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Post by wellrounded on Jul 15, 2015 16:13:46 GMT 10
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Post by Peter on Jul 15, 2015 17:27:01 GMT 10
Awesome tip - thanks for that. I've been looking at a pressure canner for a while, so I'll grab one of these. Which type of jars would you recommend? Specifically for canning meals (for the most part).
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Post by wellrounded on Jul 15, 2015 18:11:54 GMT 10
I use both Ball Mason and Fowlers. If you have the cash buy Fowlers jars and stainless steel lids. No worries about long term storage and rust etc then, some of my lids are 50 years old, some of my jars are MUCH older. OR you can go with ball jars and tattler lids ( red back trading sells these). I find that ball 'one use' lids begin to degrade after 2 winters here. If you are canning anything with meat in it you'll want to use wide mouth (ball) or 4" (Fowlers) so that you can get into them for cleaning, meat residue is terrible to clean off. I've started using a lot of ball pint jars (regular mouth but I can reach into it for cleaning as it's shallow) for meat and veg as we have less people eating here these days than we have in the past. I've never bothered with any other brands as they are priced way above what my budget can cope with. We use Ball quart jars or Fowlers 31's for ready meals (Irish Stew, soups etc) I reuse 'one use' ball lids many times and 'one use' Fowlers seals I use for years (unless you've bottled anything with vinegar then they'll have to go in the bin). Yes I do have some jars that don't seal, maybe one in a thousand or so LOL, not really a problem  . |
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Post by Peter on Jul 15, 2015 19:48:48 GMT 10
Thanks again.
As I'm looking at the potential of long term storage - and [hopefully] re-using them many times, Fowlers jars and stainless steel lids look like the winner. At least until I see what they cost...
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Post by Peter on Jul 15, 2015 20:14:16 GMT 10
Done - I've ordered the canner, and I'll look around for the Fowlers jars with s/s lids. Awesome find.
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Post by Nighthawk on Jul 15, 2015 21:11:34 GMT 10
Hmmm, almost too good a deal to pass up
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Post by Peter on Jul 15, 2015 21:52:08 GMT 10
Bear in mind the postage cost - for me (in WA) it was about 45 bucks. They have a heap of other stuff that interests me, so I'll use this as a trial run.
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Matilda
Senior Member
Posts: 859 
Likes: 1,171
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Post by Matilda on Jul 16, 2015 8:30:04 GMT 10
I was going to email you wellrounded but you may have answered my query. I have a dehydrator and I have been dragging my feet because when I start something that I haven't attempted before,I like to get all my facts and equipment in place first. I was ready to start when the lid issue with Ball came up and sort to find out what was happening in 'Canning Land'. Tattlers lids seem to be 'unavailable' at present. shortage? Redesigning theirs to pick up those that have jumped ship from Ball? Anyway, I put it on the back burner but I must start as my excuses are running out!! Anyway, on Saturday I went and purchased a good quality mandolin (V-Slicer) then went to BigW where they had Ball equipment. On special they had the 12xquart jars for $41.00!! I said to Hubby that I'm sure I had seen them cheaper online. Glad I waited because OzFarmer had them around $25. But, I was shopping at Woolies and they had the same jars for $27. So I bought x 2. Came home and read your post and got the same email as I subscribe too. But, I didn't see you additional post until this morning. My biggest fear is failing lids!! What to do? Do I take the Ball jars back to Woolies and put it into Fowler? Do I buy only Fowlers (steel lids) from the start and grin and bear the extra cost and hope I can pickup jars/ lids on eBay etc. or at garage sales as I have seen them. Can I buy new lids for the older jars if I pick them up from garage sales etc? I don't want to buy fruit and veges only to have the lids fail. Can I call on your experience to put me on the right track please? Also, where do you buy the wide mouth funnels that make it easy to place food into jars? And, I'm about to place an order for the canner Many thanks!! |
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Post by wellrounded on Jul 16, 2015 11:06:23 GMT 10
Matilda I've never had a Ball lid fail but I do see some signs of deterioration in a couple of years. I still buy and use ball but tend to use them for short or meduim storage times (less than 3 years). I use fowlers with stainless lids for things like canning beef as a full beast will last us years so I need to know it will be in perfect order for an extended period. I try to keep the pantry turning over within 5 years but every now and then I'll have something that won't get used within that time. I'm an eat what I store, store what I eat prepper so everything stored is for everyday use, nothing is put away with the intent to store for many, many years. I buy from ozfarmer 95% of the time as they do have some great specials and bulk buy discounts. I'm hoping I'm close to having enough jars  . I've been canning for over 20 years now and in that time have never had a failure once I know the seal is ok (24 hours after canning), I have 2 or 3 seal failures a year in the canner. I do think the ball lids will fail eventually though, it's not unusual for me to have a little bit of condensation in the pantry during the coldest months which accelerates any problems. We don't live in a house though and conditions are not ideal. Long term this problem will be fixed but I have to make do with what I have at the moment. I'm on a super tight budget, I buy ALL my fowlers jars secondhand but it's taken me 20 years to build up the number I have, then I buy stainless lids as I can afford them. I put a little bit of money away over the year and wait for ozfarmer to have sales, I buy 10 dozen at a time to save a bit more money. Fowlers seals I watch ebay for, some sellers have great bulk deals. My oldest daughter has started canning so now we can split the bulk buy . The wide mouth funnels should be available at big w, either by themselves or as part of a basic kit, nearly always on ebay as well. Another great tool to have is Balls' best jar tongs, they are so much better than any others I've ever used. |
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Post by Paul on Jul 16, 2015 11:12:56 GMT 10
thanks for the post wellrounded I purchased the presto and some jars this morning. Happy Birthday for the wife. she's so lucky.
Paul
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Matilda
Senior Member
Posts: 859
Likes: 1,171
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Post by Matilda on Jul 16, 2015 15:12:51 GMT 10
Thanks so much for your great reply wellrounded - I really appreciate your time. Until I get the 'hang of it' I'll continue on and use the Ball jars as I can start this weekend via dehydrating. My canner should be a couple of weeks or so? then I'll get cracking canning. In the meantime I shall start looking for the Fowler jars on Ebay and garage sales and as I feel comfortable, I'll progress to meat. So excited!! Thanks again for your help. |
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scoutmum
Senior Member
North Queensland
Posts: 189
Likes: 344
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Post by scoutmum on Jul 16, 2015 18:23:33 GMT 10
Our family bought one last night as well! Postage was a bit much, but still worth it with the discount!
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Post by thereth on Jul 16, 2015 19:34:33 GMT 10
Mr Pete, how did you get it down to $45? Even sending it to my folks in the Swan Valley area it is still around $65 for postage
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Post by Peter on Jul 16, 2015 20:15:58 GMT 10
At the checkout, select "Estimate shipping & taxes". For me - and I'm closer to Perth than the Swan Valley - options were:
Standard Shipping $63.85
Express Shipping $152.55
Courier (the colour is for your zone): Road [White] $45.60
Pickup was free, but that's a little too far to travel.
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Post by Peter on Jul 16, 2015 20:16:14 GMT 10
Incidentally, it shipped today.
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Post by Whisperer on Jul 16, 2015 21:39:15 GMT 10
Got one myself. Too good to pass up.
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Post by Peter on Jul 16, 2015 22:49:27 GMT 10
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shinester
Senior Member
China's white trash
Posts: 3,119 
Likes: 3,578
Email: shiny@ausprep.org
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Post by shinester on Jul 17, 2015 1:23:10 GMT 10
Agreed, good tip, being putting that purchase off for a long time, not any more. I typically make vats of food anyhow and freeze it, now I can make vats of food and stick it in jars  |
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Post by Paul on Jul 17, 2015 12:33:14 GMT 10
Are we going to start a canning section, and show our results. I have been watching youtube not stop since yesterday on how to can different things. I have never done it before and don't want to stuff it up so any tips would be great.
Paul
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shinester
Senior Member
China's white trash
Posts: 3,119
Likes: 3,578
Email: shiny@ausprep.org
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Post by shinester on Jul 17, 2015 13:14:21 GMT 10
I'd like some ideas on cutting costs on jars and lids. The reality of canning is potentially having 1000 'canned' [weird since they're glass lol] and I'm curious about cutting that cost. The jars here are almost $3 and the extra lids to which you would need at least 5 preferably 10 cost an additional $1.50-$3. That's a LOT of money tied up in canning and whilst it might be worth it, one could also get a freezer and solar for that kind of dollars, so cost cutting would help a lot!
I myself hot water bath on occasion using normal pasta sauce jars which in effect cost nothing, and form a good seal when they cool. Aka free.
I'm sure there will be jars that fit the pressure canning lids in the supermarkets here, wondering if anyone has any idea of what those might be or other ideas on reducing costs?
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