One of the primary truths of canning has always been that while the jars and rings are reusable, the lids are not. When I teach canning classes, I’m careful to emphasis that those flat metal lids only have one trip through the canner in them and that they lose their mojo once through a boiling water bath.
However, a brand of canning lids called Tattler recently returned to the market and they come sporting a pair of dual virtues that make them nearly irresistible for home canners. First is the fact that they are nearly endlessly reusable. That’s right, these are lids that you don’t have to toss into the trash after emptying the jar.
Second is that they are free of Bisphenol A (known in shorthand as BPA). Lots of people have turned to canning in recent days to get away from the BPA that lines so many commercially canned foods, only to find out that the lids for canning jars are also lined with the stuff. Typically, I try not to worry about them, comforting myself with the fact that properly canned foods shouldn’t actually be in contact with those lids after processing. Still, it’s a concern.
I bought several dozen Tattler lids at the beginning of the summer, but didn’t end up using them until my marathon tomato canning period that started over Labor Day weekend. I spent two full months passing them up, each time reaching for the disposable lids in my cabinet. I was a little bit wary of them, uncertain whether they’d work. Additionally, since I typically squeeze my canning into the hours after dinner and before bed, there’s often an element of frenzy to my putting up. I always felt like I didn’t have time to teach myself the steps necessary to make the Tattler lids work.
However, when I was canning all those tomatoes, I reached into the cabinet and realized I was completely out of regular mouth lids. I had to use the Tattler lids. It was trial by fire, particularly since I was canning in both a boiling water canner and a pressure canner that night. I had a moment of panic after the processing was complete but before the jars had fully sealed, when I realized I hadn’t left the rings as loose as was necessary for proper venting, and yet still, it all worked. All the jars sealed and sealed strong. They pass my standard seal test (grasp edges of lid and lift jar holding nothing but the lid) with flying colors.
What to Know
There are a couple additional steps to ensuring a good seal. When you apply the lids and screw on the bands, you MUST then unscrew the band a quarter turn. This ensures that there’s enough space for the hot air to escape from the jar during processing. Then, when the jars have finished processing and you’ve removed them to the counter, quickly give all the bands a good, quick tighten. This brings the rubber seal into firm contact with the rim of the jar and allows the air tight seal to form.
Thoughts?
So far, I’m pretty thrilled with the Tattler lids. Despite my minor user errors the first time out, they still sealed well. They worked equally well in the boiling water canner and in the pressure canner. I have just two issues with them. The first is their cost. They are pretty pricey, ringing up at approximately $.80 per regular mouth lid (not including shipping). Because of this, I can’t make an immediate and complete switch. However, I plan to add more to my collection every few months until I’ve got a more critical mass.
The second issue is that they make it harder for me to pass my canned goods along to friends and family, because I don’t know if I’ll get them back. Like so many new Tattler users, I think that I’ll continue to keep some of the disposable lids in my arsenal for those items that I plan to gift.
For those of you looking for a step by step guide on how to use these lids, take a peek at this post at Homestead Revival. It is amazingly detailed and accurate.
For those of you who’ve used the Tattler lids, I’d love to hear what your experience has been like.
I used them almost exclusively this summer *except* for things that I canned to give away. I bought 6 dozen (there seemed to be a small discount) figuring that I could use them for years and they’d pay for themselves. Have used all but one dozen and all but one single jar sealed. I took it off, cleaned the jar, re-sterilized the lid, reprocessed it, and it sealed just fine and dandy.
I have an endocrine issue, so the idea of BPA in my food (and more specifically, in my child’s food) makes me crazy. I think I’d say that I’m 99% happy with these.
Not a quarter TURN, it is a quarter INCH!
I’m not sure why I never thought about BPA in regular canning lids before. I guess its better than an entire can lined with that stuff… I’ve been looking for a better, reusable option so I am very excited to hear about this!
Check out Golden Harvest they don’t have the plastic liners.
Marisa, thanks for mentioning Homestead Revival™ in your post. I’m loving my lids, but I’ve got to think of a cute way to “request” lids to be returned if I end up sending one home with a friend. Perhaps a little tag with a poem that basically says,
“These lids are re-useable
and kindly for that reason,
please return me to my home
if you want some next season!”.
That is so adorable! I think I’ll try something like that if you don’t mind me borrowing the idea. 🙂
I’m using them for the first time this season and my sentiments, both pro and con, echo yours. I thought they might be trick to use but they’re just as simple as normal two-piece lids. It’s great to have this reusable option.
Amy,
I love your poem! Perfect! Do you also request that jars are returned? I’m giving a bunch of stuff for the first time this Christmas and I fully plan on asking my family to return the jars.
I am tempted by them but again, the whole giving a person a jar of stuff with the lid on it and maybe not getting it back issue bugs me. I know some people (my mom, similarly particular friends) would give them back but I have a hard enough time dealing with the idea that someone might not return my jar to think about giving them my .80 lid too drives me crazy. Not that .80 is a hardship but t does add up.
WHOA! I didn’t even know there was another option! Thanks so much for posting, I am definitely looking these up!
I used 2 dozen of the regulars and two dozen of the wides this preserving season and I have to admit, I was so worried when I first used them. But worry was needless, I had a total of two failures all summer and was able to use both those lids later and they sealed fine. I didn’t do the quarter turn loosening bit, but did do the hard crank at the end. Seemed to work fine when I tested the seal (the same test as you do.)
Other than veggies in the pressure canner (which were for personal use only) I canned half of everything I did (especially jams) in the old metal lids for gifts. It has worked out perfectly. Christmas is done and I couldn’t be happier.
I agree with your sentiments here: the Tattler lids are such a comfort to me that I have decided it’s worth skimping elsewhere to make the investment. it’s so nice knowing that I’m not leaching BPAs into my tomatoes when I do all this work expressly so I can *avoid* BPAs (among other things, of course)!
the funniest result of my foray into Tattler lids is the growing pile of unused Ball lids I’m making on my shelf — when I get new jars (and I’ve been buying a ton this year as I host canning parties and try to preserve more fruits and pickles), those lids are unneeded.
while I surely do think a few times before giving away a jar with a Tattler lid, in the end I’ve decided that I’d rather lose a lid worth 80 cents than use BPAs when I’m forever preaching against them. of course, I haven’t tested my generosity much yet since the holiday season is still months away… maybe I’ll be writing poems, too, once December approaches 🙂
I haven’t used any yet, but have ordered 500 regular lids and 6 dozen large. After reading a couple of articles about BPA in home canning lids, I decided to switch. About half the people I give things to already return the jars and lids to me (although I don’t actually reuse the metal lids, of course) so I expect to retain most of the new lids. I thought about using metal lids on some things, but I never know just what I’m going to give away, and I’d rather not use the BPA-lined lids at all.
My shipment is on the way, and I’m anxious to try them out. Thanks for this–it’s a nice preview for me!
There may have been a price decrease since you bought yours. Current price for 3 dozen regular lids is $20.95 (plus shipping) so only about 58 cents each. Buying 500 gives a 5% discount, and a purchase of 2500 (!!) has a 15% discount.
I’ve been using Tattler lids this year – they are a Michigan based company so I get to “buy local” with my canning lids. I never bothered to read the instructions so I didn’t see the 1/4 inch loosening turn until you mentioned it. For the record, I never did it the entire summer and things turned out fine! I don’t torque my bands really tight anyway with a Ball lid, so my guess is that if you aren’t a tight turner, it’s not critical
thanks for this post marisa – i’ve been waiting to hear about your experience with them. i’ve been using up the last of my metal (& BPA) lids on mostly jams – things that i know won’t hit the top when i hot water bath it. other than that i’ve been using weck and vintage wire bail jars. this lid looks like a fine option. i first came upon them a while ago, but like you, i was skeptical. what are they actually made of and have they been around for a while?
I have been interested in these for a while, but I’m curious…are the reasons for using them economical, or for health reasons (no BPA) or to eliminate waste? I like all those ideas, but after figuring out the cost of regular lids vs. tattler, I would have to use them for about 6-7 years before they would ‘pay off,’ and that is not taking into account the rubber gaskets. Does anyone know how long those last before needing to be replaced?
Meg, I did the math and figured the tattler would be paid for at the 2.76 year mark.
In other words, after using the tattlers 2.76 times they are then free… for the rest of your canning frenzy life & likely your children’s!
That’s figuring a doz steel lids @ $3.38 which is .282 cents per lid. Compared with buying 100 regular tattlers lids at roughly .78 cents each (100 for $77.95)
As of today 12-29-12, regular size ball lids at amazon are $3.38 per pack or .282 cents each. And the tattlers 100 pack is $78.
So really the prohibitory cost really isn’t (in my mind) an issue. Save your costs on the jars by doing garage sales & buy your tattlers and smile until your canning days are done knowning its all free canning short of salt & your product.
VERY interesting! I had a comment thread going on one of my Flickr photos of some recent canning where people were discussing the use of BPA in lids, many of them surprized and outraged to discover this; I just added your info to that post and I think I’ll definitely have to post it on my blog. I agree that their cost is a bit of a deterrent — but worth the investment for the products I make that I don’t intend to gift away 🙂 Thanks for the tip!
I just tried out the tattler lids this past weekend. I made the 1/4 turn versus 1/4 inch mistake myself the first time, but I think I only lost one jar that didn’t seal…because the lid came off entirely sometime during the canning process! I wrote about my experience with them on my blog, along with my applesauce recipe and a giveaway for some tattler lids if anyone’s interested 🙂
These lids sound great! Where can you buy the Tattler lids?
I bought two boxes of the Tattler lids: regular and wide mouth. They worked well & were easy to use, just a bit different. I also was afraid to use them when I was too busy to stand and follow the directions. I used them on my canned tomatoes and they all sealed nicely with no problems. It just a matter of getting accustomed to them. Since I have always tightened then slightly loosened the lids b4 processing that didn’t bother me too much. Tightening then slightly loosening in order to get a good seal was what I learned some 30 years ago from my Granny and have always done that. I am going to use the jars with Tattler lids last to see how they stand up over the months. The Tattler lids are costly and I can’t see why, but then I am not in manufacturing so don’t have the vaguest ideas about production costs.
So glad to hear your review of these lids! I usually don’t worry too much about BPA in lids because properly canned goods should have minimal contact with the lids anyway. I would hesitate to give away these lids, but I think most of my family and friends know to return jars so maybe this will be one extra step for them to get used to. It’s nice to know there’s an option!
Just checking on prices and find the Lehman’s they are about $.80 a piece, but if you go on reusablecanninglids.com, they are much cheaper. Wondering if I’ve missed somewhere that they have a minimum or are wholesale only…
Thanks for this great post…
I used some this year as well, and had a similar experience as yours. Only two of my lids didn’t seal properly, and I think it was because I was a bit too generous with the 1/4 inch turn. But so far so good. I am going to do what you suggested and only use the disposable ones for the jars I plan to gift.
Wow! Thank you so much for the post!! I am hoping to start canning next season! I have so many ladies offering advice, and for that I am extremely grateful. After hearing so many good things about Tattler lids, I think I will try to get some of these. Thanks again for the post! . . . Amy @ Homestead Revival – your post was great also! I love the cute poem you came up with! Thanks again ladies!
I saw these listed for sale on Lehmans website but haven’t tried them yet. The only review for them said the ring has to be turned over each year and the reviewer wondered how you would know which side had been used the previous year. I decided to wait until someone had tried them a second time to see if they worked. I’d love to see a future post from you to see if maybe the previous year’s seal left an impression in the ring so you could tell which side to use each time.
Thank you so much for this info! My grandmother will be so excited that these are back! Heck I’M excited they’re back! Haven’t seen these since I was a kid.
I want to try these, but am hesitant. First of all, just the extra skill involved worries me. Second, I do not think BPA is the only problem with heating plastic. The Tattlers do contain a type of plastic that can produce formaldehyde when heated. The company says that temperature is not reached in home canning, but in a pressure canner it could be. The average in a pressure canner is apparently 240F, but documents on the National Center For Home Food Preservation say they can reach 250F, which is the temperature where the formaldehyde can be produced. It stands to reason, for me, that hitting 240F is too close for comfort on that issue. I still worry about the BPA in the other lids, and still may get some Tattlers to experiment with. However, I just can’t help but feel skeptical that these would end up being completely safe and leaching NOTHING into food.
Spent today making grape jelly and grape jam. Yesterday I did tomato juice. Our garden has an abudance of tomatoes this year so I am hoping to make lots of juice. Tanya
Jenna, in your post you commented that “documents on the National Center For Home Food Preservation say they can reach 250F, which is the temperature where the formaldehyde can be produced.” This is not correct. The temperature at which formaldehyde can be released does not occur until nearly 450 degrees which will happen well after the plastics actual melting point of 329 degrees. Both of these temperatures are well beyond anything ever experienced in the home canning environment. The 250 degree threshold mentioned in (CFR), Title 21, 177.2470 is the safety point at which the FDA recommends you not cross when using this type of plastic. However, as I stated, this threshold is WELL below the temperature at which the plastic will melt or release formaldehyde.
My big box of lids arrived today. Just trying to decide what to can first!
I think the “skill factor” might be overrated, as the only thing suggested in the material with the lids is the slight loosening (which is also in the directions in every canning book I have for regular lids) and then the quick tightening after removal from the canner. I like how heavy and sturdy the lids are. As for turning the rubbers over, it’s “suggested” to do so, and the lid has grooves which I believe will make a definite impression that will be fairly easy to see.
I purchased mine direct from the maker at reusablecanninglids.com. The minimum order is 3 dozen, and they arrived within a week or so.
Sort of reminds me of the “Weck” glass jars and lids we use in Germany. They have a rubber seal which needs to be replaced every time. Is this the case here too?
A great option and I am excited about buying some to try. I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not these lids can be used on the old vintage jars? Thanks for the info.
How to you remove the sealer without wrecking it? Does an ordinary pry opener work on these?
Does anyone know if these would work with foodsaver (for vacuum sealing dry goods like flour, beans, etc)?
I am behind these lids in so many ways, but I am going to go out on a limb and say what I thought when I first saw them months ago: They are ugly! And I can’t help caring about that, especially because I sometimes sell my jams. Wecks are expensive and kind of a pain in the butt to use and store, but at least they’re BPA-free and gorgeous. I just don’t feel like we have a truly good option yet. But I do appreciate this thorough review, and I am in awe of all your tomatoes!
Why use a sharpie to write your name on the lid? Seems it would be more like to be returned then.
You’ve hit the nail right on the head with your thoughts about these lids. I have the same reservations as well with the price and gifting them. I’m trying to talk up these lids at our local co-op and see if they’ll start carrying them. I don’t know if Tattler sells wholesale to stores. Until then I’m promoting them at the classes I teach. Thanks for sharing this great info…no more build up on metal lids though I was just starting to come up with ideas for using them in crafts!
Thanks for you post…we are in the process of canning meat right now and were discussing how to get a good seal and we hadn’t heard that you have to tighten the lids a bit after they’re done cooking. And we’re interested in trying Tattler lids ourselves so it was nice to hear your experience with them 🙂
Hello – thank you for your review on these lids. This post is over a year old … are you still finding them beneficial? How often can you use the rubbers before you have to replace them? I just something on ebay so I’m using the money sitting in paypal to purchase my own set of tattler lids. I do a lot of canning each month throughout the year, so I hope these lids will end up being cheaper in the long run.
Thanks again.
Joanne in Monett, MO
Joanne, I’ve used the Tattler lids for two seasons now and with the same rubber seals and have had no problems. I plan on writing an update post soon.
I’m considering purchasing these and want to make sure they’re compatible with regular Ball/Kerr screw bands. No one explicitly mentions it. Thanks!
I’ve used them and was pleased enough that I decided to become a dealer for them. I bought a couple of cases, snagged the ones I needed for myself, and listed the rest of them in my shop.
Something as frugal as canning shouldn’t use something disposable, like a standard lid. I had been buying all the lids I could find at estate sales and thrift stores, but it got hard to find them as quickly as I use them.
FYI; on the lid tightening issue, the Tattler site says;
“Screw band on jar loosely. Center lid on jar and hold in place with finger while tightening the metal screw band finger-tip tight. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN. Product must be allowed to vent during processing.
Process as per instructions for various foods.
TIGHTEN METAL BAND FIRMLY IMMEDIATELY UPON REMOVAL FROM CANNER.”
This is a direct cut and paste from their site. There’s no mention of 1/4 turn or inch.
Here is the link; http://www.reusablecanninglids.com/howtheywork.aspx
The written instructions that come with the lids have the quarter inch turn instruction.
Hi,
Using the Tattler lids for the first time and noticing that there are water droplets on the bottom side of the lid after processing. Intuitively think this is okay but not positive. Obviously can’t seem them with previous metal lids. The lids appear to have sealed properly so am I ok? It’s apricot jam …
Thanks!
I’m having the same issue as JamMom. I’m new to canning and noticed that my metal lids have water droplets on the underside of the lid. The seal is fine but I’m wary, is this a problem? Also, I have noticed that in a recipe for peach bbq sauce, now that it’s cooled I’m seeing a lot of little air bubbles rising to the surface of the sauce; is that normal??? Thanks for your help!
The droplets are just condensation. Totally normal and fine. As far as the air bubbles go, it’s really hard to get every last air bubble out of a jar. It happens that a few remain. Don’t worry about it.
I bought Tattler lids big time, a gross of lids, both for the re-usability and for being BPA free (Ball have a BPA coating on the inside of the lids). I have been canning for many years, figured that using the Tattler lids would be easy, and did not do a trial run. Big mistake. 16 pints of creamed corn all blew their tops off. Since the company explicitly included an instruction card with my order, I did try to carefully follow the instructions. The exact phrasing (capitalization emphasis is theirs) on the card is, “tightening the metal screw band finger-tip tight. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.” Interestingly, the thickness of the lids and gasket prevent complete engagement of the threads. Tightening the bands beyond finger-tight results in the screw threads slipping. Erroneously figuring that the slipping was the reason for the emphasis on not over tightening, I secured the bands just short of the slipping point. The resulting tightness was less than I normally use when canning. Sadly, during the cool-down period, all of the jars over-pressured and popped the lids. What a mess!
Having learned my lesson, I did a few trial runs, and tried to educate myself. Finger-tip tight means, essentially, not tight at all; the band has to be so loose that under normal canning conditions, with metal lids, you would find that you had to tighten all jars after removal from the canner! Anything beyond that runs the risk of blowing the top off of the jar due to insufficient venting during cool-down.
The instructions then state, “TIGHTEN METAL BANDS FIRMLY IMMEDIATELY UPON REMOVAL FROM CANNER.” Since the lids are not sealed, the tightening process has to be hard enough to deform the gasket and form a good seal. With everything hot from the canner, you can be quite firm without having the threads slip. Insufficient firmness results in sealing failure.
Since you are sealing at atmospheric pressure, the vacuum will be less than what you normally would get from sealing at 5 to 15 PSI above atmospheric pressure. As each jar is removed from the canner, its lid must immediately be tightened. Not two jars at a time, not three jars, it must be one at a time. Since the vacuum is so slight, you must also wait until the jars reach room temperature before removing the bands. I also suspect that since they state, “determine by feel if lids are securely sealed,” the old technique of picking up the jars by the edges of the lids as a means of testing the seal may not work well. My feeling is that any jar which can not support its own weight by virtue of the vacuum holding the lid on, is not adequately sealed.
All of these requirements really goof up my workflow. It means that I can no longer do hours-long marathon sessions of canning (I run two to three canners continuously in rotation), unless I set in a much larger supply of bands and greatly increased workspace. Moreover, it means that I can not leave the last batch of jars in the canners to cool overnight. Bummer.
I am not has happy with the Tattler lids as I imagined I would be. Actually, I am a little disappointed. With modern materials and what-not, I expected an improvement on the conventional metal lid technology. I found an old technology (glass lids w/ rubber seals) recast into modern plastics for screw jars. Therefore, Tattler lids appear to suffer from the same problems that, in part, motivated the shift to metal lids. The Tattler lids will work, just not as easily as metal lids. The main saving grace is that after 3 or 4 reuses, you will be saving money, and perhaps the environment. I truly wish Tattler would explain on the instruction card the motivation for each significant step in their technique, and explain the consequences of not precisely, and slavishly, following their protocol. Sadly, they appear not to desire educating the user, just to instruct them. The resultant lack of knowledge will result in a greater number of failures and dissatisfied customers.
Thanks for the post Marisa! I’ve been using Tattler lids for two seasons now and love them, but I’m still not keen on having plastic in every area of my kitchen. What can you do? I’ve recently discovered Weck jars, and wondered if you had any experience with them?
On the subject of tightening and getting a good seal on Tattler lids, be sure to check the website on the company’s new instructions. About 8 months ago I got an email directly from Tattler saying that they’ve changed the instructions for canning with their lids, and instead of tightening and unscrewing 1/4 of an inch (not a 1/4 turn), they recommend a “fingertip tight” band before going into the canner. Upon removal from the canner, the lids should be tightened firmly. I know others have said something similar, but it’s interesting to note that this change in instructions came directly from the Tattler company.
Marisa, I look forward to your update! Any experience you have and would be willing to share on the Weck jars would be great too!
Kristina, I have a tutorial on how to use Weck jars here: https://foodinjars.com.s164546.gridserver.com/arugulapesto/2011/03/canning-101-how-to-can-using-weck-jars-giveaway/
Just an FYI…the above link doesn’t work. The correct link is: http://https://foodinjars.com/2011/03/canning-101-how-to-can-using-weck-jars-giveaway/
You’re right, Gee. Thanks for catching that! When I moved this site over to a new design a few years back, some of the links got changed. I thought I fixed them all, but this is one that I missed!
Have you opened any of your jars of tomatoes yet? I recently opened one of my jars of tomato sauce that I used a tattler lid on and the lid is now stained. I have soaked it in baking soda, but the stain is not coming off. Just wondering what others are experiencing.
Laura, tomatoes will stain the Tattler lids. I just keep a stash that I use exclusively on tomatoes. The stain doesn’t impact their utility.
Just leave the lids in a sunny area for a few hours and the stain will disappear! It works on tomato based stains on clothes too.
Just read comment #54 by West of the Loop, which appears to say that she recycles the conventional Ball jar lids. I understand that they are not recyclable (most recyclers need the various materials from a product separated or separatable, and the jar lids have metal, the rubbery ring, and the white film on the inside). So I went to the blog and read her full article, which appears to have since been edited and doesn’t call the Ball lids recyclable anywhere in the blog post. Though I LOVE the ease of use and price of the conventional lids, I would prefer something that isn’t single use (“throw away” isn’t really ever “away”; it’s in a landfill). So I’ve been switching over to Weck with each major holiday in which I can justify asking for some as a gift. Still negotiating in my head how to gift jams this summer without gifting the jars…
I know this is an old post, but I am just now learning about Tattler lids, so I came across this blog. Here’s how I have managed to get jars back from gift jams.
I started by just making jams “just because” – not as a gift. I used the 4 oz size jars. But when I gave the jams away, I told people that the jars are one of the most pricey parts of making jams, and I would be able to make more (hence, they would get more) jam if they returned the jar and band/lid. I would guess I get about 90% of my jars back now. Even when it is a “gift”.
The only time that I haven’t gotten the jars back lately was when I used the pricey “cute” jelly jars that have the design on them. But those were actual gifts, so I just kind of figured that they kept the jar for another use, and they will think of me whenever they use said jar.
I have been using Tattler for three years and I would not recommend using them on potatoes. I canned multiple loads, using various kinds of potatoes, and nearly all of the jars with a Tattler lid became unsealed during storage. All of the jars with a metal lid are fine. Never again! Tattler are too expensive and have too high of a failure rate to ever be my sole source for a canning lid.
I’m on Tattler’s website and I see they’re marketing their lids as redesigned “E-Z seal” lids – do you know anything about this? Is this just new branding or a different lid?
Tattler has reworked the lids and done some redesigning to make them seal without the 1/4 turn. That’s the “EZ” thing.
I have a lifetime supply of the original type (about 1200) and so I haven’t bought any more, and doubt I ever do.
My Tattlers perform every bit as well as any disposable lid anywhere, with one exception – and that is with short-term BWB stuff like jams. The processing time just is not long enough to create enough vacuum to keep them sealed. I use disposables for those.
I have also learned to be very generous with headspace when using Tattlers. If you cheat and say, “Oh, that extra two green beans won’t hurt anything, ” smack yourself and don’t do it. The headspace is necessary to create a good vacuum. Any failures I have had (especially the dreaded “failure in storage” have been with jars that were overfilled (I had a terrible bad habit of doing that).
I have Tattlers on jars that have been sealed for three years. They are fine.
Hi,
I used Tattler lids the1st time for my jars last week , without any turning 1/4 turn, it’s worked well , tight sealed as same as Ball lids.
You DO NOT unscrew the lids a quarter of a turn…..the instructions read a quarter of an inch!
re: sterility of lids
The big issue I have is how to keep those germs away. I am so used to not not not touching the lids – using magnet and tongs, etc. Now I’m supposed to put my fingers in there and apply the seal. It seems so wrong! I must admit I miss the sweet sound of success when the metal lid seals down and pings.
As long as you’re processing your jars for 10 minutes or longer, having sterile lids isn’t important. They’ll become sterile during the boiling water bath process.
I preload the rings onto the lids, and place them ring side up in the pan of water for lid preparation. It seems to work best to use two dinner forks to lift them out of the water. Even if the water has boiled, the plastic isn’t so hot that I can’t flip it over like a CD or DVD and pop it on the jar.
I found that some of my bands didn’t turn so easy, may have a bit of rust on them. So it caused the rubber to gather up a bit from trying to get the band on. So yes the seal did not work, it was my fault. Now I have started to hold the taller lid in place with my finger pressure on it, till I had the band where I wanted it to be, I have a small hand, but achieved this, with no problem.
I have had nothing but trouble ever since they made the lids bpa free( ball and Kerr). I make about 100 quarts of pickles a year and for the last three years only about half of them are sealing. It sounds like Tattler has to be processed. My pickle recipe is hot brine only with no other processing. What do you recommend?
The Ball lids are not designed for open kettle canning. They are designed for heat processing. So that’s probably the reason that your pickles aren’t sealing.
I get 2 or 3 uses from my traditional ball lids …. before you call me crazy …. I uses them ONCE for hot water or pressure canning, Then when a make a large batch of soup or chili I freeze the left overs in ball wide mouth pints. No sterile airtight seal is required for freezing there is no safety issue. I do reuse them for canning only for freezing . The amazing thing is the freezing seems to seal them so they probably would have worked for
a second canning ….. but I am not willing to bet my life on it. PS the pint jars freeze well never had one break , no plastic tastes, and the pint is a good size for a single guy like me. ( NOTE -split pea and other cream soups seem to expand more than broth soups during freezing… leave a little more head room.
Has anyone tried the open kettle method with tattler lids?
The open kettle method is not recommended.
Yes I bought some last year the Ez Tattler is there any difference between the reg taalter a day the Ez ones also when you take out of pressure canner do you let the canner come down natural to release or do you do a quick release,and then do you put on counter and wait a minute then tighten them
I don’t have any experience with EZ Tattlers, so I’m not able to speak to them.
We l9ve tattler lids I have bought enough for all my hundreds of jars! The only time I use metal throw aways is like you fir gifting jars, they don’t give my jars back so I won’t get my lids either! Chuckle