*****Vintage canning jars****** Q&A Thread

[mwdh1]

I have just received about 2 dozen old ball canning jars with the wire bails and glass dome lids, with about another 4 dozen waiting for me to pick them up.

My question is: Do I need to process these jars any differently than I do the regular screw top jars? I would love to have my pantry stocked with yummy canned goodies in these nice vintage jars.


ETA: I have already found new rubber rings for them and will be picking these up soon.

 

[mwdh1]

Anyone? I just put the jars I picked up in the Dishwasher to get the yuck off of them, and would really appreciate some help here.

 

[mwdh1]

I guess nobody on this forum cans anymore, oh well.

 

[Wifezilla]

It's a holiday weekend/ Patience grasshopper!

Are you talking about the jars with the rubber seals? These are generally not used anymore. I still use them for dry goods, but not for canning.

 

[mwdh1]

yes, I can still get the rubber seals around here, they are a little more expensive than the metal lids, but I know these jars hold good, because one of the jars still had tomato sauce in it from 1983, and I had to use a knife to pry the lid off of it. And other than being separated, the sauce still smelled good, but I threw it on the compost anyway just to be safe.

 

[chellebyerly]

I can, but have never had the luck to find any vintage jars!!

congrats ont eh find!!

I honestly dont know if you would process these any differnt. I would reckon you would need to pressure them.. Most everything was pressured way back when.

I know its not what you want to hear, but I too would use them for dry goods.

Matter of fact, I have been concidering using some of my jars to premix my dry ingrediants for biscuts and cornbread. I dont kow why, I know its only 3 minutes to measure and pour, but honestly, I am just lazy, and would much rather dump and mix.. LOl
Plus with the meals i make, I am too busy to remember it half the time. LOL

I think these jars would be PERFECT for that type of thing. I'd fill them up on sunday, and have 4 biscuts and 4 cornbreads, then I wouldnt have to worry with it all week

Thats the only thing I can think to store in one. with my family size I already use a gallon bag of peas for supper, and if I use can veggies its 3 cans...

 

[mwdh1]

Thanks for the replies, i have been doing some more searching online, and there are still many people using these jars with great results. they need to be pressure canned which I do almost everything anyway. You just need to make sure there are no chips or cracks in the jars or the lids. As for the size, so far I have 5 pints, 22 regular mouth quarts, and 5 wide mouth quarts. There is supposed to be a few half gallon jars as well, I just need to help dig all of them out of the basement.

 

[Acre of Blessings]

If there are no cracks or chips and you can find the proper rubber seals for them, just make sure you find the proper instructions, they may differ slightly from the modern one.

Great find though, sure wish I had a few. Good vibes sent your way for a happy canning day

 

[Katy]

I just use my old jars for storage of dry goods. I don't try to can in them anymore.

 

[ams3651]

one tip, you may find old canning books in the public library if they have one. They may have good instructions for how to use these jars. Great find though!