Grab Your Canning Supplies

Figured I give all the canner’s here a heads up. Name brand mason jars and lids are slowly becoming available again around here(eastern PA). Talking to a few clerks at some stores I frequent, they are expecting to run out again this year around mid-summer.

I just grabbed my season’s worth of lids at Walmart. They seem to have some every other week or so.

You jelly makers may want to grab your pectin now as well. Couldn’t find any around here last season.

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Yeah, almost certainly going to be another run on canning supplies this year. The only way I’ve been finding lids locally is with cases of jars, of which I already have plenty. I just bought a sleeve of lids and some spare rings from Fillmore Container, per @Fusion_power 's recommendation.
https://www.fillmorecontainer.com/closures/2-piece-lids.html

Also, pectin in box/jar is optional. There’s enough in most fruits to set nice jams and jellies without the commercial stuff, especially if you include some slightly underripe fruit in the mix. For fruits that really need the help, a lemon rind or some apple slices will usually do the trick. When I make jam from wild grapes, there’s so much pectin that it’s a little challenging to keep it from setting too firm!

Found lids here and in the next county over… few months back… got enough to last me a couple years… I have plenty of jars and rings… but got some extra of those too.

Other things it might be good to have extras on… canner seal ring… if yours has one… and pressure guage… they do have to be replaced occasionally.

TNHunter

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I only need wide mouth lids and I see them on Amazon and other places, by Ball is 2.5-3 times more expensive than normal. There are a lot of generic wide mouth lids, but can we trust them?

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I think it depends on the seller. Fillmore seems reputable and to stand behind their products, so I went with the sleeve of generics. The hundred and one websites that popped up last year that include a mix of “ball”, “mason”, “jar”, and “official” all seem pretty suspect. The more times a site uses the word “official”, the more I don’t trust it

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Did you get it already? Do you want to sacrifice one lid to see how it works? You will be our hero! :grinning:

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I did get them. I’ll have to see about making a batch of something.

I’ve ordered from Fillmore in the past as well. I ordered syrup bottles and lids. No complaints.

I have seen lids recently at Target, Walmart and TSC…

checking online just now TSC has Ball brand, 12 pk of wide mouth lids 3.99, regular mouth 2.99.

I prefer wide mouth jars myself… I freeze some stuff in them, tomato soup, berries, chicken bone broth… and wide mouth are better for freezing than narrow. It will often break a narrow mouth jar if you freeze in them something like tomato soup… but not a wide mouth.

Also easier to get my hands into them for stuffing stuff in.

But my pressure canner will hold 20 narrow mouth pints… and only 18 wide mouth pints.
So I do use narrow mouth pint jars for canning mostly green beans, and meat and meat soups.

TNHunter

If you have a Bulk Foods (Amish or Mennonite owned) store in your area, they very often sell sleeves of lids, both wide mouth and standard sizes for a fair price.

For pectin, I use Pomona’s Pectin. You can make no and low sugar, as well are regular jellies and jams with it. This can be purchased on-line at Amazon, but I buy mine at a Bulk Foods store (in bulk).

Also, I used to use Tattler Reuable lids and they work well. My stash was burned up in our barn fire in 2019 and I totally forgot that they were in there so I didn’t claim them. :frowning: I want to build up a stash again. :slight_smile:

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about 10 years ago I bought a wholesale lot for about $100, it was 63 x 12, or 756 lids. I’m finally doing more canning but for now and the next 10 years or so I should be good.

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check TSC closely - it says out of stock, at least in my area.

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I just checked and Amazon have them in bulk for a reasonable amount.

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I’m very leary of Amazon as well for things like that. I might trust it if it’s sold by Amazon rather than one of the marketplace sellers. Amazon is getting more than enough business these days, so I usually spend some time tracking down a specialist.