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.
Hi I tried tattlerlids no luck will stick to two piece.but? On sealing I’ve been told tht tapping lid with spoon a high pith ring it’s sealed a thud sound not and also told the opposite but I’ve canned apple pie filling it siphoned expanded and is touching bottom of lid it’s copmpletly sealed I’ve used a couple jars but they gave me a thud sound like the apple sauce jars also but I also hv some pie filling tht the head space is perfect and tht did give me a ring sound why do u think about this tap test always reliable or not I’ve used both of t
My jars and they were good lift by edge of lid concave solid no movement. Thank you
My seal test is to check if they are concave and if you can lift them by the edges. If both are true, they are sealed. Apple pie filling is an outlier of a product because it expands so much. I wouldn’t rely on the tapping test with something that so thoroughly fills the jar.
I am an experienced canner. Last year I used Tattler seals I had bought after the Covid shortage. The jars all passed the seal check test and I happily packed them away in my cold cellar. Just a few months later ALL the seals have failed. What a waste!!!
Yep. This is not the first time I’ve heard this. I’m so sorry!
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
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.
Has anyone tried the open kettle method with tattler lids?
The open kettle method is not recommended.
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.
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 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.
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.
You DO NOT unscrew the lids a quarter of a turn…..the instructions read a quarter of an inch!