Online source for gallon canning jars?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

Does anyone know of an online source to buy gallon size canning jars/lids/rings?

Tracy

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 09, 2002

Answers

You can do a search for Cooks Corner - they have them. But the cost of shipping them boggles the brain.

-- Carol - in Virginia (carollm@rockbridge.net), February 09, 2002.

Tracy...I think your best bet might be to get a catalog from Lehman's Hardware store. They cater to the Amish, who can for huge families. I think their e-mail address might be something like Lehmanshardward.com I couldn't imagine having a canner big enough to can gallon size jars. Mine just holds 7 quarts. I'd really like one that you can put a double row of jars into at one time. If you're just looking for gallon size jars to use for storage. Try local elementary schools cafeterias. They get gallon size jars of mayo, ketchup, veggies etc. The elementary school my son goes to, begs people to take them.

-- Harmony (harmonyfarm57@hotmail.com), February 09, 2002.

Try posting a message on www.glassonline.com.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 09, 2002.

Regarding sources and using large jars for canning... I've had a couple master food preservers and a professional sauce canner friend tell us that the reason home canning folks can't easily get 1/2 gallon and 1 gallon canning jars is that most cooking methods at home do not heat the food in the center enough.

I suppose that's true. Here are some of my experiences with large jars.

We got our hands on some amber gallon jars that came 4 to a case with rubber gasketed lids that originated from someone up Washington way I think (2-3 years ago). Summer before last we gleaned over a ton of roma tomatoes and pureed them, heated the puree and jars then let the cooling pull a seal. My professional sauce canning friend tested the ph to be sure it was acid enough (which I guess can be an issue with some tomatoes), and I still have about 4-6 of those gallon jars of puree in my pantry. I haven't touched them, since I still have a lot of quart jars of sauce, puree and tomatoes, but I expect they're fine, since they haven't leaked all over the place like some did when we were originally loading the jars and cooling them. With a ton of tomatoes, losing a few gallons here or there wasn't a great heart ache.

Also, Ball carries a 1/2 gallon canning jar, which can be used safely with acid foods, but I don't think they'd be safe long term for pressure canning.

We use them for pastas, grains and even goats milk. They sell plastic lids in 8-packs that you can get in either size lid. Sorry for the rambling reply...

-- Wayne Turner (midc@midcpro.com), February 09, 2002.


thank you all!

Several of the places had them available.

I should have mentioned, I didn't want them for canning, but for milk storage :)

-- Tracy (zebella@mindspring.com), February 09, 2002.



I did a search for Cooks Corner and came up with several places, but none had gallon jars. Lehmans doesn't seem to have them, at least not in their catalog.

USDA no longer recommends canning in anything larger than quart, if I'm not mistaken. And all foods must be processed, either in boiling water or pressure. Just allowing hot foods in hot jars to seal is not the same thing. By the way, botulism produces not visible signs and has no odor, but can be destroyed by boiling for ten minutes.

-- Anne Keckler (raymondkeckler@yahoo.com), February 10, 2002.


Tracy, for milk jars, if you check at a local sandwich shop, and ask them to save their glass gallon jars for you, they often will. They usually just throw them into the dumpsters. The jars come with pickled hot peppers in them, as they are the only thing that HAS to be packed in glass. The lids that come with them are metal with a long-lasting rubber or plastic gasket. By making the circuits of the local "Subway" shops, we were able to stock up with about 30 of those beautiful jars within a month.

The smell and taste of hot pickled peppers will be rather strong in them at first. Wash well and set out in the sunshine for a week or two. Put the lids out too. Baking soda might help too. But the smell WILL leave eventually. We use our jars for milk, and they are very satisfactory.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), February 10, 2002.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ