Can commercial jars and lids be used for home canning?
Re-usable Jars
Can commercial jars and lids be used for home canning?
When I lived in the USA, I used Mason or Ball jars. My family had used them for generations. We re-used them year after year. As long as glass jars are in good condition they can be used again and again without compromise. If you are fortunate enough to have a collection of Mason or Ball jars, by all means use them. The Mason and Ball jar system for home canning is excellent. However, Mason jars have become quite expensive and if you are new to home canning, it can be a hefty investment to get started with Mason jars. However, you might be lucky enough to find some at second-hand shops, flea markets or yard sales. That said, let me take a moment to talk about jars and lids for the commercial food industry. Currently, two types of vacuum closures are widely used; the lug or twist cap (see picture) and the continuous thread lid, both with a Plastisol gasket. The lug has gained steadily in popularity to become the predominant vacuum-cap type. To seal a jar, the lug caps are secured to the glass finish. Steam builds up in the head space of the glass container between the cap and the contents of the jar. As the contents cool, a vacuum is created that seals the jar. The cap will show a concavity in appearance indicating the presence of a vacuum. It is desirable that the gasket be softened by heat to facilitate sealing. Both the lugs and vacuum hold the cap in place on the glass jar. Plastisol is a suspended resin in a plasticizer, with a product life of five years. Plasitsol lids are tailored to the product jar and process. For example, a closure intended for sealing a jelly jar may not be suitable on a pickle jar.
Now to answer the question, “Can commercial jars and lids be re-used for home canning?” In my humble opinion, “Yes, they can, with reservations.” In the Czech Republic the most popular system for home canning is a glass jar with a lug cap. When I came to the Czech Republic eight years ago, I spoke with a few women from my village and they assured me that they have been re-using commercial jars and lids with great success. If the jar is sterilized and the lug cap is heated in a pan of boiling water to soften the gasket, the jar will seal properly. When I empty the contents from a commercial jar, I wash the jar and lug cap. Then I re-cap the jar and store it until it’s needed for canning. I categorize the jars; jelly jars, pickle jars, tomato sauce jars, etc. When I use them, I’m careful to fill them with the same type of contents as the jar’s previous use had been intended for. By recapping them while in storage, I don’t mix up the caps with a different type jar. I re-use a cap for only one time. I buy new lug caps, but continue using the glass jars year after year.
Each year before canning, I bring out my capped jars from storage and examine each one. I hold it up to the light to search for any visible chips or cracks anywhere on the jar. Then I run my finger around the rim of the jar. If there are any rough places on the rim, I don’t use the jar. Even a micro chip on the rim will cause the jar not to seal properly. I examine the lug cap to see if it is scratched, rusted, or has any dents and check to see that the gasket is clean and in good condition. If the cap doesn’t meet all of these criteria, I throw it away and use a new cap. Then I run the jars and caps through the dishwasher on high heat or I wash them by hand and place them in a large pot of water and bring it to a gentle boil. After washing the caps, I place them into a pan of boiling water to soften the gasket before sealing the jars. I’ve been re-using commercial jars and caps for several years and I’m satisfied with the results. A couple of my friends who do not home can, save their jars for me. Each year they call to tell me they have a bag of jars. I happily go and retrieve the jars then return later with a ‘thank you gift’; a couple of jars of my favorite homemade preserves.
If you are interested in learning more about canning and preserving food, check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html
In the general information about jars, they mention that mason jars are best but standard jars can be used. The jars are thinner and may break if you use the heat method (emerging jars in boiling water after filling them). From my experience this is true. However for most of the canning I do, I don’t need to use the heat method.
Ghanaians have a peppersauce consisting of sun dried and roasted shrimps, fish, pepper and fresh onions, garlic and ginger with bouillon cubes-all fried up until very dry. Keeps for months (without spoilage, no refrigeration and in a tropical climate) even when no more is done than rinsing out the containers holding the sauce in hot water, before any dispensing is done.
I want to can this for sale in commercial glass jars with plastisol lined lug caps. Does the presence of sea food (low acid) call for pressure canning? I only want the added precaution because I will be selling the sauce.
Glad for the advice. Been very difficult to find any info on home canning with commercial glass jars. Particularly interested to know if Czech women pressure can with these jars because most literature seems to imply it can only best be done with Mason or Kilner jars.
Do help
It is not recommended that you pressure can with commercial jars. These jars are thinner than mason jars. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has lot of information about home canning at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html. Now as far as canning your Ghanaian pepper sauce for public sales, you would need to look at the FDA’s guidelines, the Food and Drug Admin.regulations http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/default.htm, I’m assuming you live in the USA. I hope that I have been a little help. Good luck with your venture. Jan
In your article you spoke of purchasing new lug type caps for your jars. Where do you buy these caps?
In the Czech republic, lug lids are sold at most supermarkets and drugere. I have seen several internet shops selling lug lids as well if you do not live where you can so easily find them.
You mentioned though that the women just heat the caps and then put them on. I am sealing up a jar of already fermented vegetables, and I don’t want to harm the temp-sensative probiotic bacteria inside. Is it true that I can keep everything raw and simply heat up the lug caps, twist them on, and it will seal perfectly?
In this case I wouldn’t store fermented vegetables in sealed jars. It is better to keep them in a crock with a loose lid. The crock has a trench around the top which the lid fits into. The trench is filled with salt water which makes a air lock when the lid is in place, sealing the vegetables from the air but allowing gas to escape from inside. If you seal fermented vegetables in a jar without first killing the bacteria, the jars could explode making a big mess. You can see a picture of my crock at: THE MAKING OF SAUERKRAUT https://czechthatout.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/the-making-of-sauerkraut/
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Thank you for this post! I live in Serbia where I don’t have access to Mason-type jars and was wondering how I could reuse the commercial jars I have been collecting. You mention that for most of your canning you don’t use the heat method. What do you do then? Thanks!
There are two ways to can in jars. You can fill the jar and then heat it or you can heat first then fill the jars. I use the second method. While my pickle or jam is still hot I fill the jars and sill them. As the jars cool they seal. You will find this website very helpful if you are interested in canning. http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html