Old Ball Blue Book Canning Charts
- Thread starter wab54
- Start date
Thanks WAB!
This info is too good to lose.
(I made a mistake and posted the same chart twice. It is corrected now.)
WAB
magnetic1
Veteran Member
Okay....quick question.......I started canning again because I don't have options. Could not remember if I screw the lid on tight before or after the boiling water bath so called Mom. Her cook book said tighten it down after it comes out of the kettle. But the new books don't even mention that. New rules?
Delta_Force
Contributing Member
I have been told that you just put the lid on, tighten it then turn it back a half turn.....boil, take out of the pot, then let cool, you will hear the lids suck down to seal. When they do that then you tighten the ring. I am not sure this is correct either...
Lynx
Senior Member
There's a wealth of information on canning, and other preservation techniques, here:
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/
wab...GREAT INFO! Had not seen this anywhere. One thing I noticed is that if you were to get all your nutrition from "canned" inventory, for a family of 4 you would need 900 quarts of canning. I have done quite a bit of canning in the past 2 years and one thing I could say is, 900 quarts is LOTS OF WORK not to mention the amount of storage required.
SORRY this wasn't answered before!!
NO, you don't need to tighten the rings on the modern jars! For regular lids/rings (Ball, etc) just tighten them firmly by hand. No need to back them off a little or anything. Remove them from your canning kettle, and let cool. Don't touch the seals or rings for 24 hours. When they are completely cool, you may remove the rings for storage. (that way you can reuse rings, AND it keeps them from rusting in storage. It also lets you wash up any food particles/grease that could be trapped on the outside of the jar... if you remove the rings and wash the jars, you can get mold on the outside. OVER TIME, that can actually creep under the seals and break the seals, spoiling all your hard work.
TATTLER reusable lids have different rules... you DO turn the ring back a tiny amount after tightening. Follow their directions if you are using those lids.
Summerthyme
Does anyone have any experience with the TATTLER reusable lids? Are they more difficult that the regular Ball type lids? How many times can you reuse them?
I bought 500 this spring. I've canned *at least* 200 jars of meat (mostly; I butcher calves and can it for dog food). I have been marking and reusing one rubber ring to give me an idea of how long they'll last... it's up to it's 11th reuse, and is in good shape.
I've had ONE seal failure- it had a small piece of meat between the jar rim and the rubber ring. Not the lid's fault.
Get some sort of GOOD, tightly sealing container to store the lids and rings- the ring especially ought to be stored flat, so they don't get creased or wrinkled and will seal well.
I bought some lock and lock containers- a couple large rectangular ones for the lids, and some cylinders (two sizes, to fit the two sizes of rings) for the rubber rinks. I get them here: http://www.locknlockplace.com
I just ordered 400 more of the Tattler lids on the great sale posted Friday. I figure that 900 reusable lids should pretty well take care of our needs... Even though I can more than that number of jars every year, they're rotated... some jars are refilled three or four times in a year.
Summerthyme
I've had ONE seal failure- it had a small piece of meat between the jar rim and the rubber ring. Not the lid's fault.
Get some sort of GOOD, tightly sealing container to store the lids and rings- the ring especially ought to be stored flat, so they don't get creased or wrinkled and will seal well.
I bought some lock and lock containers- a couple large rectangular ones for the lids, and some cylinders (two sizes, to fit the two sizes of rings) for the rubber rinks. I get them here: http://www.locknlockplace.com
I just ordered 400 more of the Tattler lids on the great sale posted Friday. I figure that 900 reusable lids should pretty well take care of our needs... Even though I can more than that number of jars every year, they're rotated... some jars are refilled three or four times in a year.
Summerthyme
Golden Eagle
Contributing Member
WAB - thank you for posting this info. I have an old, old, old Ball book that has this info but its not really legible anymore. Was planning to purchase a new book this Spring. I'd have been sorely unhappy to discover this information missing. Makes me wonder why in the world would they do away w/this valuable data???? I have printed it off, placed it in sheet protectors and filed it in the front of my food preservation binder.
Summerthyme - thanks for the tip about Tattler lids sale!!!!!!!!!
Summerthyme - thanks for the tip about Tattler lids sale!!!!!!!!!
go antique hunting!. and when you see the Joy of Cooking or the oldest turn of the century recipe books, the cashier will always tell you they are the "hot items"
Just a Nurse 2
Senior Member
Thank you for that info! I checked ... it isn't in the Blue Book on my shelf!
Suz
Suz
Old Reliable
Veteran Member
Thanks
This is as good a place as any to update on the Tattler lids.
I've been using a bunch of canned meat to feed Red, the little Border Collie, trying to get some of the thyroid weight off her. All of it was canned using Tattler lids, in 2010 and 2011. So far, I've fed out 7 cases... not a single seal failure. In fact, the lids are MUCH harder to remove than well_sealed traditional lids.
A couple of years ago, I bought a bunch of rubber rings for replacements, but I haven't had to use any of them yet.
Summerthyme
I've been using a bunch of canned meat to feed Red, the little Border Collie, trying to get some of the thyroid weight off her. All of it was canned using Tattler lids, in 2010 and 2011. So far, I've fed out 7 cases... not a single seal failure. In fact, the lids are MUCH harder to remove than well_sealed traditional lids.
A couple of years ago, I bought a bunch of rubber rings for replacements, but I haven't had to use any of them yet.
Summerthyme
AlaskaSue
North to the Future
Good report, thanks ST. I have invested in Tattler lids but haven't had the opportunity for reuse that you have, so I appreciate your report!