Warning! Major gripe! Do to my habit of shoving an unused lid into a new box, about 7 or 8 years ago, I found a lid that felt different. When I compared it to the new lids I found that on the older lid the metal was stronger and the sealant was more than twice as thick. I was angry and wrote Kerr/Ball about it. Of course no answer back. It's all about money...theirs! I've also noticed that most of the jars you buy food in are now odd sizes so a canning lid won't fit it. I used to use any jar a lid would fit on for pickles, jam, etc. The main grip I have is the boxes of new lids say 'used with-in one year'. I can to last at least a year and sometimes 2, if I have a crop failure. Thanks for allowing me to vent.
I've heard this gripe from others too. The lids have changed, the seals have changed. This is another reason why I wanted to try the Tatler lids ... they are re-usable indefinitely and only need the rubber rings replaced. I don't use any old jar .. the glass on jars these days seems so much thinner than a canning jar and I don't think they would stand up to pressure canning.
2ofus, I think that the "use within one year" means to get it on a jar within one year so the seal doesn't deteriorate by being exposed to air, sunlight, heat/cold. Being sealed on a jar is different from laying about in a cardboard box. That said, I have lids from two years ago that are sealing fine (my husband went on a lid-buying binge when he found lids were scarce in our area. He'd come home with three dozen lids, and then next week the same--I'll have lids until 2020!). Netty, I agree about the glass jars, if you can find them. Mayo comes in plastic containers now, and I used mayo jars for cold-pack pickles for years. Today's glass jars definitely would not stand up to pressure canning, and probably not to hot water bath canning. Fortunately, due to friends down-sizing, I have an ample supply of lovely Kerr and Ball jars. I've even been able to share gift jars with a friend who also cans.
I have been stocking up on canning jars all year, from second hand stores and yard sales. My family thought I was crazy, but now that I am actually canning the garden produce the jars are filling up quick! I actually had to buy some pint jars!
Mike gets slightly irritated with me because I won't get rid of any jars. I used to can over 800 quarts a year and now, with just 2 of us, I probably only can 350 jars and most of them are pints. They aren't taking up usable space in the basement and you never know what will happen in this economy.
The economy ... that is exactly what has driven me to grow and can my own vegetables. Not to mention this who GMO controversy. I grow heirloom vegetables, organically, in my own yard and preserve for the cold winters when I have a limited income. I guess this is another post, sorry to have hijacked this one. Back to the re-usable lids ... went back to buy more and they were sold out. Not too many stores stock them here.
I am using the old time flats and rings and have had no trouble with them as long as I use good brands. I keep around 1500 jars in my pantry all the time. I know about reusable lids but I guess I like the old fashioned stuff.
Barb, what brands do you normally buy? I've bought tattler and am embarrassed to say I haven't used them yet. I did watch a video on them and I guess it is very important to tighten them and then back it off a quarter turn.
I use Ball brand canning lids. I buy 200 or 300 hundred at a time. I will never run out like I did a few years ago. NEVER. I have very few jars fail to seal and never have them release sitting on the shelf. I don't ever use them more than once.
