First attempt. KEIFFER PEARS
Mike
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Looks good!
Who’d you have to kill to get lids?
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Yummy! Have you tried with a spoon of Grand Marnier? It’s even more yummy but a bit pricey with a genuine vanilla pod but you have to wait 3 months for the flavor to infuse. Depending on where you live my utmost recipe is with maple syrup! Marc
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I’ve managed to scrape by this season … barely. I had to buy more jelly jars with lids attached than I intended. Was this shortage a case of hording or gouging? Discuss.
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It was definitely just increased demand. Gardening and food security was suddenly on the minds of a lot more people than usual, and the manufacturers weren’t able to keep up. I was disappointed in myself; this was on my mind all summer, but I didn’t even think to look for lids until it was time to make jam. Ended up storing it in the freezer.
I was amazed at just how many websites with URLs similar to ball-official, etc, cropped up that were clearly knockoffs.
Fab!
The trail is long with many who will never be heard from again.
Actually, I went hog wild on jars and lids last year. I ordered 20 packs of lids when I thought I was ordering 2. So I wound up with 240, but a good thing because I needed 60 last year. Sometimes a “zero” does not mean nothing. And its better to be lucky than to be good
Mike
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Nice looking canned pears! I too had a nice pear crop and canned pears. I canned too many as the next harvest was concord grapes. I ran out of lids and jars and was not successful in finding more. Made grape jelly and gave the rest of the grapes away as no lids or jars available anywhere. Except for Amazon. $8.50 for Ball lids (pack of 12?). Now I know why Jeff Bezos is so rich. Price gouging at its finest.
No shortage of paraffin wax for jelly making. I have not used wax on jam/jelly for more years than I want to count. I picked up 2 boxes as I do can up jams in the winter from fruit I froze. If I don’t find lids by then, I will use wax.
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TO ALL,
Any experience in re-using the lids.
Last year I accidentally reused a set . I kept an extra careful eye on those jars and had no problems.
BTW, those were with pressure canning. Fruit both uses. These were hot water bath canning
Mike
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My understanding is that it’s a bad idea, but I don’t know!
Basically if the seal is good, and you can tell when you open it. It the seal failed there will be no vaccum. Again that presupposes that the lid was not abused.
So is dating two gals at the same time, may be a bad idea but not always fatal. So, basically, its a risk/benefit analysis. 
Mike
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Funny upon my arrival in France, I unpacked my jam pot and ordered jars, lids and a new canner. Cannot wait for next summer!
I’m old. My folks did things their way, and I followed in their tradition. My Mom used paraffin to seal jelly jars, and it worked … mostly.
I, myself, always thought jelly was all but sterile coming out of the pot so, using jars warm from the dish washer, I popped the lids on them right after filling them and never worried about mold if they sealed. Well, many did mold.
Now, I’ve rethought my approach and follow the guidelines of the USDA even though they still seem like overkill to me in many cases:
- United States. USDA. National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Kuhn, Gerald D., et al., ed. Complete Guide to Home Canning. 2009. 2015. Bulletin No. 539. 12 July 2020 <https://www.healthycanning.com/wp-content/uploads/USDA-Complete-Guide-to-Home-Canning-2015-revision.pdf>.
They’re definitely against using paraffin I suppose because it doesn’t get hot enough to sterilize the jelly surface and because it shrinks sometimes and lets air in.
They do recommend a five-minute boiling-water bath for jelly in one-cup jars with two-part lids.
Those look superbe! I would love a jar! Beautiful!
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