As I mentioned a couple weeks back, Ball has brought the 24 ounce jar back into production after years of unavailability. I’m quite pleased, as this size and shape jar has been one of my favorites ever since I picked one up in a thrift store some years back.
Since posting about these pint and half jars, I’ve gotten a slew of questions about them and so I thought I’d dedicate a post to the ways in which you can incorporate these jars into your kitchen and canning routine.
These are a few of the vintage versions of the Pint & Half.
First off, a couple details about these jars. Unlike most canning jars, they come packed in cases of nine. Even though it says so plainly on the package and it’s obvious from the promotional pictures that that’s how they’re sold, for some reason it took me by surprise when I first saw them in person.
They’re clearly printed with cup measurements and even a fill line if you plan on using them for freezing. Just so you know, this size jar is excellent for freezing, because they don’t have shoulders. When the contents of the jar expand in the freezer, there’s no danger of the rising liquid pushing up against the glass and causing breakage.
I use this size jar for all manner of kitchen jobs. From left to right, I’ve got Blood Orange Shrub, my sourdough starter, cashews, a cup of tea, a manual coffee grinder and the last of my dehydrated tomatoes from the freezer.
As far as canning in these jars goes, the rule of thumb is to process these 24 ounce jars as you would quarts. No halving the time or any tricky calculations necessary. Since receiving my two cases*, I’ve used them for a couple of pickling projects and couldn’t be happier with the results. My dilly carrots and pickled asparagus have plenty of space to stand up tall (and they look pretty nice to boot).
They’re also good for things like pasta sauce (when a pint isn’t quite enough and a quart is too much), soup (preserved in the pressure canner) and pie filling.
When it comes to sourcing these jars, I’ve been told by Ball that Ace Hardware, True Value and Do It Best Hardware Store will all be carrying them, though they’re not listed on any of their websites as of yet. I’ve also heard from a Wegmans employee that they’ll be carrying them in their stores as well.
If you can’t find them in your area, the best thing to do is to find a local hardware store and ask if they’ll include them in their next order.
How do you plan on using these jars in your kitchen this summer?
Funny, I was just about to tell you that this would be the perfect lid for the “Cuppow” top and then I looked more closely at your tea and see that you have one. Of COURSE. I’m going to have to watch for these jars to use this summer: perfect for our homemade applesauce. The kids put a pint away and want more, but a quart sometimes gets lost in the back of the fridge.
I love pairing the Cuppow with these jars!
Can’t wait to get some of these! I’ve had some “old” ones in the past (garage sales, gifts from friends) but seem to have gifted them all out. They are perfect for asparagus, especially when you get the early, thin asparagus that is tender further down the stalk!
I love early asparagus. I might have to dedicate a garden spot and plant it again… 🙂
Fantastic! I picked up one of these (full of zucchini relish) from my MIL. Didn’t think much of it until I got into canning myself. I had just remarked to my dh that I had never seen a jar like this when you made your first post on the topic. I can’t wait to get some of my own this year… love the spaghetti sauce idea. Thanks!
YaaaaaaaaaY! After trying my local Winco where I usually get my canning stuff, I stopped at Ace. They did not have them in stock but I thought I saw them on their website? They can order them for you in store and have them delivered there for no additional charge. So excited about these because we have been getting a lot of asparagus in our bountiful baskets lately. And for my CUPPOW as well 😀
LOVE your little coffee grinder. I WANT one bad now. How can I find one? What brand is it? You are such an influence…
The coffee grinder is called the Camano Coffee Grinder and it’s sold by Red Rooster Trading Company and Lehman’s.
Here’s the link: http://www.redroostertradingcompany.com/products-page/coffee-grinders/
Thank you! So relieved it wasn’t a hard to find antique. haha
Nope! As long as you have the cash to spend, it’s easy to get!
Can you tell me more about your coffee grinder? Please.
I just made Pink Grapefruit marmalade from your 3 Citrus recipe last night. I put it in quilted 12 oz jars, and then remembered I got these for asparagus. I’m just waiting for the week it gets really cheap.
I am so getting these jars…..BUT…..after looking at your pictures of what you do with the jars I…..I gotta know, that coffee grinder, Marisa, ……..what brand is it……….gotta get one because I think that is a perfect idea! Did you alter it to fit on top of the jar?
Thanks for info………..Melody
Hooray for Wegmans!
I’m excited about these jars-they’ll be great for green tomato mincemeat and Moroccan carrots, and just the right amount of spaghetti sauce for the two of us.
I have seen the coffee grinder on the Lehmans website for $65. How do you like it?
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you Kylene but don’t tell anyone…
I picked up my jars from my local Ace store (who ordered them for me–they arrived two days later) and I am using them for our first batch of maple syrup. I like your idea to use this jar for sourdough starter as well. I also purchased the white plastic reusable caps for these jars as well.
I have about 15 of these gorgeous pint and a half jars that I’ve just accumulated over time. I love them! I use them for applesauce because a quart of applesauce is too heavy for my youngest to bring up from the basement, but this size? He can totally go downstairs and bring one up to enjoy. Silly reason, I know, but that’s what I use ’em for. I have always just processed them as quarts b/c I figured it was the best way to handle the size–glad to know I was doing it right!
On a side note—I NEVER give these babies away as gifts. I just love ’em too much!
I’ve never seen one of these in my travels, but I think you are right: it’s the perfect size for a berry pie filling, where a pint is just a bit too small, but a quart too much. I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled.
Hmmm, I’d swear my local Wegmans had them when I was there yesterday, I wasn’t looking THAT hard though, so maybe I was wrong…..
have to add, when my folks heard I was canning last year they dug around in their basement and pulled out a bunch of jars and rings for me, including several of these, they are awesome!
I love these jars and have a small hoard on a shelf in the basement. so happy they are back!!
i have definitely seen them at my local true value in woodstock, new york, along with a ton of other excellent canning options. got me all excited for summer!
I have a crush on these jars! They’re so adorable!
I use my masons for tea everyday 🙂
My thoughts exactly! I also use mine for drinking sweet tea. I think I have 20 of them , my sister found me some last yr for Christmas she had found at a sale of some kind….I LOVE MY JARS…LOL
Yippee! I can’t wait to get my hands on a couple of cases. I am a card carrying member of “jar addicts” not so anonymous. These are a great alternative for dry goods storage when the pint isn’t quite large enough and the quart is just too big. My favorite way to use wide mouth jars is the method I picked up from Paula at Salad in a Jar – using the food saver wide mouth attachment and vacuum sealing the lids. It is a great way to store veggies in the fridge and extend their shelf life. I do the same with dried beans and grains that don’t get used often.
My husband doesn’t believe me that I get “jar lust” and that I’m not the only one who is a member of “jar addicts” (wecks being the most wonderful for the smallest ones for marmalade or onion jam and the satisfaction of opening it with a pull of the rubber, I have 4 of them and dream of more)
😉
I was given some of the 1 1/2 pint freezer jars that are one of your vintage examples. My question is: Are they suitable for canning also? I’ve been using them for storage but couldn’t find any info. Thanks for the post! I’m looking forward to making some pickled asparagus for our bloody marys!
LOVE these jars! So glad I don’t have to hoard them anymore … I am going to give the spaghetti sauce a try this year.
I just went looking to see if Amazon had them since I now have Amazon Prime with free shipping and they usually carry the odd products that you can’t get in the store. Amazon themselves don’t have them listed yet (no free shipping), but oddly, they have them as “Ships From and Sold By Ace Hardware Outlet.” So apparently Ace put them on Amazon before their own site–go figure. 🙂
Here’s the link to them on Amazon–great if you happen to have free shipping via Amazon Prime! http://amzn.to/GJDHmv or just search for Amazon item # B007CKMFV8
I have another vote for the source of the coffee grinder…that would be perfect. And I love the few jars I have in this size!
Thanks for the tip about freezing! I was curious how I was going to use these jars but now I know! Also…please please please, if you can….tell us all about that grinder. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!
I’ve never seen these tall slim jars. I just love them! I hope they come to my neck of the woods.
Love the idea of using these to freeze soup stock. I have Ball “freezer jars” right now but they are plastic and when I replace them, this is what I’ll use.
I especially love seeing your alternative uses for the jars. I’d love to know how to make and freeze sun dried tomatoes. Do you have a post on it?
@Ellen – I’m not sure if this is the recipe Marisa uses (it’s been floating around the food blogosphere for awhile), but I’m a big fan of it: http://tnlocavore.typepad.com/tennessee_locavore/2010/08/marinated-sundried-tomatoes.html
You do have to keep these in the fridge or freezer due to the amount of oil used in the marinade (it’ll go rancid eventually at room temp). Oh, and if you add some honey or sugar to the excess marinade, it’s great for chicken.
Justin, thanks so much for chiming in here! Yes, that’s the exact blog post that started me down the dehydrated tomato path and I stil reference it each time I start slicing tomatoes for dehydration. That’s why I keep them in the freezer for long-term storage.
I absolutely love the 1.5 pint jars! Currently none of our local hardware stores (all 2 of them) do not carry them and when I asked if they would the response was… “We’ll look into it.” And I will have to throw in my vote for info on the manual coffee grinder… I LOVE it! Its just what the doctor ordered for our road trips… no more subpar coffee from big name shops.
Thank you!
These look like the perfect travel mug and a nice in between size when you want a little more or a little less. I’m not sure if I’ll be investing in new jars this year, but I will definitely keep them in mind. (I’m curious about your coffee grinder, too)
I picked up 3 cases at Ace Hardware, love them. If you dehydrate a bunch these take up less space than quart jars in the cupboard.
Last night I opened a pint of pasta sauce, after it had been in the pan for a few minutes I decided it was not going to be enough and added another jar. The experience reminded me that I need to get to Ace and order a few cases. Thank you for alerting us to the 9 jar case, it will make a difference in the amount of cases I order. Ace is great about special order and I do not expect to have a problem.
Oh, I’m so thrilled to see this. I too love them for their shape (so great for long pickles!) and size. I also need to pick up a manual coffee grinder like that! I lost power the other day and mourned my lack of such mechanical options. 40 minutes of waiting for coffee was terrible (and the mortar/pestle was not working)
Oh, my! Gorgeous! I can’t wait to use them this season. Thanks for the info.
Great post, thanks so much. EXCELLENT point about freezing in these jars! I totally didn’t even think of how amazing it will be. You have such great tips, they are sooo appreciated. I am new to this whole canning thing, and once I get your book I am literally going to learn just by making everything in it.
Thanks again.
I’ve seen these (and the 12-oz’ers) at my local Ace, for sure. I’m in the SF Bay area, though, so I think we have a much easier go of finding canning jars than lots of urban folks. For anyone local, I think I also saw them at Berkeley Bowl last week (on the shelves under the big aisles of fruit — they’re sort of easy to miss if you don’t know where to look)
I put pickle relish in this size jar. My relish cooks overnight, is then in placed in warm jars (from the dish washer), lids are placed and the entire batch is allowed to cool undisturbed on the countertop or table. They are perfect for this type of canning as the larger jars don’t cool quickly enough to get the lids to seal as tightly as I’d like.
YOU ARE SUCH A JOY TO KNOW!
Heidi Swanson is responsible for me finding your site. Yea!
That said, thanks for this post and that little coffee grinder? Worth every penny since I can leave it out and enjoy it. I will try spices in it and see what happens. My mission to eliminate plastic and frivolous electric usage from my life is going wel. My new grinder on my new jar will be fabulous, exciting, too wonderful for words and you should hear me when I get really excited!
Greensgrow Farms (2501 E. Cumberland St. in Philadelphia) will be carrying these jars at our canning station! Look for them in the greenhouse with our other jars, accessories, salts, books, and preserves. We should have them out for sale in a few weeks — just in time for asparagus to come into season.
I asked for these for my birthday in a couple of weeks. I think I need to remind my husband that he may need to order them. I plan on using the majority of them as drinking glasses because most of my glasses have broke. I’m so glad to know these exist.
one of the kind people on the canning2 group posted the info for buying through ace. sku 6219532, you have to go to the store and ask them to go to at ace.net, (I think this is their warehouse) to order. 10.99. I used a coupon, too! 15 dollars off 75.00. I don’t work for the jar company or ace, just wanted to share how I got mine! I had some form the ’70’s and I’m thrilled they are back! the fit perfectly in my car holders, too!
Great jars!
Oh Wegmans. What DONT’ you do?
I’m hoping to find some of these when we clean out my g’ma’s attic this weekend. If not, luckily there’s an Ace within a few miles. Only a few weeks until canning is going full swing!
Thanks for so many informative posts!
I just special ordered four cases from Ace. They are $11.99 a case and will be here Thursday.
Re: your first pick for the pint and half ball canning jar says wide mouth, I dont see this size available on the company website http://www.freshpreservingstore.com/ball-pint-half-24-oz-regular-mouth-jars/shop/383199/#itemDescription
they list only regular in the 24 oz size, did you photograph a vintage piece instead of the new ones that they have re-released????
That must be an error on the Fresh Preserving website. These jars have wide mouths, not regular mouths. Both the new ones and the vintage versions.
My local Ace Hardware (in Portland, OR) was happy to order a case for me too; they are planning on carrying them but weren’t expecting a shipment immediately. I got them four days after I emailed to ask!
I asked my local Ace Hardware to special order 4 boxes for me of these lovely jars; $11.99 a box, took only 4 days to arrive at the store and I will pick them up today. I’m so excited, I’ve been looking for these for years!
I just checked with my local “Do it Best” hardware store and they were available in their supply warehouse and they ordered 3 cases for me. They will arrive in 2 days. Now to decide what to fill them with….:)
Carlene
Hooray! As far as what to put in them, may I suggest some pickled carrots? 😉
Marisa, I made the Pickled Dilly Carrots using the recipe you posted. Our toddler granddaughter loves raw carrots, but won’t eat them cooked. She LOVED the Dilly Carrots, so now of course I want to can more for the coming year. I will pick up my order for the pint and a half jars from Ace today.
We grow our own carrots and garlic… what I need to know is if the recipe is “shelf stable” and safe using the 50/50 water-vinegar ratio?
Thank you for your time answering and for all your posts.
Kathy, as long as you process the finished jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes, they are perfectly shelf stable. One part vinegar to one part water is a common dilution level for shelf stable pickles and provides plenty of acidity to ensure safety.
Thank you so much!
I just found these jars at my local discount cookware store! Hooray! I had to ask as they weren’t even on the shelves yet. I’m thinking of making some pickled asparagus as it should be in our farmer’s markets here in San Diego soon 🙂 I’ll try out your recipe posted on In a Pickle. Thanks for the head’s up on the new “old” jar!
Pacific NW folks: BiMart had these lovely jars today, $8.99 regular prize. Tons of stock, so I’m hoping these will stick around as a regular item and be very popular! Thanks, Marisa, looking forward to your book tour also!
That’s so good to know! Thanks Darla!
I’m heading down to the seattle area next week (from Canada) and was wondering if anyone knows of a store that carries these jars?
The pint-and-a-half jars are now on True Value’s website. They cost 15.99 for a case of 9 jars. Ace will order them for you and their price is 11.99 for the box of 9 jars. The only inconvenience is making 2 trips to the store, once to order and again to pick them up. When I ordered them, the manager was so pleased to find out they were available he ordered a bunch for the store inventory. I was pleased to discover that Ace has a very well stocked canning aisle. Just wish I had a store in my city, I’ll have to wait until my inlaws visit to get my jars.
For those in the Midwest, Rural King carries them in store for $9.99.
Oh, this is great news. I have a couple of old ones also. I love that manuel grinder on one of your jars. I have an old coffee grinder that mounts on the wall, but I have not seen one like that, very cool. I ordered some half gallon jars from Ace Hardware, great for vacuum sealing dried beans. Thanks for the information.
I found some in an OLD House. Ive wanted to buy some ever since. BEST Tea glass Ever !
Lowe’s has them too, they were $10.98, but I love this jar for broths. I can’t wait to find some more!
I kept looking every few weeks and finally found them on ace and am having them shipped to my local store!! How exciting!!!
TRACTOR SUPPLY ALSO CARRIES THEM
I’ve been collecting these jars for years. How cool that they are now available again. Thanks for reporting!
DOES ANY ONE KNOW WHEN CANNING SPAGGITTI MEAT SAUCE IF AND HOW MUCH CANNED SAUCE IN STEAD OF 30 LBS OF FRESH TOMATOS CAN YOU USE
I am so glad to hear they are back love canning in the few that I have found at yard sales.
I am so glad to hear they are back. I love canning in the few that I have found at yard sales.
I use these for bread in a jar. Any non yeast bread like zucchini bread will do. Just bake the bread in the jar. Because it’s tapered the loaf slides out easily when you’re ready to serve the bread.
Rosie: do you have to do anything different to the recipe to Can the bread in the Jar??
Gemma, you’re not canning the bread, just using the jar as a baking pan of sorts.
Do not try to can bread!
Hi Marisa,
I totally love your blog. Just made my first project of some orange jelly and will do something tomatoey next.
I’d love it if you could do a post on jar accessories, like the ones you show in this post. Some of them you’ve mentioned now and then, but it would be great to see a general survey and source list. I am COVETING that coffee grinder. It would be handy to have some of those drinking tops, a pouring spout, etc.
Jars are so wonderfully versatile, health-preserving, and do a great job of making beautiful look treasured and special. Thanks so much for your blog!
Best,
Anne
Glad to know the pint & half jars are available again. I love to can pickled okra in these and place fresh dill in different areas so that they are seen all around the jar. Nothing is any better than home canned vegetables. I have to leave them on my counter where they can be seen. Makes a great conversation starter.
I just got them at walmart
We are starting a small buiness canning a marinara sauce. We want to use the one piece lid instead of the two piece. Do we cann these as we would the 2 piece. Please let me know. Thanks.
My post on canning with one-piece lids can be found here: https://foodinjars.com/2012/10/canning-101-how-to-use-one-piece-lids/
I found them at Target of all places – not there to get canning jars but found them and grabbed them because I love the shape. I have a BPA free sippy cup lid that I can put on any wide mouth jar and drink my coffee, green drink or water out of and was super excited about this shaped jar! Target also had blue pint jars (not the vintage colored blue – but a pretty blue none the less)!
Cheers,
Cj*
Walmart is carrying these jars. My mother loves this size so I picked her up a couple of cases. Of course I then had to grab myself a case too.
Here in Maine,a store named Reny’s Dept store sells the 24oz size ball jars for less than ten dollars!!
My husband and I like the pint and a half jars and our favorite use for them is canning bacon in them.
A pound of bacon fits perfect in them vs the quart being too big and the pint being too small.
I don’t think these 1.5-pint jars have measurements on them.
The recently re-issued ones do. The vintage ones do not.
I love this size of jars. I make all our canned soups in them because it is a perfect size for the two of us. Quarts are a little too much and pints are too little. I’ve had these jars for probably 30 years and will start looking for more as they are so very convenient for our prepared dinners also.
I’ve used this size for years when I make sauerkraut, it’s the perfect amount for two people!
I am following a recipe that will make 6 pints, but I am using pint and half jars. How long should I process and still use the 1 tablespoon of lemon juice?
I’m so glad I came back across this post – I checked Target’s website, and these are currently on sale, plus I get my 5% redcard discount 😀
I am shopping for a new pressure canner. Probably All- American. The 921 will handle 7 quarts, the 925 also handles 7 quarts “with a little extra head room.” Does anyone know how many of these 1.5 pint jars fit the 921 versus the 930? Maybe no difference. The 930 jumps up to 14 quart jars.
I’ve only used a Presto pressure canner, so unfortunately, I can’t speak to the All-American models.
My All-American 921 handles 8 of the 1.5 jars.
Thank you Marisa. I just bought some of these jars so I appreciate the info on processing time. I have some recipes where I want to increase the jar size from 1/2 pint to either 12 oz or pint. Is there a rule of thumb for increasing the processing time? Thanks so much!
I use this size for my cakes in a jar. Fill 1/2 way, bake, apply lids as soon as they come out of oven. They seal and keep for a LONG time.
Unfortunately, that’s not a safe process.
THANK YOu! I have some that I bought a while back for asparagus. Uh. 10 years ago! Mine was in 12 packs. LOL. The cooking time had me baffled, so I didn’t use them.. I used tall 12 oz jelly jars instead. Now I feel comfortable filling them up! YAY!!!!!!!!!!
I’m so glad I could help you figure out how to use them!
Thanks for the info on where to purchase the 24 ounce jars. I’ve been looking for them for awhile now.
I am trying to process 24 oz and pint jars at the same time to get my sweet potatoes used up. Can I do that?
Yes. But you need to run the canner for the larger jars. 24 ounce jars are treated like quart jars.
How many 1/2 pt jars are needed for 2qts juice when making Muscadine jelly? And how much sugar is needed? Do I use a full box of pectin?
I’ve never made muscadine jelly, so I can’t advise you. But this looks like a useful reference. https://www.uaex.uada.edu/counties/howard/news/fcs/september-2021/tips-and-tricks-for-making-muscadine-jelly.aspx
I am trying to figure out how long to process 1/2 pint jars for meat and vegetables
When it comes to pressure canning, I always follow the National Center for Home Food Preservation timings. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/preparing-and-canning-poultry-red-meats-and-seafoods/meat-strips-cubes-or-chunks/#gsc.tab=0
I just processed chicken in these lovely jars for 85 minutes with 11 lbs pressure. Quarts require 90 minutes… do you think I am ok?
Given that they aren’t as wide as quarts, I think you should be okay. But in the future, be extra cautious and add those five minutes!