canning supplies

[henless]

I ordered jars online from Walmart, quarts & pints, 4 cases of each. The quarts came in fine, no damage. The pints were all busted. They box they came in had been opened up and there was a notation on one of the flaps what was damaged. A big return to shipper label was on outside of box. Of course, Fedex delivered it anyway.

 

[Hinotori]

Ball, Kerr, and Golden Harvest are all owned by the same company. I have jars from all three. All are good jars.

The Walmart brand ones looked questionable

 

[CrealCritter]

Best to buy good quality made in USA jars. Wife bought a case of Walmart made in China jars, had issues and never bought anymore. We usually go with Ball because they are readily available around here.

Ball Jars
"Our jars and lids are still made in the USA, and if you look across the competitive set … they are sourcing their jars from China. (Ball jars are predominantly made in Indiana, with some production also occurring at plant in Salem, N.J)

 

[Mini Horses]

Cut the top off glass bottles, sand edges, use for jams and jellies.

That's cool. Mostly mine used jars that were not deemed worthy of veggies. Some may have had a tiny rim chip, or from groc that were kept for such use.

Talk about a time when you HAD to use/save what you had....they even melted, cleaned and reused the wax. Flour sacks were gold. If they got hold of newspaper & carboard, it wasn't garden mulch -- nope it was wall insulation!

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Hinotori, I hear you on the avid reading/research. Agreed re: varied thickness of old glass. It would only make sense that they would put the thinnest part of the pane up. I was the kid who would come home from school, and grab a volume off the shelf of encyclopedias. My mom was a World Book Encyclopedia saleswoman. So, we always had the newest set available. Oh how I loved cracking open a new volume and reading through it. One interesting subject would likely lead me down a bunny trail of research, until I'd have 3 or 4 volumes spread out on the couch with me. My greatest subjects of interest: biology, physiology, even disease and genetics. I was not your average 12 year old girl!

 

[Hinotori]

Ohh the best part was "I heard that you just add vinegar to make it safe for waterbath canning".

Oh she added vinegar alright. To the water in the canner.

I got the full story out of my brother last year finally.

 

[Hinotori]

Not exactly canning but came across this about a sealed bottle of wine that's at least 1670 years old. And the wax seal is still intact.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speyer_wine_bottle

 

[CrealCritter]

Ohh the best part was "I heard that you just add vinegar to make it safe for waterbath canning".

Oh she added vinegar alright. To the water in the canner.

I got the full story out of my brother last year finally.

Actually my wife taught me a splash of white vinegar in the pressure canner. Prevents white spots on the outside of the jars lids and rings. So that's what I do. Maybe 1 tablespoon is all I add and it works well.

 

[BarredBuff]

you seriously eat decade old canned goods?

Yes, and have for many years. If you have a good place to store it, then it will keep a long time. Vegetables, meals-in-a-jar and meats maintain color and appearance really well. Pickles, tomatoes, and fruit do not.

I have never had anything inedible as long as the seal was intact.

 

[BarredBuff]

well that makes me feel pretty awesome! I haven't ate food that was over 2 years old but i won't worry so much about it now. I know a few folks who push it out to 5 years but i have always been leary of it.

how long do you guys think canned meat will last (and still taste okay)

Ideally, you store foods that you rotate and replenish each season. Can what you eat then eat what you can. I am not the best at this.

Currently, I have canned burger, stew meat, and sloppy joes on the shelf that have the same color, taste, and texture as they did in 2014. So, I can't really say because that is when I began canning meat. Several writers, like Jackie Clay of Backwoods Home, say they will last indefinitely if the seal is intact and storage conditions are good.