Jars

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Permalink Reply by Pat Johnson on April 14, 2011 at 8:13am

It's possible to can in them but you will need to ensure the rubber gaskets are still good and inspect the jars for cracks, nicks or chips and discard those altogether. At the end of the day the blue jars (the ones with the wire bales I assume) are not the best choice and I would go with the newers jars that accept the rings & lids and use the old ball jars for canisters or storing small bulk items.

Permalink Reply by Donna Byron on April 17, 2011 at 11:17am

I personally wouldn't do any heat processing in them, but when I receive those wire-bail jars I use them for storing dried mint, dried fruit, dried mushrooms, or pantry staples. It gives me a way to store my food in glass instead of plastic, while leaving all my canning jars free for canning.  The wire-bail with a new rubber gasket makes a really tight seal that keeps things nice and dry.  I've been surprised how easy it is to find the rubber gaskets at the farm store or hardware store with the canning supplies.

Permalink Reply by pelenaka on April 19, 2011 at 1:10pm

I believe that the blue mason jars are collectible unless thet're those new Ball jars that were put out in teh last ten years or so for crafts or to use to package bake goods in.

Are they wire bail?

I have must be over 50 wire bail mason jars that if I really needed to I'd put in rotation but only for high acid foods like pickles. Bought new rubber rings when a feed store was going out of biz as I orginally planned on pour candles in those jars.

If they aren't your thing you might try selling them to fund buying  modern canning jars.