garden link up

Over the last few years, I have mentioned my love of canning several times and shown everyone my oh-so-European glass-lid canning jars. Once I decided I was going to start canning in Germany, it really did take me quite a few months to adjust to the idea of canning in these things. I grew up canning with my mom in Ball and Mason jars — and I was pretty sure that I’d read somewhere that these funky glass lid jars just weren’t up to par.

But after using them now for several years, I can safely say that they are totally fabulous. And although I have the super old fashioned version of these ultra hip jars, those who completely fall in love with them can actually get them in the US — if you’re willing to pay the price. Whether that be buying them new, or deciding to have them shipped over from Germany somehow.

A few weeks ago, I received the following email — and although I’ve talked a bit about my canning jars in the past, I figured this was a good time to really tell you all about them. And perhaps dispel a few fears for those living over here who really want to try canning, but just can’t get a handle on what these strange jars are all about.

Tiffany,
While viewing your posts on the construction of your new harvest/canning kitchen I became interested in the canning jars you used.  Can you tell me where they are available, who the manufacturer is, etc?
Thanks!

weck canning jars

The glass jars you see in the photo above (and in some of my other canning posts) are actually the standard over here in Germany. Well actually, they are now the standard for old timers and die hard canners — because newer, prettier, more expensive versions of these jars have been released in recent years.

I was extremely intimidated by the glass-lid jars at first because I was used to hearing the jars pop and being able to push on the lids to make sure they were sealed. And I was pretty sure I read from the US FDA that if you used these types of jars, you would likely die from botulism. But a lot of things cause you to die according to the FDA. 😉 Trust me; it’s very clear when one of these jars hasn’t sealed…because when you go to pick it up by the lid, it just opens right up. The clamps which hold the lid on during the canning process are removed after the jars cool down (or 24 hours if you can wait that long) and if the lid stays on, you’re good. I also recently read that if the little rubber tag sticking out on the rings is pointing down, you’ve got a good seal but I have yet to test that theory myself since I just found out about it.

Although I had my apprehensions about these European canning jars, it was really just a matter of getting to know them better…and I absolutely love them now. Not only are they practical, but they look gorgeous — and sometimes you can pick up these older style of jars for next to nothing.

Where do I get some?

I have been lucky enough to obtain a bunch room full of the old canning jars on eBay and Freecycle for pennies. Sometimes you will find people over here that will sell a few boxes of them at once, and you can manage to get them for the price of gas to go pick them up, plus a few euros on top. Or you can put an ad on Freecycle for “einmachgläser” and see if you get any nibbles. I did that a few years ago and literally ended up with about 70 jars for free while a woman was cleaning out her dad’s basement. I think she found me quite strange to be so thrilled about these jars. But I’m used to people finding me a bit unusual. I also lucked into another 100 or so large jars (1.5 – 2 liter size which are harder to find) at my local farmers’ market because they had a sign up that they were giving a bunch of them away. Seriously, here in Germany, these things can be found all over the place if you look around a bit.

Now if you have fallen in love with these jars in the US, and just must have some of them, here are a few places that sell them (ebay is a fairly poor source for them in the US). But trust me — the jars I have are dinosaurs compared to all the new variations they have for these jars now…and they have a fancy price tag to match.

weck canning jars

In addition to the jars, you need the rubber seals and the clips. If you are getting the new jars, they are tiny little things that just slide over the edges of the jars to hold the lid on. Or on the old school jars, the clamp stretches across the top and hooks under opposite sides of the lip of the jar. Mine have the latter as you can see below since they are all quite old. There’s actually quite a bit of tension put on that metal piece in the middle, which I think also helps hold the lid down and improves your chances of the jars sealing (but I may be wrong).

weck canning jars

Are Weck canning jars better?

So now that I’ve gone on and on about Weck canning jars and how I’ve grown to really enjoy using them, you’re probably wondering if I think they are better than US jars…. but it’s really hard to say.

You don’t have the problem of the lids or rings rusting like on the Ball jars which I think is great. And there is said to be some small amounts of BPA in the coating on the bottom of the metal lids of Ball/Mason/Kerr/Golden Harvest/etc. You do still have some replacement cost for the rubber bands on the Weck jars and perhaps the clamps from time to time. But both of these pieces will last many years.

You can use Weck canning jars for everything from canning fruit to vegetables to meat. I’ve used them both in water bath and pressure cooker sessions and had great results. The only thing I dislike is that canning pots and such are quite expensive here in Germany with a decent size to them (especially the pressure cookers) so you can’t fit more than 2 jars in at a time which becomes really tedious. But that’s no fault of the jars and the newer ones are usually more slender which would help with this problem.

These Weck canning jars are heavy and really beautiful to look at since they are nearly all glass (minus the rubber ring). People love getting them as gifts and find all sorts of other uses for them later on. Perhaps they are not quite as practical for stacking (at least the older jars) because they have raised writing on the lids, but it doesn’t make it impossible — you just have to be a bit more careful.

I’ve grown to like them quite a bit but as far as canning goes in general, I think it’s really a matter of what you can get your hands on for a decent price. I know a lot of people find Ball jars for a buck each or even a buck a case from time to time…and you can’t beat that price.

I find that both Ball and Weck canning jars have issues from time to time with sealing — that’s always a bit hit or miss with canning. But these usually won’t leak or fill up with water when you don’t get the seal right in the water bath because of the clamp.

Will I be taking these jars with me wherever we move to next? Most definitely! I’ve grown quite attached to the liter sizing and the 1.5- and 2-liter canning jars are fantastic for using as wind lights with candles in them.

To learn more about using the new Weck canning jars, check out Food in Jars, an awesome website about all things canning related.

Have you been bitten by the canning bug? Or are you still waiting for a reason to get your feet wet?


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