You are being duped....

[Royd]

by the canning suppliers.

I have always been told that the canning caps cannot be reused, and I had to ask myself, Why not? When you remove the cap from a sealed jar, half of the seal isn't left on the jar.

So, in the process of making a couple of jars of jam, I decided to do an experiment, and canned up three jars of water, using old lids, just to see if they would seal. !00% success, so far.

I have marked those particular lids and am going to continue to use those same lids, until they quit sealing.

When you think about it, the consistency of the seal is not changed, with use. When you throw it into a pot of hot water, it softens up, just like a new lid.

Quit wasting your money.

 

[CedarRidgeChicks]

in a pinch I have reused my lids..my neighbor always reuses hers and has great success. I don't like the new zinc (?) lids and I used my used lids and rings..I think you just have to be careful how the lid is removed from the originally sealed jar.

 

[AhBee01]

It has to do with safety, it might seal good, but you have a better chance with seal failure. It may not be an air tight seal, therefor you run the risk that food borne bacteria can grow!

 

[Royd]

Quote:
If the vacumn is activated, and the lid is being sucked down, then, it is perfectly sealed. If not, you'll be able to move the lid up and down, with your finger. There is no in between.

I do understand the industry having to cover themselves, to prevent lawsuits, but it is probably, just as much, about a continual source of money.

The sealing compound does not change consistency, after the first use. It does get a groove in it, where it is pressed down, on the jar, but by heating the lid to the proper temperature, the compound is resoftened.

 

[KDbeads]

I've always reused my lids. Repeatedly. Never had problems though I don't pressure can since I don't have a pressure canner yet! The ones I reuse are always on pickled stuffs or fruit butters. Never tried it on tomatoes, always used new on those.
I toss them if they start to rust, start looking nasty, the sealant starts peeling or flaking, or if they just don't look right. I still end up buying a pack or 2 a year. This year though, I've already bought 3, hubby's been rough on my lids

 

[Backyard Hencam]

I would think reusing lids on acid things like tomatoes and pickled beets would be the safest as these don't spoil easily. I'm going to try it!

 

[ChickenToes]

My in-laws reuse their lids, and have for many years. I would estimate that their success rate is maybe 80 or 85%. It really depends on what they try canning - anything with apples in it seems to fare much worse. My mother-in-law canned 8 or 10 quarts of apple pie filling a few years ago and 4 of them didn't seal. That was a lot of pie!

I don't reuse my lids just because I'm a chicken. Even if the old lids did seal, I would be afraid to grab a jar from the pantry 8 months later to find it has an alien life form growing in it.