Do you leave the rings on or off your canning jars?
- Thread starter freemotion
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patandchickens
Crazy Cat Lady
As nightshade says you pretty much have to take them off to check the seal (just cuz the lid is down doesn't mean it is *necessarily* a good seal that will last) and wipe the thread area of the jar. Otherwise you are just ASKING for sticky gross stuff under there, stuck rings, and prematurely rusted out rings.
If your storage area is pretty dry it is safe to put the rings back on if you really want. I do this for ones stored up in the kitchen where kids, ahem, can potentially get into them or knock them down.
But for a sometimes humid storage area, e.g. my basement where most of them go, it is really really best to leave the rings off (and upstairs in the kitchen). They last MUCh longer that way.
Pat
If your storage area is pretty dry it is safe to put the rings back on if you really want. I do this for ones stored up in the kitchen where kids, ahem, can potentially get into them or knock them down.
But for a sometimes humid storage area, e.g. my basement where most of them go, it is really really best to leave the rings off (and upstairs in the kitchen). They last MUCh longer that way.
Pat
Homesteadmom
Frugal Homesteader
I had never thought about this & always leave mine on. Guess I might be rethinking that one, thanks everyone!
I did buy the white plastic caps too in reg & wide to use for fridge storage, they work great!
I did buy the white plastic caps too in reg & wide to use for fridge storage, they work great!
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- #14
freemotion
Food Guru
I kept looking at those white caps last fall and ended up not getting any....I'll have to pick up a box of each size when they are back in the stores. Great tips! We buy almost nothing in jars or cans, so we don't have other lids to fit. Just peanut butter, and the lids don't fit, I checked. But the peanut butter jars store my lard nicely!
Homesteadmom
Frugal Homesteader
Do you render your own lard? I have been looking for non-hydrogenated lard & can not find any around here. 
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- #16
freemotion
Food Guru
Yes, I do, for the same reason. Last time (a couple weeks ago) I went to buy the fat, the butcher/owner gave it to me for free and said if I come back next Sept he will give me all I want for free, like 60 lbs! And that is just pig fat. I will also ask for beef and do some serious soap-making next winter.Homesteadmom said:Do you render your own lard? I have been looking for non-hydrogenated lard & can not find any around here.
I ran it through the grinder attachment on my stand mixer and simmered it for a few hours and strained out 3 pb jars' worth. Should last us a while, I don't bake too much, goes right to my butt and thighs! But I just have to have a pie occasionally, and some biscuits now and then....with sausage gravy. My roots are Canadian, not Southern, yet give me sausage gravy and boiled peanuts and I am delirious!
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- #17
freemotion
Food Guru
PS: If you've never rendered fat, warning....it stinks! 
TanksHill
Super Self-Sufficient
Ok I need someone to clear up the nonhydrogenated thing for me. From what I have read its just basically poison for us. So what is the definition of hydrogenated vs not? Whats the difference? Someone mentioned Spanish foods often have the non-hydrogenated kind. I have tons of ethnic stores around here. And what about the coconut oils. My auntie really was recommending those.
Ok I just checked the Living foods coconut oil is NON hydrogenated. Maybe that's why she recommended it.
sorry this is so off topic.
Ok I just checked the Living foods coconut oil is NON hydrogenated. Maybe that's why she recommended it.
sorry this is so off topic.
enjoy the ride
Sufficient Life
Off for me too. both with canned and vacuum packed food. I can clean them up and it makes it easier to find thos few jars where the seal popped months later.
I keep a pitcher full of rings on the counter to grab when I open then want to use the jar for storage.
I keep a pitcher full of rings on the counter to grab when I open then want to use the jar for storage.
Homesteadmom
Frugal Homesteader
Free, I wish I had a butcher here that i could get it from, but alas the butcher closed up & left after getting in trouble with the FDA(tore down all their buildings too).
Tanks hydrogenated oils, lard & shortening are very bad for us. So if possible choose the least hydrogenated ones if non are not available. Canola is the least of them. Coconut is a good one for you, but it can make your food taste like coconut if you use too much. I use it for my stove top popcorn popper.
Tanks hydrogenated oils, lard & shortening are very bad for us. So if possible choose the least hydrogenated ones if non are not available. Canola is the least of them. Coconut is a good one for you, but it can make your food taste like coconut if you use too much. I use it for my stove top popcorn popper.
