Question About Canning Jars

[Hinotori]

Same as anything people collect like baseball cards. The jars resemble coins more.

I had to explain to my mom why just because coins are old, doesn't mean they are really worth anything other than face value. It's the misprints that usually have value. I collect wheat pennies and bicentennial quarters, but, only in so much as I get from change. I have a lot of quarters from our days of using a laundromat. I have some silver quarters and dimes that came in the rolls from the bank. Bookstore I worked at allowed us to buy (trade) coins from the till. Just had to have shift supervisor oversee it. I just like to look at them every now and then.

I'm mostly of the opinion that antiques should be working. Like my 1905 skillet or my 1920s eggs basket I use every day.

 

[baymule]

Regular mouth for pint jars, more will fit in a pressure canner than wide mouth pint jars.
Quart jars, go for wide mouth so you can get your hand in them to clean them.

Covid and shortages shook up everyone here and I bet there’s not a one among us that doesn’t have a 2-3 year supply of lids! I’ve put the year on the boxes so I use the oldest first.

Know your prices. Flea markets are usually real high, garage sales and Craigslist are good. I keep the boxes they come for me, it’s easier storage.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Agree with the previous comments on brands. Stocking up on those currently.

Not sure of the garage sale scene in your area, but sometimes you get lucky with a score. Atlas was an older brand I have a bunch of too.

Amazing how quickly your stash builds up if you practice grabbing a case here or there when you are able

speaking of atlas. alot of the spaghetti sauces come in atlas jars. we have aroud 30 of them and counting. they do great!

 

[Hinotori]

Check for cracks or chips. Never saw a standard canning jar glass failure in all my canning. The only failures were when my ex MIL used regular glass jars instead of canning jars

Only once, last year, I had the bottom of a half pint jar burst the bottom off at the seam in the steam canner. I'd never seen anything like that. It was a new jar.

Mom and grandma always used glass mayo jars for canning jams. I still have a couple of them. If a regular lid and ring will fit, you can waterbath with it. They used a lot of odd jars.

I only use canning jars in the pressure canner as they are thicker. None of the antique jars go in there. They get used for jams and syrups. Many of my antique jars are bail jars so they get used for dry storage. Tattler rubber rings work well with them.

I may have overdone it on lids back in 2020 before the shortage because I had a bad feeling around the beginning of March that year. My bad feeling turned out true. I still have an issue with not buying lids if they are in stock at the store. I'm still coming across boxes I've stuck in random places.

Feed stores and hardware stores around here usually had canning sales once a year. That vanished summer of 2020 and probably won't be seen again until supply stabilizes.

 

[Hinotori]

Your pressure canner should have a tray that raises the jars off the bottom of the pot. Never place jars directly on the bottom of any pot.

You can usually buy extras on Amazon as well. I have spares for when I do smaller jars so I can to more levels. When doing wide mouth half pints it really makes a difference.

 

[Chic Rustler]

You can usually buy extras on Amazon as well. I have spares for when I do smaller jars so I can to more levels. When doing wide mouth half pints it really makes a difference.

a towel works in between the layers of jars for double stacking as well. thats what i do

 

[baymule]

If I had one, it would be for sale........

 

[flowerbug]

Same as anything people collect like baseball cards. The jars resemble coins more.

I had to explain to my mom why just because coins are old, doesn't mean they are really worth anything other than face value. It's the misprints that usually have value. I collect wheat pennies and bicentennial quarters, but, only in so much as I get from change. I have a lot of quarters from our days of using a laundromat. I have some silver quarters and dimes that came in the rolls from the bank. Bookstore I worked at allowed us to buy (trade) coins from the till. Just had to have shift supervisor oversee it. I just like to look at them every now and then.

I'm mostly of the opinion that antiques should be working. Like my 1905 skillet or my 1920s eggs basket I use every day.

i love wheat pennies too. for some reason those have always been my favorite. i have some other coins too, but not many and not in great condition.

as a kid i'd have Mom buy me a bag of rolled up pennies and i'd go through them looking for wheat pennies. i don't know where those wheat pennies went as i didn't have them at college with me. later on i started up again but just keeping whatever i came across in change. i still don't have a very good collection, but it's ok. i don't also have the time or money to add to it so i guess i'm over the active phase of collecting.

i also have a bottle collection which is more accurately called a bottle with dust collection up in boxes on top of my bookshelves. i've meant to get rid of it for years but it is still up there collecting more dust. i do want to keep a smaller selection of bottles from it that i do like but only about a dozen or so. ink wells and a few colored ones that are nice. the fun part of these was going with a friend and digging them up and cleaning them. once i moved away from that area i no longer had the desire to do that kind of work any more. gardening is much more rewarding. beans are my newer collection (and i have too many of those too!).

 

[SandBillyGirl]

Agree with the previous comments on brands. Stocking up on those currently.

Not sure of the garage sale scene in your area, but sometimes you get lucky with a score. Atlas was an older brand I have a bunch of too.

Amazing how quickly your stash builds up if you practice grabbing a case here or there when you are able

Very good to know; thank you!

 

[FarmerJamie]

Really good to know; thanks! Should I be concerned that anything used will blow the bottom off in my pot? Is there a way I can tell if a jar is weakened before I buy it?

Check for cracks or chips. Never saw a standard canning jar glass failure in all my canning. The only failures were when my ex MIL used regular glass jars instead of canning jars