It used to be that Weck jars were precious things, hard to come by outside of Germany. Then people started discovering how pretty and useful they are. Suddenly, stores from Crate & Barrel to Williams-Sonoma and beyond began stocking them.
No explanation is needed when it comes to storing dry goods in Weck jars, but when it comes to the actual act of canning in them, newcomers sometimes need a little help. A couple years ago, I wrote a step-by-step guide to using Weck jars, and while I have no intention of reinventing that particular wheel today, I do want to pluck out a few of the most commonly asked questions about canning in Weck jars and highlight them here so that they’re easy to access.
How do you tell if Weck jars are sealed? You can tell that Weck jars are sealed because the little tab on the rubber seal will point downwards. You can also test your seal in much the same way that you do with Ball jars. Once the jars are cool, remove the clips and grasp the lid of the jar. Lift off the counter an inch or two. If the seal holds fast, you’re golden. If it starts to lose its seal or breaks the suction entirely, that’s a jar that needs to be refrigerated.
Can you reuse the rubber seal? In all printed materials available in the US, they don’t recommend that you use the rubber seal for Weck jars more than once. However, I’ve been told the instructions printed in other countries tell you that it is reusable until it is stretched out or begins to lose its elasticity. Because I don’t like to take chances, I replace the rubber seal with each use.
Can you pressure can in Weck jars? I have not tried it personally, but I was told that it can be done, provided you add a third clip to the lid, in order to help prevent siphoning during processing.
Is it possible to buy replacement clips? It is! You can actually easily buy replacement clips, rubber rings and even lids for Weck jars. MightyNest, sponsor of today’s giveaway sells all the replacement parts in their canning section.
Because Weck jars are quite a bit more expensive than traditional mason jars, I tend to save them for my favorite preserves. These are the recipes that I like so much that I tend to either keep them all for myself or share them with only those people who are truly deserving.
Plum jam is one of my most beloved preserves, because its flavor reminds me of the rummy jam my mom used to make with the fruit from our backyard trees, in Southern California, when I was very young.
For this jam, I combined 5 cups of chopped plums (a mixture of yellow and red) with 2 1/2 cups of sugar. Once the juices started to run, I cooked the fruit and sugar over high heat until the fruit broke down and the syrup thickened enough to hang off the spatula in little pink windows. A squeeze of lemon juice went in at the end for balance. Processed for ten minutes in an array of Weck jars, this is one preserve I’ll be rationing this winter, to ensure it lasts until plum season returns.
If you’ve been contemplating adding some Weck jars to your kitchen, you’re going to love today’s giveaway. It’s provided by MightyNest, an online shop and community hub designed to help people find a world of products (everything from kitchenware to personal care) that are healthy and non-toxic. Here’s what MightyNest has put together for this giveaway:
20 quart canning pot with a rack designed to hold 7 quarts
6 1-liter asparagus jars
6 1/2 liter tulip jars
6 160ml mold jars
Weck jar lifter (these are great, because they don’t catch on the clips the same way that jar lifters designed for Ball jars can).
MightyNest is also hosting a giveaway of my book over on their blog this week. If you’ve not yet gotten your copy, make sure to click over to enter!
If you’re interested in entering this giveaway, here’s how to do it.
- Leave a comment on this post and tell me what one change you’d like to make to your kitchenware to make it healthier. If you’re stumped for ideas, head over to MightyNest and browse their many lovely kitchen items. You’ll be chomping at the bit for something new in no time (I want everything they sell).
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm east coast time on Friday, August 24. Winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Saturday, August 25, 2012.
- Giveaway is open to US residents.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog, I cannot accept submissions via email.
Disclosure: MightyNest provided the jars, canner and jar lifter for this giveaway at no cost to me. I have not been compensated for my time or this post. My opinions remain mine entirely.
Founded by two parents, MightyNest is an online store, resource center, and community dedicated to helping parents create healthy, safe homes. Our mission is to give families the ability to research, get advice, and buy natural, non-toxic products all in one place. From kitchenware to skin care, MightyNest’s safety experts have built the web’s broadest selection of products that are free from known toxic ingredients such as BPA, PVC, Phthalates, Lead, Melamine, Formaldehyde, Parabens, and more.
MightyNest is a place where people feel motivated and welcomed, not discouraged or judged; somewhere people are empowered to make changes in their lives, whether large or small. For the growing number of parents seeking high quality, healthy and safe alternatives to everyday products for their family, MightyNest is their most trusted resource.
One big change I would like to make to my kitchenware to make it healthier would be to remove all plastics! I’m using all glass, metal, ceramic and wood. It ‘s hard to give up the convenance of plastics, but I feel like its an important change.
We recently got rid of our microwave! Now I need to replace all of my plastic containers with oven safe glass for reheating those leftovers.
Well, as others have already said, I want to dump the plastic too.
I would love to learn how to properly use and care for cast iron skillets and be able to use them instead of non-stick cookware.
What an amazing giveaway! I’ve had weck jars on my list for a couple of years now but haven’t got any. I am working to eliminate all unsafe plastics and replace with glass or metal
I would like to replace all my plastic storage containers with new glass ones and add some Weck Canning jars to my collection. I think they are so pretty and the Asparagas jars are awesome none of the ball ones seem to work for pickled Asparagas!!
Like many others, I would like to finish replacing plastic containers with glass. I also would like to have more convenient lunch-size containers in general to make it easier to bring home-made lunches to work every day.
i’ve got to echo that i would like to replace all my plastic containers with glass. i did swap out about half a bit back, but really need to make the total transition!
I’d like to toss my teflon and fully utilize my cast iron skillets and such instead.
My kitchen would be much healthier for me and the environment if I were to get a new fridge. The temperature is not always stable and often my produce freezes. So frustrating. I would also like a much bigger freezer for putting up veggies in the winter. My current freezer only has enough room for Salmon, Halibut, and Blueberries. We all need our priorities! A
This is an amazing give away. I love Weck jars, but they are still so hard for me to find in Alaska.
I too have been slowly replacing all of my plastic storage with glass. The next step, however, is saving up and replacing my scratched and non-stick cookware with higher end stainless steel.
I would like to get rid of my plastic food storage containers.
I agree with most other readers: I’m replacing my old plastic storage containers with glass. It’s affordable. If only I could as easily replace my non-stick pots and pans.
Getting rid of Teflon & other chemical nonstick: check.
Learning to ferment: check.
Learning how to season/maintain cast iron: check.
Learning how to season/maintain carbon steel: check.
Getting rid of all the aluminum: work in progress.
Getting rid of the rest of the plastic, especially for frozen things, like broth: WIP.
Love the blog & loved meeting you at the Millers’ cheese stand at the PFM! 🙂
I’d like to put all my spices in glass containers.
I would like to learn to pressure can so I could can my own soups! Also, I would like a pantry to store all my delicious canned goods that are in my cluttered cupboards!
Since it’s been impossible to find tomatoes canned in glass (the metal cans are lined with BPA) I need these to can my own!
Wow! Awesome giveaway! I really like their website, too, and think I’ll be purchasing a few cases for on-the-go lunches. Top of my list is to get rid of all non-stick cook and bakeware. Bit by bit I’m replacing.
I’d like to find/get some more silicone lids to use on big bowls for storage in the fridge instead of using plastic wrap!
In order to make my kitchen healthier I would love to 1] have more guests over-happiness factor 2] use cloth napkins instead of paper All the time..Thanks for facilitating that thought process.
I would like to replace all of my plastic food containers with glass containers – at least the containers that I might be tempted to throw in the microwave for a couple of minutes!
I’m in the process of replacing all the melamine kiddo dishes with new glass and ceramic. I didn’t know how bad melamine dishes were until recently and I’m appalled at how so many kids dishes are made of such a toxic substance.
I’ve slowly started changing over my plastic lunch containers to glass. I would love for all of my plastic items to be glass (mixing bowls, measuring spoons etc) but decided to start with the lunch containers.
I would really like replacement lids for my pryex storage containers. Alas, they’ve changed their design, which would mean all new containers and lids, and none of them are currently as big as the biggest one that I currently own. I use the big one the most, too. The lids lasted about 10 years, and I’ve had them for 12.
I’d love to add more cast iron cookware to my repertoire. I have one pot and one pan, and the foods I cook in them always turn out amazingly flavorful!
I would love to either use more Weck jars or use non-BPA flats on my traditional mason jars.
a pressure cooker. I’d love to have a pressure cooker because then I would eat more beans.
We’re slowly getting rid of the plastics in favor of glass & metal. Next step: getting rid of the teflon…
I’d like to find a healthier alternative to my cheap non-stick pans…something that is not a nightmare to maintain (which leads to me not cooking) and not too heavy for me to lift with my bad wrists.
replace the plastic lunch containers with stainless steel, and the plastic serving/cooking spoons with wood and stainless as well. i’ve already got tons of glass.
Like several other people, I’d love to be using less plastic. I’m able to pack my partner’s lunch in mostly glass containers–a combination of canning jars and Pyrex, mostly–but my daughter’s school has a no-glass-containers rule that I’m continually running afoul of.
I’m always trying to make as much as I can from scratch. I use produce grown in my own garden for canning and all natural ingredients. Anything I can use to help protect my family from chemicals is welcome in my home!
i want to try different sealing techniques in my canning efforts.
I would like to use only reusable containers. no more ziploc bags, and I am trying to convert to only self made products. I just began canning last year and LOVE IT!
I’d love to get brave enough to try pressure canning. I can only imagine how much healthier that would be than the processed stuff in the stores!!
I’d love to replace my kids lunch containers, I have a lot of glass that we use at home, but it can’t be sent to school. Stainless steel would be ideal, but it’s not in the budget right now for four kids. Someday!
I am working on getting rid of all plastics and exchanging it with glass and stainless steel.
Like earlier commenters, I’d like to replace all my crappy plastic containers with glass. I get enough exposure to carcinogens elsewhere and don’t need them coming from my food storage. I think my brain would explode with happiness if I got this giveaway.
Stop using teflon pans.
I would love to use more fresh herbs and spices as well as start canning more often.
I have plastic locking lid boxes that I’ve really liked for food storage, but now that the locking tabs are starting to fail, I’d love to replace them with glasslock boxes. I don’t like to reheat food in plastic; glass is safer. Moving slowly in that direction!
Plum jam: That’s my favorite, too. One year I gave too much away, and ran out in March. Now I’m always careful to ration it so that I’ll have enough for me, me, me.
I’m for replacing the old tupperware with glass or stainless steel.
I also need to get rid of the rest of my plastic containers! Slowly but surely…
I would LOVE to replace all of my plastic utensils with stainless or wooden.
I would love to rid my kitchen of plastic storage and use more glass!
I would like to be better about canning tomatoes for the year before the chickens pilfer them… No BPA’s in home can tomatoes and we sure use a lot!
A bigger fridge and freezer!
The one change I’d like to make is something that I’m slowly in the process of doing, replacing plastic storage containers with glass.
I really want to replace the rest of my plastic lunch containers. I have some glass but I don’t like to take glass some places. These stainless steel look awesome! http://mightynest.com/shop/reusable-lunch-gear/food-containers/small-stainless-steel-round-containers-magenta-set-of-2
I would like to be a better baker.