Friday, July 2, 2010

Reusable Canning Jar Lids!!!!



 My friend Patrice and I have been test driving Tattler reusable canning lids.  I had never heard of them until Patrice mentioned them in passing.  When we finally got our hands on them I was truly impressed.

They are a two part lid and gasket system that you use with a standard mason style jar and ring.  They come in both wide mouth and small mouth and the natural rubber gasket is BPA free (an important requirement for some).  The company began making these reusable canning lids in the 1970's.  I found that fact amazing, since I had never heard of them!  The company literature claims "widespread customer satisfaction and acceptance since their origination in 1976".

They do work somewhat differently than a stand Ball or Kerr lid in that you tighten the ring on the jar and then back it off 1/4 of an inch.  When the jars have been processed and you take them out of the canner, you then fully tighten the ring.  This requirement, although different, is not insurmountable my any means.  You just have to remember.  I did make the mistake of backing the ring off 1/4 turn versus 1/4 inch the first time I used the lids.  This resulted in one of my jars not sealing properly, but remarkably, the others sealed fine.

Tattler says they have customers that have been using the same gasket for 20 years worth of canning.  They claim that a gasket need only be replaced if it has been damaged or stretched.  They do encourage the user to turn the gasket over with each canning so that it wears evenly on both sides.

Having used the Weck jars for many years (with a very similar sealing method) and not having the best success with them, I have to admit that I was skeptical.  The Tattler lids however, have been a wonderfully pleasant surprise.   They seem to work great!  I pressure canned taco meat for 90 minutes under 10 pounds of pressure.  When they had cooled and sealed, I unseated the seal, washed the lids and gaskets, washed the rim of the jars and put them through the canner again.  100% success!  They worked like a charm.  Of course using these lids and gaskets twice does not a definitive experiment make, but I am excited about the prospect of lifetime canning lids.  I will, without a doubt, be investing in these lids and gaskets.

Here are pictures of the canning process...


Browning the taco meat....


Filling the jars....


Boiling the lids and gaskets...


Putting the lids and gaskets together to put on the jar....


The lid on the jar, snugged down with the ring....


First round done!  Taking the lid and gasket off (with a dull butter knife)....


Here it is....


All done after the second canning....


I thought these lids and gaskets were wonderful!  They are very reasonably priced at $20.95 for 3 dozen regular mouth and $23.95 for 3 dozen wide mouth lids and gaskets.  The replacement gaskets are $2.50 a dozen.  I will be saving my pennies so that I can make an investment in these lids and gaskets in the VERY near future!

Here is Tattler contact information:

S&S Innovations, Corp.
P.O. Box 373
Fruita, CO 81521

Website:

www.reusablecanninglids.com

Happy Canning!


Addendum:  How to tell if the jars seal.

A reader (Rose) asked the questions "how do you know if the jars have sealed?".  Good question!  It is quite simple to assess the integrity of the seal.  If the jars haven't sealed, the lid and gasket come off in your hand when you take the ring off.  Just as when using standard metal canning lid, a vacuum is formed while canning.  If that vacuum is compromised, for any reason, the lid just comes off.  A benefit to the two part lid and gasket set-up is that the lid will fall off if it hasn't sealed properly, unlike a standard metal lid, which may stick to the top of the jar, so you don't know there has been a problem until you attempt to use your canned foods. 

17 comments:

  1. That sounds great. Where can you purchase them?

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  2. I'm curious, why did you pressure can it twice?

    thanks,
    Rachel

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  3. Lanita;
    I added contact info to the post!

    Rachel;
    The only reason I canned it twice was to test the canning lids! Nothing more to it.

    Enola

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  4. Thanks for the info, Enola. I have never heard of reusable canning lids. I usually wait until they are on sale for $1.99/dz and stock up. At $7/dz, they will pay for themselves after 3 1/2 times the regular Ball lids. I will have to check this out and order some.

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  5. Oh so sweet, you young girls.
    This is no new idea. Somewhere between the very old rubber gasket and bail canning jars, and the current two-piece lids, they had... reusable lid with replaceable sealing compound gaskets.
    This is what they had when I was a child. Sometimes you didn't get the compound ring on right, causing it to seal unevenly. Sometimes they spit out a bit. Everyone thought the ones we commonly see now a real improvement.
    LOL Every thing old is new again. What's next, bell bottom jeans?

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  6. Thank you so much for the added information. I will need to pick some of these up before my next canning session. These look great and make canning even more affordable.

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  7. Through your text and photos you have performed a valuable service for us. Thank you.

    NoCal Gal

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  8. How do you tell if the cans are sealed properly?

    Thanks!

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  9. Rose -

    I wrote the answer to your question as an addendum at the bottom of my post. Hope it helps!

    Enola

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  10. Thanks, Enola! So, if it's not sealed, the gasket won't stick at all- good info. to know.

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  11. I read somewhere that these lids can be used for years. Wouldnt that be neat? I just bought a case of wide mouth and a case of regular flats. I could have spent money on these reusable ones and used them for years.
    Thanks for the post. Update sometime when you think you have new info about them if you please.

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  12. Brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing this information.

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  13. Hi Enola Gay :) I found your blog through the Tattler site. Your taco meat looks lovely! I've been testing the Tattler lids for the last month and recently wrote a review on them (Sep 5) on my blog if you are interested. I haven't used Weck jars so can't compare to those but I do like the Tattler lids over the metal ones. Even the method wasn't difficult to learn. The lids themselves are also BPA-free which is nice.

    PS. I'm following your blog in Blogger now so I can see what other foods you can with the Tattler lids.

    Take care,

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  14. Enola,

    You mentioned the lids were "natural rubber." I emailed Tattler asking what kind of rubber their gaskets were made of, and this was their response:

    "Our reusable rubber rings are made of food grade nitrile. There is no latex in our product."

    I had requested that if there was any natural rubber in their gaskets that they would state as much clearly on their website for the sake of those with allergies to latex.

    Upon researching nitrile, I find it is a completely synthetic material. That isn't to say it's automatically dangerous or anything, just that it's wise to be aware of such things.

    I hope you were not misled.

    It's also worth mentioning that the gaskets for the Weck canning system are "100% natural rubber", at least that we the answer I received when I called them with my inquiry. I have not found that information on their website.

    I hope this information was useful. I believe the safety of the products is dependant on the person. For those with a latex allergy or a family history of such the Tattler lids would probably be the safer route, whereas for people like me who have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (also known as Environmental Illness) the natural rubber of the Weck canning system is probably the wiser option.

    And of course there's still the conventional BPA option, for those who would prefer it. :) Praise God we're blessed with all these options!

    God bless,

    ~ Dainty

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  15. All the Bible & judging stuff does seem to come up with a certain religious element. When confronted with this particular mindset I sometimes rely on scripture myself. Like the vision of the Pharaoh which was interpreted as 7 yrs of plenty followed by 7 yrs of famine. The message being, stock up folks. That was from the top down. Today, it has to happen from the bottom up. Many of us intuit that we could have people taking refuge with us (friends, neighbors, even strangers)and we'd like to be able to feed them as well as ourselves. When push comes to shove, where do those who knew, but refused to prepare go for sustenance, eh?

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  16. My husband saw this article and decided to purchase 3 dozen wide mouth lids. So far, we have used them to can 15 half pints of tuna. Excellent and easy to use.

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  17. Awesome! I've read one other review of them too. I think I'll try them!

    I'm glad I've found your blog!!

    Margaret
    Two in the Nest

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