apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I love the Weck jars but there's a reason that disposible lids with sealing compounds are recommended. They'd be nice for storing other things, though. Maybe leftovers?

Ball makes some lovely jars in unusual shapes, including their wide-mouthed half pints and their elite collection half-pints (also excellent if you happen to want to can in a pot that's not deep enough for normal half pints).

I don't can. But these jars are very pretty! You can use them for cotton balls and such things in the bathroom :)

I'm not sure, but I think your numbering of the pics might be a bit mixed up?...

I say this because I'm starting to collect the Fido jars, and they're the middle pic. Canning doesn't seem to be as big a thing in Aus as it is in the US, I've certainly never seen jars sold in hardware stores for example, but there are various cultures here that are into preserving/canning in a big way - I know of one Italian store where you can get everything you'd need for canning, wine making, salami making etc. And I've been looking at getting a big batch of 'plain' jars from them for my first big canning efforts (which won't be for a few months - we're just coming into Spring here), but still like the idea of a whole pantry stacked full of Fido jars with all sorts of wonderful pickles in. Yum!

One question on all that - if I'm using a jar like the Fido jars, with the rubber ring, can I reuse that ring? Seems such a waste to throw them out each year, but I'd like to be safe...

Whoops - yes they got all mixed up. Thanks!

amazon.com seems to have some with better prices, and some choices include shipping.

@FoodieGreenie Everything I've read says to stay away from jars with rubber rings, including sites sponsered by the US government and a number of universities. Don't can with them at all. Use the ones with the metal lids and bands that have the sealing compound. They aren't as pretty but I don't want anything going bad in my pantry!

I use the Weck jars to store my dried nuts and fruits in for salad toppings, baking, etc. I love them.

But I paid a ton less for mine, they were like $4-6 for small to medium sized ones at a nearby home shop.

I can alot and don't trust the rubber rings. there is too much chance of an air leak, rubber cracking or broken seal. Are you sure they are safe for canning??? I'm sticking to my metal lids and metal rings in designated canning jars. The jars above are pretty but best used for storage.

Yes, the rubber ring jars are not endorsed by the relevant US government agencies, but that canning jar style is the norm in Europe. And I don't hear of many great canning tragedies arising from them.

For gifts, I use the faceted or hex glass jars with gold lids from specialtybottle.com . They have one-part lids with a sealing compound inside. I've never had a jar go bad.

Weck jars are gorgeous. Love them.

ABreadADay.com

I'm no expert just an occasional jam maker, but it seems to me that the rubber ring Weck jars would be safer than any jar that has a clasping mechanism keeping the lid down on the jar (Ball, Fido, etc). With the Wecks only the vacuum seal from heat treating the packed jars keeps the glass lid on, so if there's a bad seal or if beasties start to grow inside you'll notice it right away because the lid will be loose. Those little clips are temporary -- you take them off after the hot jars have cooled down.

That said, I've used all three kinds of jars (metal bands, hinged clasps and Wecks) and I've never had sealing or contamination trouble with any of them -- so I say use the kind that appeals to you the most!

Weck jars are very good for hot water bath canning but near to unusable for pressure canning. That doesn't come as a surprise, as pressure canning is unknown here (Europe, Belgium) and, if my memory serves me right, Weck even advices against pressure canning or has done so in the past.

Contrary to the situation in the US, large pressure cookers/canners aren't on the market here. The largest pressure cookers available here fore houdsehold use are some 5-8l. Those few people here interested in pressure canning have to buy a canner in the US.

I bought an All American Canner/Cooker #930 some months ago and I'm not impressed with the results so far, using Weck jars: I have faillure rates of some 20 - 40%, when using those. During pressure and temperature buildup the rings are forced more or less out between jar and lid, leaving a questionable seal or no seal at all after processing. This is the case in about everything I have canned so far: vegetables, meat, chicken, spaghetti sauce, soup... Ive used rings from Weck and some other brands but to no availl: regardless the make of the rings, faillure rate stays high. Compared to hot water bath canning using Weck jars (failure rate near to 0%) pressure canning isn't that much of a succes story so far, but I'm working on it, meanwhile looking for another deepfreezer to store all the food coming out of those unsealed jars :-).

As Mason jars are very difficult to find here, I'm thinking on buying a palette of those in the US.

Some first pictures of my "canning activities" @ http://picasaweb.google.com/inmaken .