Canning Jars

A little canning wisdom: You can find quite a few canning jars at the thrift shops (Boys Ranch, Salvation Army, etc.) When purchasing you will need to check for chips and cracks. Carefully run your finger around the top edge of the jar. If there is even the smallest nick, don't get it. You run the chanxce of the jar not sealing properly, which leads to many other problems. Also look at the ridges that run around the top of the jar (the part the covers and rings grab onto). Make sure it is one continuous groove. If not, don't bother with these either. You can find various sizes from half pints to gallons. Around here they start to put them out towards the end of July and August. By September - good luck finding any.

The draw back of buying them this way is that you don't always find the rings to go with them. You can purchase them separately new, or if you are lucky, find them in the thrift store. It is also a personal preferance if you want to have a ring on every jar. A friend of mine likes to have a ring for every jar. I just leave the rings on until they are sealed and cooled. Then I take off what I need for the next batch. A drawback to my method is that for storing empty jars it is nice to have those rings. When the jar, lid and ring are clean, you turn the cover over and place it on the jar (seal side up). Then screw the ring on loosely. This keeps the inside of the jar cleaner (no surpise insect leftovers that couldn't get out again) and helps keep the edges of the jars from getting nicked and chipped during storage.