Canners, Jars, and canning lids bargains

[ladytoysdream]

I thought it might be fun to have a thread where one can brag about their finds from garage sales , thrift shops etc on items to can with. And also about where you are finding good deals at the regular stores. I see a lot more gardens going in locally so that would lead one to think, a lot more canning will be done this summer / fall.

First garage sale, I stopped at this morning, I bought a presto pressure cooker/ canner for $ 3.00 . It does need the rocker part and a handle, but is in good solid clean condition. Worth putting a few dollars back into it. Next sale, I stopped at, I found a box of 16 jars, mostly jelly ones, with collars and a few lids for $ 1.50.

The other day at a thrift store, I picked up a ziploc bag full of quite a few collars, and 58 new canning lids...the 63 size, for $ 1.00 .
The 63 size, not even sure they make any more. It's the size smaller than the standard month. Not even sure I have any jars currently to fit them, but for the $ 1 into them, I can store them till needed.

A few days ago, at a Rescue Mission, I got a box with 11 quart jars, and 2 box of new lids. I had to throw the collars out because they were real rusty. Cost for that box was $ 4.00 .

Okay, so anyone else finding bargains ?

I think Walmart has a good deal on canning lids. I have bought some there recently. I think I am stockpiled okay, but will pick up more deals when I see them

[Cricketlegs]

I got my huge water bath canning pot and lid for a buck 10 years ago at a garage sale. Still works like a charm.

I get lids and bands and jars at Big Lots usually as they tend to be a smidge cheaper than walmart(not much)

I was able to get a box of about 12 quart jars for $1 for all at a garage sale last year.

I buy my honey in canning jars so I can reuse them.

Everyone I know I gets one gives it to me but I don't have that happen much....

I did get 2 packages of 5 quart sized freezer bowls(the square kinds made for freezing and canning) at walmart for $5. My first of these kinds of bowls.

I put up 10 quarts of tomato, veggie, meat sauce for noodles and pizza.

[Grainlady]

ladytoysdream -

WOW, what a buy on a pressure canner!!! Here's some information from the National Center for Home Food Preservation about how to check pressure canners.

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publication...s_canners.html

Our ACE Hardware Store and True Value sells all kinds of parts for pressure canners.

I'm always on the look-out for 1/2 gallon jars because I vacuum seal lots of dry goods in them with my FoodSaver. I've got plenty of quarts, pints, and half-pints after years of home canning and my mother's "collection". I always check thrift stores for canning jars. I don't do garage sales much these days due to the price of gas, but I found a lot of jars at garage sales over the years. I've also been given jars from elderly friends who no longer do canning. A friend of my mother's gave me a dozen 1/2-gallon jars and I was THRILLED!!!

Personally, I avoid using "garage sale" lids for canning. I use them for vacuum-sealing jars of dry goods (beans, seeds, grains, pasta, dehydrated food, etc.) with the FoodSaver, instead. It's important to use lids that aren't older than one or two years for home canning, especially if you don't know their age, or how and where they have been stored. The sealing compound can dry out, get brittle, crack, and not seal properly, which can lead to bacteria growth in canned foods during storage. I'd never use lids that had been stored in a hot garage or shed because the sealing compound is probably dehydrated.

If you do use lids older than 2-years old, make sure you don't rush the hot water sterilizing bath - which is designed to sanitize the lids, but also soften the sealing compound. I soften the sealing compound of lids before I use them to vacuum-seal lids on jars with the FoodSaver, as well. To avoid the lids sticking together (which can prevent the sealing compound from softening properly), here's a little tool I just love!

Lid Sterilizing Rack

http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen...k___CS20?Args=

A caution using "old" jars. The glass gets brittle from use and storage and can become "casualties" during high-heat processing. This is especially true in a pressure canner. The life expecentancy of a jar is about 10-years, but I'm sure some of mine are 40-years old and older. Really old jars have a thicker rim and sometimes the new lids won't always seal properly on them. Always check the rims of used jars for any nicks or chips before using them for canning.

[ladytoysdream]

The canning lids I use are new from unopened boxes. The few I pick up from garage sales I only use for misc purposes after I wash them, etc. Kind of like my spares, but would be rare if I used them.
With all the gardens going in this year, I was just thinking when fall comes, that lids might be hard to find. They were last year.

The canner I bought recently will be fixed and resold. I bought one last year for $ 10, tried it once, and hated it. It was a Mirro. Sold it to the small mom and pop hardware store, for $ 25.00 . I know she planned on selling it for a higher price, but that was okay with me. I might put this current one on craigslist.

I have 2 pressure canners. One belonged to my mom. It's a Presto # 5 and what a hard time finding the rubber for it. They no longer make that size . I also have a number 7 Presto that I picked up at a garage sale for $ 5, many many years ago. That one I can still get the rubber for.
I used both canners last year.

I used to own almost 1000 canning jars when the kids were growing up. After moving , I had to get rid of a lot of them. Now, I am building back up again. Maybe 250 to 300 range...somewhere in there. I would have to get them all on shelves in the same room so I could count them

Oh, and when buying used, I have took the time, and run my finger around the top edge of the jars, looking for cracks, etc. Now that I think about it, maybe I should just look at them with my eyes, not my fingers
If a large lot of jars, I just buy them, and check them out at home as I am washing them. Any bad ones head for the recycle bin.