Canning jar shortage...
 

Latest experience hunting for jars, what a dry and scratchy pain in the end side...

!st stop, Tractor supply company (one of my favorite places).. Had a bunch of 1/2 pint cases and 1 case of pints. Grabbed them all because they were on clearance for 7.00 a case. Asked if there was more in the back to be told no, that they were on clearance because they will not have jars anymore... WTF, a farm store no longer having mason jars???

2nd stop, K-Mart (did not expect anything and was not disappointed) sorry sir, we do not carry jars...

3rd stop, Chinamart (absolute last resort) had tons of quart jars and I grabbed 24 cases @ 9.00 a case, will go back for more in a day or two. Bad news, no half gallon jars; my hunt continues. There were 2 consolations stopping here though, first the lady offered to roll out my purchase for me (I declined and did it myself) and second the jars are made in America (no cheaply made Chinese s**t).

Anyway, is anyone else having a hard time locating canning jars in their local stores?

Plastic.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

I always have a hard time locating the 1/2 gallon size, which is the one I prefer (as we are a family of 6.) I just ordered 5 more cases today through a local Feed store, which is also an Ace Hardware. They're supposed to be in on Tuesday.

I always wonder - why, if they (Ace) are constantly selling out of these, don't they just order more? Wouldn't Ball make more money if they ramped up production of the 1/2 gallon size, as they do seem to be popular, and difficult to come by around here. Nobody else in town seems even able to order them.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Ace hardware online i got my jars in 2 days. free shipping to your local store. some one posted a coupon code in another thread good till the end of the month $20 off $100 purchase.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

There is an Amish store about 40 miles away, I am gonna go hit them up this weekend sometime. I did get a couple cases there last year, hopefully they will still have them. But damn what a drive just to get a little glass.



Will check it out, thanks man.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Don't forget that we are right in the middle of "canning season".

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

There's only one hardware store around here that carries 1/2 gallon jars. They're about $10 for 6, but they always have them.

As for the other sizes, I've never seen so many jars available at all the Walmarts. Prices did go up about 6 months ago, but seem to be coming back down.

Hell, I even saw quart, pint, and half-pint jars at Lowes last week. Never saw them there before.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

no problem w/ quart and pints but they are getting very pricey

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

anyone can spaghetti sauce w/ beef before? any special instuctions? planning to do this weekend but concerned about the beef and tomato mixture, getting it right. any suggestions welcome

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

we get our quart and pints from walmart

smart and final has them too but they cost more

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Would you mind posting (or PMing) the name of the hardware store, as I think we live in the same area? I'd love to find the 1/2 gallon size on the shelf, rather than having to order them.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

That's the way we do ours.

Dip tomatoes in boiling water 3-4 minutes until skins split, then dunk in ice water...remove skin, core if you have big tomatos ( we mostly use Roma's and just remove skin, and puree ), then I puree them a few seconds in the vitamix juicer/blender, then start cooking them down to thicken in a big pot ( you can add some cornstarch mixed into cold water to the pot to help thicken quicker....or if you dehydrated tomatoes, I pulverize them in the blender and add some powder to the cooking mix to thicken )....add what ever spices you want and thicken to suit.....then add your browned ground beef, just like if you were making fresh, ladle into jars.....process 10lbs for 60min on pints, 90 on quarts.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Hall's Hardware, Hwy 90 and Chavers St. in Milton. I don't get up that way much, but they've had them every time I've been there. Was up there Wednesday, and they had at least two 6-jar boxes....

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

TS always clearances out their jars this time of year. Sounds like you have a misinformed cashier. TS sells off all their seasonal stuff at predetermined times.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Ahhhhhh I did'nt know that... Neither did the cashier, it was the stock boy that came from the back and said it so to me it sounded legit, he said it matter of factly though so I dunno.

His words:

What jars we have left are on clearance and when we do that we don't typically get anymore in.

...

You are probably correct though Tech, it does not make sense for a farm store not to have something like that on their shelves. Does'nt matter really, although I admit to feeling dirty and in need of a wash after visiting Chinamart.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

The thing that frosts my arse, is that the stores are charging significantly more for wide-mouth quarts than the regular jars. Not a conceivable reason in the world (other than that they can charge whatever they want) why this is justifiable.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Picked up almost 70 jars from my wife's grandfather last week. 9 half gallons, the rest quart jars. Got two 1976 liberty bell masons, and one blue star mason (small chip on rim but still cool) as a bonus.

A good soak in bleach and a couple cycles through the dishwasher with lemmi shine and they are almost like new.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Lucky stiff...

I on the other hand...... *scrub* *scrub* *scrub* *scrub* :bear_w00t:

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

yeah, he also had about 24 1/2 gallon jars of honey that he wanted to donate... tried to get him to give me those jars, they were 1975, stored in an unisulated garage. No way I would eat that, but i really could have used those jars!

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

....does honey ever 'go bad'???

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Don't really think so, but it looked so bad and dak, and had been stored in such poor conditions, there is NO WAY SHORT OF STARVATION that i would try it.

bugs had eaten the cartons and most of the labels but i was able to get a date. sorry, not going to even try to eat honey that is 30+ years old stored in a bay city texas garage.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Never!

If kept sealed in a container .

It may harden but a hot water bath takes care
of that..

Honey will keep , longer than you or me will..:biggrin:

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Two words: Ace Hardware. I've ordered 12 cases of wide-mouth half gallons at least 4 times now and they're always in the store within a few days. Here's the coupon code for $20 off a $100 order: MCACE20

According to RKaz, the coupon code is good until January '10. I can confirm that it worked for me last week.

:banana:

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Thanks so much! I've been trying to move beyond my "hurricane storage" of food, to closer to a 3 -6 month supply (to start.) With the bugs and humidity along the Gulf Coast, I prefer the glass mason jars to other storage methods I've tried. (But I'm still new to this!) If you're in Pensacola, I've been ordering them from the Barnes Feed/Ace Hardware on N Palafox- they're very nice there and can generally get them in pretty quickly.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

If you have a Parker Lumber store near you, they ship to store for free. They have the 1/2 gallon jars for $9.49 a case and ship fast.

http://doitbest.com/Canning+jars+and...sku-612439.dib

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Craigslist. Retirees are always getting rid of their old jars. We have picked up hundreds that way, extremely cheap. Mostly quarts but many of other sizes too.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

We buy jars wherever we see them. We hit the Tractor Supply closeout and bought lids because the jars were GONE. My in-laws found fifty regular-mouth quart jars at a local flea market and bought them for $10.00. Of the 50, only three had to be discarded due to flaws in the sealing surfaces. We try the yard sales for canning supplies and have had decent luck. One corner of the garage is full of unopened cases of jars.

Most of our local grocers carry jars, including the half-gallon size. Ball has also been putting out coupons for $2.50 off of two cases in the local papers. We have five of these coupons and will be buying ten more cases of jars before the coupons expire.

We are well-stocked with jars, other than the half-pint size we use for jellies and jams.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

:clap2: thank you Tn... (again, I always seem to be thanking you, wish I had something of value to send back your way). I have the confidence to try. Due to illiness I have not made my homemade sauce in a few years so my challenge is to remember it (I think I make a kickin fresh sauce, no complaints over the years, very basic). Going to have to pass on the cornstarch, recently attributed severe illness in June-July to a corn allergy - lucky me - figured it out realizing the only thing different in my diet was corn on the cob (life is definitely not fair, I love fresh sweet corn). I am still trying to get my body back in balance after the severe impact it had. I am looking forward to making and canning the sauce. If any more tomatoes ripen I will try canning chilli next. I have never canned meat before - thanks again to you and the Mrs and for sharing your experience. You are great!:beer::bear_thumb:

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

you also have to pay more for the lids/rings

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

One day I invented the premier way to scrub quart jars.

1st you need a cordless 1/2" drill/driver.
2ndly, you need a toilet brush with a handle that will fit the chuck.

Cut the grip off the brush and trim the shaft to a proper length (basically, not too long else it bends too much under pressure).
Insert shaft into drill.
Insert brush end into quart jar, depress trigger and commence scrubbing with much less elbow grease.
Just be sure to be mindful of the trigger else you spray everything with a whirling wet toilet brush. Also, don't forget you are operating an electrical device with lithium batteries around open water.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Some here on Craigs List had 24 dozen quart jars the other day plus a bunch of pints........I'm thinking they were like 3 bucks/dz.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

:biggrin:

Fixed it for you...
:15_1_70v:

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

I LOVE THE AMISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went to the Amish store about 40 miles away and just got back. They had 50 cases of 1/2 gallon jars, I grabbed 24 cases of them @ 8.99cs and the rest are still there.

If you are in Northern Indiana and do not mind driving to Bremen then I highly suggest checking out the Rentown grocery store.

ZOMGOOSES!! *runs around like a headless chicken*

This is one VERY happy man.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

it makes me wonder if canning jars might be a good barter item in some locales.

given the declining value of FRN's, isn't it better to have a dozen good jars than $7 or $9 ?

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Yeps, as someone put it earlier... investment grade glass. :)

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

do you have to remove the skins of the tomatos?

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

I guess not.....you'd probably have to run them thru a blender a bit longer, or have a lot of lumpy pulp in your sauce, though.....

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

No shortage seen around here (SW OH& NE KY). My local Wally World stores have canning jars for ~$7-$8 per dozen of pints/quarts. Ace usually charges $9-$10 for these, either in stock or special order.

I was at WW a couple days ago, and grabbed another dozen pint jars. Didn't really "need" them, but I put them to use. Canned up 2 dozen pints of beef stew yesterday (my 11 year old son LOVES home canned beef stew). That should last at least 6 months. I figured that if my son loves eating the stuff, he should learn the joys of peeling 6# carrots & 10# potatoes! He was a trooper, and didn't whine at all.

One disappointment, though - I used an "ASC Carolina Cooker" french fry cutter to slice the peeled potatoes. Piece-o-kaka! I'd bought this at an Ace Hardware back in June while visiting my parents in north GA. DO NOT buy it. It can only handle small potatoes (<4" long), and jams during the slicing stroke, leaving red plastic shavings mixed in with your potatoes.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

ready to start tomorrow. all essentials cleaned and ready. could not find garlic salt - all the stuff I have collected and can't find the garlic salt :thumb.aspx:. going to puree 22 fresh tomatos to add to tomato paste. meat and onions/garlic cooked tonight. checked the ball book, that is why I asked about caning speghetti sauce w/ meat becuase they do not include it, just sauce w/o the meat. Thanks Andy! Hoping to get 12 quarts. I need to get canning more than I have been, want to put up some of may favorite soups. I think I saw another post where people put the egg noodles in at the time of canning or did you just keep them out entirely? will be giving away a few of the results.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Only thing we use egg noodles in is chicken soup we can.......put the noodles in dry and let the processing time take care of cooking then.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Tons of jars available in my area, but the prices are outrageous.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

canning update

spaghetti sauce made - 12 quarts canned. new canner purchased, old one just taking too long

man canning is hard work

thanks Tn on the tomato tip :clap2:. it was easier to skin them than I thought it would be.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

the canning process doesn't make the noodles mushy?

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

Im doing spag sauce right now as well, with meat. Only because I was in Pittsburgh last weekend and picked up like 40 lbs tomatoes for 12 bucks. 2 huge boxes of them. Your right, its a boatload of work and I never canned before but am getting into it now.

Is there another thread around here on Canning? Would love to do some soups and stuff too. Also some tips on storage and how long things will last would be great.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

there are quite a few canning threads, all worth looking at. Anumber of folks do a lot of canning and have shared their experience and suggestions. I think Tn..Andy and the Mrs lead the pack in canning expertise and variety.

Re: Canning jar shortage...
 

We sometimes leave the skins, just sliver the tops off, and run them through the blendtec for half a minute maybe, then dump in the pot. Saves a lot of time over blanching and removing skins if you're doing a lot, and you can't really tell a difference that I noticed, but I don't have a gourmet palate.
My wife blanches hers like andy, no more than a minute or so. Also -She takes a sharp paring knife and scores a small x in the bottom of the tomato, maybe an inch across, just through the skin, before putting in the hot water, and the skin just falls off even easier than usual, especially with Roma/plum shaped tomatoes.