Well here we are into the middle of July 2021 and jar lids for canning jars are almost nonexistent on the supermarket shelves still. While new cases of jars have again reappeared (complete with lids) the lids for existing jars have not.
I have to wonder in my questioning little mind if the company is pushing new jars and concentrating on them because the profit margin is higher leaving all of the customers that have supported this product for decades to do without. At the end of my canning career I am not going to buy all new jars. So in the interim I use the existing lids that I have stockpiled for things that have to go into jars, I freeze more produce as opposed to canning and dehydrate and ferment what I can in an effort to conserve my remaining lids. Without the ability to can my garden was also smaller.
So I had bought a small supply of reusable lids to try last year and with beets coming in decided to tackle the retraining of this old dog to a few new tricks.
Well I am happy to report success with my new Harvest Guard canning lids. All my beets sealed and have retained that seal so far. So it looks like I will be in the canning groove again for awhile and will reorder some more of these to make sure that I have enough. It looks like although they have a few week delay in shipping they are still available. I will buy disposable lids if they come available again only for items that I plan to give away.
Anyone else out there gone to reusable lids?
I would love any thoughts, tips or opinions on them!
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
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I have wondered about the success (or failure) of the reusable lids, so thanks for your info. One thing I noticed yesterday at WM is the store was completely out of sugar--huge empty space. I would assume this is because of fruit season, but who knows. Seems I read about a month ago that the sugar crop in Venezuala was not good. I was fortunate enough to find a free 'old' stash of new canning lids, so I grabbed them. Yes, somehow easier to find the jars alone at thrift stores, etc.
ReplyDeleteI've been using Tattlers for about 10 years and bought some of the Harvest Guard lids last year. I've always had great luck with them. Every once in a while I'll have one not seal but it's not often.
ReplyDeleteBest advice for them.. leave them in warm/hot water until you are putting them on. Tighten the lid with one hand..when the jar starts to spin, grab it with the other hand and then tighten it about 2 or 3 mm max.. that's about a 10th of an inch.. or a smidge as my mom would say. You can get a feel for the space between spinning jar and how far you have to tighten to completely tighten a lid beforehand. You just barely want to engage the lid/rubber seal but not all the way.
Then after you bring a few out of the canner, use gloves & dishtowels and tighten down the ring the rest of the way.
New Lids.. I'm sharing all my secrets today but I owe you for all the goodies I've gotten from you over the years!!.😊
I was able to get all the lids I wanted over the winter by employing this tactic.
I have the WalMart app on my phone (can be done with a computer too) Sign up for an account and make sure you designate "your store". Then early in the morning (5:30am for me) i would go to the app and click on WM.com (as opposed to pickup and delivery) and put "canning lids" in the search bar. All sorts of lids/offers come up but you are specifically looking for an offer that says "Pick Up Today!" That is the ONLY one you want!! Ignore the rest!!
Click on that and it'll show you where the lids are.. (I have 3 stores that are relatively close) and you order them ONLINE, immediately!! My app limited me to 12 per order at one time but you CAN add more..you just have to make a new search & add it or make separate orders. I've done both.
So you pay for them online immediately and WM will let you know by app or email when your order is ready to be picked up, usually a few hours later. My success rate has been about 95%.. they have to cancel some occasionally when there has been a discrepancy in their web count and store inventory count.
When I was actively searching, I checked every morning. I often checked on Sunday nights and it was a good day for lids at my store, but I've checked every day and got lucky pretty quickly.
If you follow that routine faithfully for a month, I'd be willing to bet you'll get all the lids you need quickly. I've left cases behind at my stores in 2020 & 2021.
Best & Blessings!!
Thank you and I will try that. I am usually up at 5:30 anyway. And you don't owe me anything it has been my absolute pleasure to share with all of you through the years. Makes me wish I knew more!
DeleteWe just canned 17 quarts of Jade green beans using the Tattler reusable lids. A little bit of a learning curve backing off the lid rings a little while processing then tighten them once out. Love them.
ReplyDeleteGawd I love them Jade beans!
DeleteI've had that suspicion for months about the jars vs. lids only. No, I've never used the reusable lids, but will seriously consider it before buying more jars just for lids. I also saw a blog post fairly recently, saying it is possible to get more than one use out of single-use lids, there was something about being very careful removing the lids and then soaking in hot water to rejuvenate and re-plump the seal.
ReplyDeleteI guess one good thing about the garden not doing good is not much to worry about preserving. Also, except for tomatoes, we seem to prefer frozen veggies.
@KimH - thanks for the tips on using the reusable lids - I've seen widely varying reports of how reliable they are. Perhaps it's the technique, not the lids?
Just Gail I refuse to buy jars just for the lids as I know many are. I have over a 1,000 jars.
DeleteI have never reused lids for canning I do wash them and use them for storage jars and fermenting though. I would just not trust that seal a second time although like you I have read of many that are.
I was fortunate that I canned a huge amount of food last year so I can afford to somewhat sit back and wait it out for awhile. We eat a great deal of our garden fresh and with 2 freezers and a dehydrator I still have options. Fermenting is possible also.
CQ - Wanted you to know that based on this review, I bought some of the Harvest Guard canning lids and have been using them with GREAT success! I've canned peaches and tomato sauce this summer with them (thinking I want to use these lids for canned food I don't plan to give as gifts) and I've only had two jars not seal. I had to re-train my brain to clean the tops of the jars really really well before placing the lids on, to not tighten too much and to remember to slightly re-tighten after the jars are removed from the canner. They are just so great!
ReplyDeletePlan to do green beans tonight (pressure canning with these lids for the first time).
Thanks for sharing this product with us! Anything I can reuse multiple times is just so awesome!
Thanks again!