exception has a 2-piece lid that has a clear center disk, and ring that has a band across the center - the only one I've ever seen like it - can't recall where it came from. Most were purchased very cheaply at yard sales or auctions many years ago. Now they sell for much more than I am willing to pay - at least around here.
I just truly enjoy opening a jar that has so much history as a perform my daily tasks. Kind of connects us all to all the farmgirls of the past - don't 'ya think!
cathy jane
"Treat everyone you meet today as if they are wearing a sign that says MAKE ME FEEL SPECIAL!" Mary Kay Ash |
| mellaisbella |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 08:05:26 AM
HI girls.....just found this post....I LOVE LOVE LOVE mason jars...I have all kinds, shapes and sizes....I live on my husbands 200 year old farm. There is a dump where people that lived here threw their stuuf away (before city dumps) I find old jars there too!! What fun digging through "stuff" and then finding jars that I collect!!!
If anyone needs rubber rings to fit your jars they only cost a few $$ and I'd be happy to send them to anyone that needs them!!
As for ideas what to put in them, I fill them with beach glass, or scented bath salts, or dry cider mix, etc...and put raffia around the lids and give them as presents!!
mellaisbella "I wanna touch the earth, I want to break it in my hands, I want to grow something wild and unruly" |
| sunshine |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 1:11:49 PM
the real rear ones are the purple/ amethist (sp) ones. if you have one of those you are a very lucky person they can go as high as 30.00 maybe a little more each.
Yes, bubbles in the glass I like those best especially if they are the colored ones too.
have a lovely day and may God bless you and keep you safe
my web store www.sunshines.etsy.com my blog http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com/ my google page http://sunshine.harbaugh.googlepages.com/home |
| BStein |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 12:49:50 PM
Nancy Jo,
Thanks so much for the offer. I did get a few books from our library, one of which is a fairly new Ball book, so it's probably mostly the same information. But thanks anyway.
Wow, Brenda, $5 a bushel! I'm sure I can't get even close to that in Columbus. The farm stand in Westerville was selling tomatoes at $.75 per tomato!!
Barbara |
| sunshine |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 11:54:19 AM
I have seen those type of lids too just never the rubber part for them sorry. They are real cool lids though.
have a lovely day and may God bless you and keep you safe
my web store www.sunshines.etsy.com my blog http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com/ my google page http://sunshine.harbaugh.googlepages.com/home |
| katie-ell |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 11:52:49 AM
Around here, it's not the blue canning jars in the antique stores, but the turquoise ones with the sloped shoulders -- the older ones with the bubbles in the glass. I love those and have several (from garage sales, of course). Maybe I should say, the blue ones are in the antique malls, with buttons or such in them, while the turquoise ones are in the antique stores priced in the high $20 range. I agree with Sunshine -- use the ones you don't want for canning for collections -- buttons, old game pieces, old rickrack, etc. Very pretty look. |
| brightmeadow |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 11:47:22 AM
Oh, one more thing - YES you can buy produce and can it. You can buy a bushel of tomatoes for about $5 this time of year at the farm stands up north of Tiffin. Same way with apples, the more you buy, the cheaper the price per pound.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com, web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
| brightmeadow |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 11:44:31 AM
Those old metal one-piece lids with porcelain inside are usually called zinc lids. I guess they were made with zinc!
My mother and grandmother used those for canning, but that was when the new rubber rings were widely available. Now, you can get the rings to fit them only from Canada, if at all. Extension agents don't recommend using them as they apparently do not seal as well, or at least it is harder to detect that there is an imperfect seal because they don't have the "pop-up" feature like the two-piece lids.
Those zinc lids are getting harder to find, so I don't doubt that the antique stores like them.
I found a bunch of jars with glass two-piece lids at an auction and snapped them up. There is a flat piece made out of glass, and a metal ring that is slightly taller than the current ones (obviously, to fit the glass lid under it) with a separate rubber ring. The rubber rings fit into a groove in the glass lid. If anybody knows of a source for those rubber rings I would love it.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com, web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
| Nancy Gartenman |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 11:39:50 AM
BARBARA,
I just bought the BALL BLUE BOOK FOR CANNING AND FREEZING last week at a thrift store, I will give it to you if you want it. Its a classic, copyright1972. Sure has lots of info in it. Let me know and I will mail it out to you.
NANCY JO |
| sunshine |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 10:57:56 AM
Yep those are old do not toss the. If you do want to get rid of them i want to be the first on the list to get the lids. That is what mine are like.
have a lovely day and may God bless you and keep you safe
my web store www.sunshines.etsy.com my blog http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com/ my google page http://sunshine.harbaugh.googlepages.com/home |
| BStein |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 10:55:22 AM
I don't have any of the pretty blue jars, but I'll soak these lids and see if I can get them clean enough to reuse. They appear to have a sort of porcelain disk inside. They've been in someone's garage attic for many years and they're pretty grungy. I won't throw them away; if I can't find a use I'll post them here.
Alison...contact me next year and I'll let you know if I have any left. I probably will, I don't know that I'll get as much canning done as I have jars, especially if I can't find lids for the old ones.
Barbara |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 09:57:03 AM
Around here people who deal in those sort of things complain that they can hardly give them away, which is probably why I get them for such a good deal. I just recently bought several boxes of jars for $10 and I would guess there were maybe 5-10 of those blue jars in the mix. The guy I bought them from went into his attic to get them out for me because he was tired of dragging them out and never selling any.
Sunshine, if you are ever out this way you should definitely stop at some garage sales. You could take them back with you and make a nice profit.
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." -E. B. White
http://www.betweenthecities.com/blog/ljr/
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| sunshine |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 09:29:17 AM
Blue jars are about 8.00 dollars a piece or more at antique stores just an fyi
have a lovely day and may God bless you and keep you safe
my web store www.sunshines.etsy.com my blog http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com/ my google page http://sunshine.harbaugh.googlepages.com/home |
| sunshine |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 09:26:40 AM
If you do want to toss them I want them. Happy to trade you
have a lovely day and may God bless you and keep you safe
my web store www.sunshines.etsy.com my blog http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com/ my google page http://sunshine.harbaugh.googlepages.com/home |
| LJRphoto |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 09:23:47 AM
I was going to say the same thing as Sunshine regarding the one piece lids - don't toss them. I have a few of them and wish I had more. You might even be able to trade with another farmgirl online for something you do want. I do use my blue jars though. I have bought scads of them at garage sales for next to nothing. The only thing that people don't seem to be getting rid of a lot at garage sales are the jelly size jars. After using 4 dozen or more up last night I'm completely out and have several more flavors to go!
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority." -E. B. White
http://www.betweenthecities.com/blog/ljr/
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| sunshine |
Posted - Aug 20 2006 : 07:31:31 AM
I would suggest posting a photo of the one piece lids. If they are like mine don't through those out antique stores sell them for 3 dollars a pieces and more. I wouldn't use those lids to can with just use them as jar lids for dry goods or button jars or other things you want to display.
 
have a lovely day and may God bless you and keep you safe
my web store www.sunshines.etsy.com my blog http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com/ my google page http://sunshine.harbaugh.googlepages.com/home |
| ali2583 |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 8:35:14 PM
Hey Barbara,
If you're not doing anything with those jars, I'd love to borrow them. Next year for my wedding I hope to have wildflowers in Mason jars on every table!
"God's gift to you is life. What you choose to do with that life is your gift to God" |
| BStein |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 5:36:16 PM
Thanks, Aunt Jenny. Good thing I have you from which to learn.
Barbara in Ohio |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 4:23:11 PM
Noooooo...applesauce IS a high acid thing ..not at all hard to can. No harder than pickles for sure! Any fruit or tomato product is usually acid enough. With tomatoes I tend to add some lemon juice or a little vinegar if I am using low acid tomatoes..some romas are...but you are very safe doing water bath canning with apples, pears, peaches..all that!
Pickles are a wonderful first project to can too, though! Just wanted you to know you had options!
I Checked walmart's price on jar lids today...$1.36 for Kerr reg. size lids.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| BStein |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 12:40:28 PM
After closer inspection of the jars, it looks like the majority will be usable (they are all clear glass Ball or Kerr jars), but some have old one-piece lids that need to go in the trash. There are so many different sizes, maybe I can check the Ball website to see if they have lids to fit, but those few (maybe 8 or so) with the one-piece lids look really old and I think I probably will just use those for another purpose (candle lanterns or something). I might try some pickles or pickled peppers to test my canning technique, unless someone has a better suggestion. Since applesauce is not a high acid product, I'm sort of afraid to can it, at least while I'm still learning. I'll try freezing that in the jars.
Thanks for all the advice here. I'll do a search for some recipes to test.
Barbara |
| katiedid |
Posted - Aug 19 2006 : 08:45:14 AM
Jenny, you really should put all of your canning knowledge in one place and publish a book! I would buy it!
Kate
http://theknifemakerswife.blogspot.com/2006/07/knifemakers-wife.html |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Aug 18 2006 : 7:16:34 PM
I do buy produce to can sometimes. I always have to buy peaches since our one little peach tree is still very young...we got about 10 wonderful peaches this year...I have high hopes for a couple years from now..and I buy apples sometimes. Pickling cukes for sure will get bought this year since mine froze at the beginning of the season. If you are careful it is still worth it. Especially when you don't have to buy jars. I do try to grow or barter for most of the things I can. If you ask around you would be amazed how many folks just give away alot of their produce..they just love to grow it. I got tons of tomatoes that way last year..even though I had grown plenty, I still canned them. They were going to go to waste. I have had someone give me green beans last week too.
Okay..freezing in jars. I have done it. You have to be real careful to leave alot more headspace and honestly I wasn't as happy with the results as when they were canned. But it does work and you can avoid alot of freezer burn.
If your jars are pints you can use any stock pot or dutch oven type pot as a water bath pot. Just put a dish cloth or folded hand towel on the bottom so the jars don't sit right on the bottom of the pot (instead of a rack) and make sure the water is higher than the tops of the jars and that will work. I love canning applesauce...one of the things I do EVERY year.
have fun!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| BStein |
Posted - Aug 18 2006 : 6:55:18 PM
Thanks for the advice. I just reserved a book by Ball from the library. Hopefully that will help.
I am concerned though, that because I don't have a ton of my own produce that it's not worth canning. Does anyone buy produce and can it? Let me also ask this, does anyone freeze food in jars? I usually make a lot of applesauce in Sept/Oct when the apple orchards have self-pick; could I freeze it in the jars instead of canning it?
Thanks again for your great advice!
Barbara |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Aug 17 2006 : 7:12:00 PM
If you have never canned before you might want to get a Ball Blue Book (it is a paperback book available at most any store..I know Walmart or like that would have it. The easiest things to start with are peaches and tomatoes in my opinion. Jam is a good one too. I have been canning since I was a kid and love it. Lucky you to get all those jars..that will sure help.
To answer your question..you will need flat lids (dosn't matter what brand but Ball and Kerr are the most common and easily found) and rings. They would be in the same area of the store as the ball blue book. Even grocery stores usually have canning supplies this time of year.
A big water bath pot is neccessary too. They are only about 10 to 15 dollars and have a rack and a lid. Available at any hardware store or walmart type place too. Pressure canning isn't hard but is more complicated and expensive to start, better after you master water bath canning. (things with acid like fruit, tomatoes and jams and pickles) There are alot of things to do that don't require pressure canning. Oh..you will need a jar lifter too..very inexpensive and neccessary. All these things would be in the same area in the store.
Good luck and be sure to ask questions here...alot of us do alot of canning and would love to help. You will have so much fun!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| sunshine |
Posted - Aug 17 2006 : 4:27:06 PM
You say you inheritted them. I would look at them first if you have blue or purple ones don't can with them as they are antiques and highly collectible. If you don't have those type just have fun canning. what type of canning do you want to do pressure canning or water bath there are topics on both here. Do a search and read old post and I am sure people will post here as well with lots of help.
have a lovely day and may God bless you and keep you safe
www.sunshines.etsy.com
http://sunshinescreations.blogspot.com/
http://sunshine.harbaugh.googlepages.com/home |
