Now I don't know about you, but I have plastic tubs full of glass jars with lids. The trouble is, if I want to do any preserving those jars are no good to me for water bath canning, the lids cannot be used safely.
Well, I have found the answer if you are in Aussie, HERE
Absolutely wonderful! All those jars can now be utilised by simply buying the lids, and the prices are way below what one would expect! We get the jars out of storage and into production and we reduce our footprint in a big way, no more buying vacola!
Funny how the simple things in life can bring so much joy :)
Happy canning!
8 Responses:
Thank you for this wonderful information. I will spread the good news.
Most welcome Diane, I just love the idea!
Thanks Molly. I am hoping to start learning more about correct & safe preserving when our garden starts producing, and am also a Jar Addict, so this is perfect!
Hi Molly
Thanks for that info - most interesting and useful, especailly where glass jars come with a plastic lid.
However, if your jars have metal lids with the internal rubber seal, it is possible to re-use the lids too (if they haven't perished or been damaged in any way). Have been doing this for years and haven't poisoned anyone yet! However, you do need to know what you are doing ...
For example, for a passata/ratatouille type mix, I sterilise everything in the oven first; fill the bottles; use my knuckle to press down the pop up thingy and sterilise the entire contents ala vacola preserving. As the bottles cool, you hear the little pops as the buttons go down and the seal is perfect!
If the pop up button doesn't go down, you simply use the contents straight away (or store in fridge for a few days only or freeze). If you don't get the resistance / hear the pop, etc when you're opening a stored bottle, discard.
But in about 20 years of preserving in this way (although I mostly do use vacola bottles, which I love), I honestly can only remember one or two failures.
Still if you're at all concerned about re-using lids, definitely go for the new ones. (I used to work in a food lab many years ago, so am usually pretty confident about what will or won't be OK.) xx
It's about time somebody did this! Hopefully it will make it's way over here soon.
Dixie, sounds just like me LOL.
Hi NW and welcome, I hope the link comes in handy for the newbies at canning like me. One day I will have some experience as you do, but for now I am too inexperienced to judge, this way I keep us safe, even if it costs a wee bit more.
Leigh, do a web search, I am betting it is over there already:)
Hi Molly ...
This is David from www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au .... where the lids .. and so much more, come from ..
Great to see the interest in Home Preserving is catching on ... I hope you don't mid, but I would like to add a couple of points.
Dixiebell, has said she is interested in safe preserving ... well the worlds best practice, safe preserving methods, are all described in the "USDA Complete Guide to Home Preserving" ... accessible from this page here .. http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/USDAguide&more.html .... The alphabetical section is great when looking to source information on a particular food type. You can find a brief introduction to safe preserving here .. http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/homepreserving.html ..
Naturewitch ... mentions that these lids might be ideal for jars that come with plastic lids, which are pf course, unsuitable for preserving. Sadly this is not so ... as most such jars do not match the "rim profile" needed to fit our lids ... The good news is that most jars, with metal lids, on Aussie supermarket shelves, DO match our lids ... and while recycling is green, re-using is even greener ... so save those jars from the recycle bin, and RE-USE them.
In closing, Molly, I would like to compliment you on such a wide selection of interesting topics in your blog ... keep up the good work ...
Hi David & Welcome:) Feel free to drop by and comment anytime, I love to hear others thoughts.
Thanks so much for the links, I will pass them on in a new post.
Thanks for the compliment on the blog, like all of us, I have a wide variety of interests, it shows in the blog lol
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