Passed up on Ball Jars

[nsheepdog]

Tonight I was at the store. I had in one hand a box of 333 .22 ammo. In the other hand, a package of 12 or so Ball jars. I chose to go with the ammo only because I wouldn't really know how to use the ball jars yet.

I would like to know if anyone can educate me on what the best use of such jars.

 

[Hk91_son]

You can get a ball canning book and it will tell you about all you need to know.....but they have several uses including canning jams,jellies,meats,dry goods and so on. It is a good art to learn. We seem to never have enough jars.. The wife cans about everything.

 

[Don]

Would make GREAT dry storage for the .22 ammo too.

 

[Dragon]

Or they would've made great targets to shoot with the .22!

 

[ThrottleJockey]

My grandpa used to fill'em up with silver and bury 'em in the back yard....the kids fill'em with pennies (zinc) and who knows what they'll do with 'em....I put screws, nuts, bolts, etc.. in them for storage and identification in the garage....in the kitchen we drink from them (redneck I know..) store leftovers in them, , etc but still haven't learned to can with them.

 

[goinggreyfast]

I put them in the freezer door and use them to serve iced tea in. Finally a frosty glass large enough for a good drink of iced tea.

 

[Dogman]

For anyone canning Tractor Supply carries half gallon jars. Wife found them at the Westfield store.

 

[bluewraith]

Does this really need to be explained?

 

[bluewraith]

Or they would've made great targets to shoot with the .22!

What a terrible waste..

 

[longbow]

I bought mine to put food in. Don't forget to purchase extra lids and seals.

 

[findingZzero]

Does this really need to be explained?

Beat me to it. HOOTCH!! of course! How early do I have to get up? Damn u Bluewraith .

 

[Electronrider]

Canning is a HUGE field of learning. Regardless, go purchase " The Ball Blue Book of Canning". It will be in the isle with all the jars and mixes. This book is the absolute best bang for the buck to get you into canning.

Keep an eye out at yard sales and such, and anyone you know over the age of 50. Simply mentioning that you are getting into canning will yield more jars than you think. Old people are a gold mine for canning. I am blessed to have a grandmother alive that was a child during the depression. There isn't anything that woman does not know how to do.

If it is something you can only throw some money at for prep supplies for now, then simply stock up on jars and lids. Lids are really important because they are generally non reusable, unless you buy the special ones. ( tattler brand). Also get a mix of pint and quarts.

 

[PistolBob]

For anyone canning Tractor Supply carries half gallon jars. Wife found them at the Westfield store.

Good for canning whole chickens I might add.

 

[PistolBob]

Also you might be interested in knowing that the USDA Guide to Home Canning (2009) is online for FREE in PDF form. It's as good as the Ball Blue Book in my opinion. All you need is a PDF reader and a web browser. Print out the pages and put them in a 3 ring binder.

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning 2009

Home canning is fun and it all tastes great if you pay attention to what you are doing.

 

[Roscoe38]

ball targets

Or they would've made great targets to shoot with the .22!

make sure you pick up all the glass and dump it in your swimming pool.

 

[Dragon]

Or they would've made great targets to shoot with the .22!

This was a joke, I was just pointing out the most obvious yet silly use.

 

[bluewraith]

Beat me to it. HOOTCH!! of course! How early do I have to get up? Damn u Bluewraith .

 

[J man]

I have seen the big jars at menards.

 

[bluewraith]

I have seen the big jars at menards.

Just about every major retailing carries them. I've seen them at Rural King and Walmart for $8-9 for a dozen pint or quart.
Walmart even carries the 1 gallon decorative ones. That was pretty cool looking.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I have about 75-80 1 gallon jars I found on craigslist. The lady had collected them from bars and restaurants (pickles, cherries, olives.) and used them to sell chocolate covered pretzels on ebay....I guess the pretzel business took a turn. Fine by me! Now I have a "decorative" way to store dry goods that keeps the grain moths at bay!!! Flour, bisquick, beans, pasta, cornmeal, dried herbs, etc.....we even dump crackers, cereal and chips out of the bags/boxes into these jars as soon as they come in from the store as they stay fresh this way.


ETA, since discovering the usefulness and beauty of the gallon sized jars, we began buying our pickles and banana peppers in the large jars. We eat a lot of both so this saves us about 60-75% over the little jars and gives us roughly 2 gallons increase in storage each month that gets put up without even noticing...Every time a jar empties it just gets filled right back up and put on the shelf.