really old canning jars

[figgfamily]

Would you or do you use the canning jars that require the rubber seal with the glass lids?

I got a ton of canning jars for free and some are marked 1956 and earlier with the glass tops. Everything is there but the rings (which would need to be new anyways).

Can you use them just the same as the metal lid ones?

I hope that this doesn't sound like a weird question but I've never used them and hope to this coming summer.

[Shamrock1121]

I'd never use this type of old canning jars for canning, but there are a lot of other uses for them. Lucky you that you have so many. :D

The reason I wouldn't use them is because as they get old, they also become too brittle to withstand the canning process. The jars with glass lids and bails and zinc lids, which use rubber rings for sealing, were also famous for failing to seal properly. :o

You can get new rubber rings and then use them for food storage. A good use for the quart jars is putting recipes for "Gifts In a Jar" in them. Use for gift giving, or to stock your pantry with your own homemade convenience foods and mixes.

-Karen

[leera]

I would not use them...

Yes you can find the rubber rings through Lehman's....
But I would not use them for canning........

The seals are very prone to breaking and the rubber rings could dry out.I don't think they would be safe to use for long term storage of canned foods..........

However they would be most excellent for storing dry goods and making craft items with........you know those layered cookie and chili mixes,etc.......or just for storing little items in like buttons and things....... :D

[leera]

BTW......keep looking,I'm sure you'll be able to find newer jars that are safe to can with........I had a gentleman give me 12 boxes of mostly quart jars last year........I kept what I needed and gave the rest ot a friend who used them to can her tomatoes......

Since I can almost entirely in pints or half pints,there wasn't much need for me to keep the quarts.........being a household of two,it just didn't make sense to store them.

[figgfamily]

I actually had a ton of jars already when I got these but the man who gave them to me was going to throw them out :o so I had to take them and "save" them LOL

Thanks guys though I thought that they might be unsafe so now I will use them for herbs etc that I'm going to store in the cupboard.

[docjered]

I store loads of dried, dehydrated foods in canning jars. I like to do this because, if the s ever does totally htf, I will always have a good supply of extra jars, rings, lids, etc. etc.

[tess]

???
We recently bought a house and left behind from the previous owners are hundreds of canning jars with food still in them. We are NOT going to eat the contents, but what I want to know is, is it safe to dump out the food and sterilize the jars for canning? Some of the food looks like there is mold growing inside, white yucky looking stuff floating at the top. The person who canned these did not use proper lids and rings. Some of them are just miracle whip lids or what have you. I was told by a friend that even if I sterilize the jars with bleach that some bacteria could still remain and possibly poison me. Is this true? and what is the best way to dispose of them. Do I dump out the food in the compost and throw the jars away, recycle them? There are maybe 300 jars that I need to deal with. Any advice would be appreciated.

[DM]

I was told by a friend that even if I sterilize the jars with bleach that some bacteria could still remain and possibly poison me. Is this true?
If that was true, i'd have been dead long time ago!!!

Also, i compost what ever i dump out of a jar, and then boil the jar to sterilize it...

Any jars that were mayo jars, i throw out, as i have too many of the "real McCoys" to chance haveing a mayo jar break in my canner...

DM

[docjered]

DM has it right. Do a bleach bath with the jars, then place them, open, in your water bath canner, filled with water, and boil them. a little vinegar would help to get rid of any minor limescale or clouding on the jars. I would not place contaminated canned goods in my compost pile. I would rather see them burned or off to the landfill. And yes, a lot of people who are half-a** canners tend to can using old pickle jars and mayonnaise jars. Toss these out or use them for dry goods. The ones you do save, however, need to be inspected for anomalies, chipped rims, and be sure to find a brand name to verify they are for canning. There is a store near me that sells seconds, meaning, anomalous canning jars. Have tried them and am not pleased with the breakage rate, so have since discarded them all.