Jar Obsessions/Collections

[weinoo]

On 11/5/2022 at 10:44 AM, Duvel said:

 

Soooo … tonight simple bread & stuff to put on it. 

 

Does someone have an obsession with jars?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

7 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Does someone have an obsession with jars?

Don't knock it!    Husband periodically nags me into vetting my hoard and sure as the sun rises, the jars that i tossed in recycle are the precise ones that I need the next day.    In addition, I have lots of French working jars, but they ebb and flow into freezer and to son's house, so we either have too many or none.

 

And I did point out this photo to dear husband to show him I'm not the Lone Ranger.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

 

Does someone have an obsession with jars?

He is quite worried that he might run out of whiskey glasses or beer mugs. 

Edited November 5, 2022 by Anna N
To remove an extraneous, (log)

[TicTac]

3 minutes ago, Anna N said:

He is quite worried that he might run out of whiskey, glasses or beer mugs. 

He knows better.  None of those would produce a nose worthy of what he is putting into them! 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

14 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Does someone have an obsession with jars?

Just looks like a pretty handy collection to me.

 

5 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Don't knock it!

Exactly! Can't live without some extra jars. Going to make pickles? Need a couple jars. Make your own mustard? Got to have a jar. Barbecue sauce. Char Sui sauce. Can't live without my jars.

[Anna N]

3 minutes ago, TicTac said:

He knows better.  None of those would produce a nose worthy of what he is putting into them! 

 

 

If you are trying to curry favour with @Duvelyou could certainly do wurst. 

[chromedome]

Unpacked one of my last boxes of jars (but by no means the absolute last) just last night, after it taking up space on the floor of my office since the beginning of August when we moved. I'll need 20-ish pints soon for a big batch of applesauce, so it was time.

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

20 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Exactly! Can't live without some extra jars. Going to make pickles? Need a couple jars. Make your own mustard? Got to have a jar. Barbecue sauce. Char Sui sauce.

 

4 minutes ago, chromedome said:

Unpacked one of my last boxes of jars .... I'll need 20-ish pints soon for a big batch of applesauce, so it was time.

 

Indeed!   Small quantities are no problem but we seem to frequently need quart - quart and a half containers for sharing batches of applesauce, chili, ragu.    Like last night in the country, son came for dinner and took home a quart of meat sauce, and I had to rob Peter to pay Paul to find a container for him.   

[Tropicalsenior]

I just checked in my refrigerators and I have no less than 17 jars of homemade pickles, sauces, mustard, marmalade and dressings. I don't envy @Duvel his jars, I love his organized shelf space.

[weinoo]

He ( @Duvel) is, quite simply, a Hamsterer!

[Tropicalsenior]

He doesn't qualify. He's still got empty space.

[Duvel]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Does someone have an obsession with jars?

My mom - but to her defense, she fills them all up …

[Duvel]

I was not aware this picture would spawn it’s own topic. So …

 

This is a picture taken in my parents cellar*. Those jars are meant for:

 

1) marmalade 

2) cherries

3) apple sauce

4) various other fruit compotes / preserves 

 

and - in case that got lost - they are used in full.
 

—-

*my cellar looks like this (presentable part, only …):

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

It makes me happy to have lots of different sized glass jars. Some I collected at flea markets a million years ago, lovely old blue glass Ball jars with metal screw tops. I use them for storage of dry goods. Others are in constant rotation with various pickles, etc. And it's always good to have some standard canning jars for gifts, which may or may not be returned. I usually bring jars of mustarda and escabeche to dear friends the day after Thanksgiving and the next year they fastidiously have them clean and ready for us the next year. It's so sweet of them and I take it as incentive to keep on doing it. They make a fantastic anti-Thanksgiving meal on Black Friday, so I would never go empty handed. and they show their appreciation by opening at least one jar of something right away. It's the Thanksgiving I look forward to most!

[Maison Rustique]

My name is Deb and I'm a jar/bottle addict. 

 

Like @Katie Meadow, I save all sorts and use them for storage and leftovers. The ones that might go into the recycle get used for sending leftovers home with family/friends. I am trying hard to get rid of plastics in this house, but the spouse has a life-long addiction to plastic containers. I have to get up at night and toss all the cottage cheese & sour cream containers he has saved. 🙃

Edited November 6, 2022 by Maison Rustique
typo (log)

[weinoo]

I guess the advantage (or disadvantage, depending on one's state of thinking) of living in a small apartment is my lack of space.

 

I am guessing the saved jars (if they're from commercial products) can't be used for something like canning, since isn't a new lid always the necessity with a Ball or Mason jar when canning?

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

I guess the advantage (or disadvantage, depending on one's state of thinking) of living in a small apartment is my lack of space.

 

I am guessing the saved jars (if they're from commercial products) can't be used for something like canning, since isn't a new lid always the necessity with a Ball or Mason jar when canning?

 

Yes, new lids are needed but they're cheaper than the entire jars. I've successfully used quart jars from, say, pasta sauce, by using new canning lids and functional rings.

[Katie Meadow]

6 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

My name is Deb and I'm a jar/bottle addict. 

 

Like @Katie Meadow, I save all sorts and use them for storage and leftovers. The ones that might go into the recycle get used for sending leftovers home with family/friends. I am trying hard to get rid of plastics in this house, but the spouse has a life-long addiction to plastic containers. I have to get up at night and toss all the cottage cheese & sour cream containers he has saved. 🙃

I'm trying diligently to weed out any older plastic containers that come from a deli or takeout or whatever. I don't really trust that they are safe to use more than a few times. Of course not really based on science but sort of. I do have some heavier duty plastic reusable containers that I mostly use for frozen stock. I assume they will last longer than the cheaper plastic. The quart and pint size have the same size lids, and they are stackable. The misc. plastic stuff is a PITA also because they may not stack, have peculiar lids, etc and that matching game drives me nuts. But Deb, I have to toss stuff while my husband isn't watching. When being frugal starts edging toward hoarding a line must be drawn!

[Katie Meadow]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Yes, new lids are needed but they're cheaper than the entire jars. I've successfully used quart jars from, say, pasta sauce, by using new canning lids and functional rings.

Official canning cars with new lids are pretty much required for anything that gets boiled in the jars, no? I don't do any real canning, but I do make a year's supply of orange marmalade during the two months Sevilles are available. For that I do sanitize canning jars by boiling them first before filling, but they don't get an after-bath. We generally don't give away much marmalade, so the pint canning jars are reused every year of course.

[Smithy]

32 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Official canning cars with new lids are pretty much required for anything that gets boiled in the jars, no? I don't do any real canning, but I do make a year's supply of orange marmalade during the two months Sevilles are available. For that I do sanitize canning jars by boiling them first before filling, but they don't get an after-bath. We generally don't give away much marmalade, so the pint canning jars are reused every year of course.

 

I've read that the commercial jars (like spaghetti sauce jars) shouldn't be reused because they may not be as strong as the official canning jars. Considering the treatment they receive during canning, packing and shipping, I have trouble believing it. I've never had a problem with them, and I can't see why they wouldn't be just as clean after good cleaning and sterilizing as official canning jars. They don't always have the same lid thread, of course, and that's a deal-breaker. 

 

If I'm missing something, somebody please set me straight!

[blue_dolphin]

14 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Official canning cars with new lids are pretty much required for anything that gets boiled in the jars, no? I don't do any real canning, but I do make a year's supply of orange marmalade during the two months Sevilles are available. For that I do sanitize canning jars by boiling them first before filling, but they don't get an after-bath. We generally don't give away much marmalade, so the pint canning jars are reused every year of course.

 

Yes, formal USDA guidelines recommend new lids AND waterbath processing for jams, etc. I follow that but many people use alternate methods like open kettle canning, as you've described, inversion canning, or even older methods like paraffin wax seals,  For something that's both sweet and acidic like most fruit preserves, jams and jellies, the risk is mostly spoilage due to mold growth on the surface.  That's often evident and not going to kill anyone quickly but mycotoxins have been identified in molds growing in such conditions, hence the cautious recommendations as they can be cancer-causing. 

 

6 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I've read that the commercial jars (like spaghetti sauce jars) shouldn't be reused because they may not be as strong as the official canning jars. Considering the treatment they receive during canning, packing and shipping, I have trouble believing it. I've never had a problem with them, and I can't see why they wouldn't be just as clean after good cleaning and sterilizing as official canning jars. They don't always have the same lid thread, of course, and that's a deal-breaker. 

I believe the only risk is seal failures and breakage.  From the National Center for Home Canning: 

Quote

Most commercial pint- and quart-size mayonnaise or salad dressing jars may be used with new two-piece lids for canning acid foods. However, you should expect more seal failures and jar breakage.  […] These jars have a narrower sealing surface and are tempered less than Mason jars, and may be weakened by repeated contact with metal spoons or knives used in dispensing mayonnaise or salad dressing. Seemingly insignificant scratches in glass may cause cracking and breakage while processing jars in a canner. Mayonnaise-type jars are not recommended for use with foods to be processed in a pressure canner because of excessive jar breakage. Other commercial jars with mouths that cannot be sealed with two-piece canning lids are not recommended for use in canning any food at home.

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Compounding the situation is our flitting between town and country,   Glass jars are super for refrigerator and freezer storage, and certainly for preserves and such, but I need a complement of light weight plastic containers for transporting a week of food to the country,    Multiple glass containers are HEAVY in a cooler.

[Katie Meadow]

We've been making our marmalade for the last twenty or so years, every year. Sterilized jars, new lids. Once in a while one jar out a typical batch of seven pints won't make a popping sound. We use that one first. I've never had a problem with mold, but then the climate here isn't that damp. The last jar left by December or January always tastes and looks exactly the same as the first batch in February. I'm too lazy to do anything that needs to be given a second bath and I don't have a garden anyway. I used to enjoy taking baths myself, but I don't do that any more either.