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.
I wish I used fewer paper towels… but draining bacon on kitchen towels just doesn’t feel right!
I would love to learn how to use a grilling basket and what herbs go with what! That would make my life handier!!
I would love to replace my plastic leftover containers entirely with glass and metal. I’m chipping away at it, but I swear the plastic has babies while I’m not looking and I can’t bear to throw them out.
Cool giveaway!
I have taken a small step and made the lunchboxes healthier and more environmentally friendly by replacing baggies and individually-packaged snacks with a set of containers that I fill from family-sized boxes. I dream of replacing my “tupperware” containers, that I use to store all things from dry cereal to leftovers, with glass ones…
On a side note, I just tried your recipe for marinara sauce from your book and I’m in love! Thanks! 🙂
To make my kitchen healthier, I’d like to make sure the first snack me or my children reach for is a fruit or vegetable. I want to always have wholesome and healthy food, that I know the ingredients to, and where it came from. I started a small garden this year and my whole family has been enjoying the tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers. I can’t wait until I have raspberries and strawberries, hopefully next year!
Where to start…green cookware (we have one nice skillet), recycle all the plastic containers for stainless and glass, and most importantly, replace all the plastic kid stuff with stainless. We recently bought a farm and are spending these last gasps of summer canning and freezing and preserving…what a task! But my little guys are great helpers.
I wish that i used more of the vegetables I buy – I am trying to start canning and preserving so that during the winter, we can eat great veggies, not out of season or BPA filled ones!
I would love to replace all my canned store bought veggies with ones that I have canned myself. I just started canning and I am loving it!
Use less plastic containers, for sure!
I need to stop using ziplock bags.. the guilt is slowly outweighing the convenience of using them.
I’d like to have stainless steel baking pans, and non plastic cups for my daughter.
I love this! I would use the juice containers and small jars. My 5 year old son was diagnosed with epilepsy a year ago and I have changed his diet around to organic, dairy and gluten free as possible. This diet changed has proven to be medication free. I would love to have convient but small jars to take items that I know are organic and locally grown. Even when we are away for testing, I could feed him non hospital food that was not pre packaged!
To make my kitchen healthier I want to get rid of the last of my “non-stick” cookware. I’ve been phasing it out, but still have a ways to go.
I would like to get rid of my plastic containers.
I wish I used fewer plastic products
I would use less plastic ware for leftovers.
I would like to get rid of plastic…storing food only in glass.
I’d like to stop using so many plastics in our food storage and preparation.
I’d like to get rid of the last bit of teflon pans by trying the ceramic alternatives or a carbon steel pan. I’ve already started using cast iron more, but sometimes resort to the nonstick for certain things.
Eventually I hope to sub out my old plastic tupperware for nice glass ones, so I can reheat my lunches without wasting a paper plate for the microwave. Of course, throwing out what I already have, and purchasing all new stuff, sounds pretty wasteful too, so it’s a gradual process (as the old plastic ones get cracked/lost)!
I’m trying to reduce the use of plastic and reuse it when possible. David Lebovitz had a great blog post about washing Ziploc and other plastic bags, hanging them out to dry and then doing it over and over again. I aspire to that!
i would like to use cast iron more often. i have one smallish pan, and i’m always very pleased with the results. but it tends to collect cat hair if i’m not careful to keep it (loosely) covered. i like that it requires little oil (as long as i keep it well seasoned) and add iron to my diet!
I’d like to stop using as many plastics, since right now I heat things in them and probably shouldn’t.
I want to be done with nonstick pans. They’re high maintenance and they I never feel quite sure that they’re not passing off weird chemicals into my food. Up with well seasoned cast iron!
I would like to use more glass storage containers. I reuse plastic yogurt containers, but maybe I should start making my own yogurt.
I’d love to replace my nonstick with cast iron! Heavy, yes. But worth it!!
I’m not buying plastic snack baggies anymore. Switched to the reusable washable kind! Hurray!
I’d like to replace plastic storage containers with glass one.
I would love a better quality set of cookware. I hate useing the non-stick and it cant be put in the oven. I am also learning there is no such thing as too many stock pots.
Using cast iron seems like the ultimate in friendly kitchenware. With proper use, it can last forever!
So many things, but I definitely would like to move towards bpa-free home canning. And away from single-use lids at the same time!
Ooo I want to trade out all of my kitchen food storage containers for the ones I saw on that site. I’m fairly new to canning, but what I’ve done I’ve enjoyed. 🙂
I love Mighty Nest! I would love to switch to a healthier pan than my Teflon-coated skillet.
I love snack taxi for my kids snacks and lunches! Having these has been fantastic, we are using much fewer ziploc bags. Still need more glass storage though, to get rid of the remaining plastic we still have in our kitchen! Thanks for the opportunity to win great prizes!
I’m trying to use more glass for storage, and much less plastic in the kitchen altogether.
I’d love to replace the remaining leftovers containers and lunch-taking containers with stainless and glass – they’re the last remaining bastion of plastic in my kitchen. And I’d love to use more Weck jars! 🙂
I would love to get a canning pot and start canning! Yes, that’s right I haven’t even tried hot water canning yet. Oh woe is me.
I would like to replace my aluminum pots and pans with high grade stainless steel.
I’d love to shift from plastic storage containers to glass or stainless steel.
I would love to eliminate plastic containers from my kitchen… but it seems they make their way back to my house on a regular basis. You can’t even give the stupid things away – no one wants them! 🙂
We’re addicted to plastic locking-lid containers and zip-top bags for leftovers. Glass ones seem to chip as soon as you look at them cross-eyed! Shifting to stainless steel might be in store.
I need to get rid of the Teflon. I just haven’t figured out scrambled eggs without it.
For a healthier kitchen I’d replace all the plastic containers with glass, preferably with Weck!
I would like to start canning! We planted a huge garden this year in the hopes of being able to put up some of our homegrown goodness. Each year we let the kids pick their favorite vegetable and a new vegetable to plant-This year the purple “green beans” were very popular.
I would love the square cast iron griddle pan and the cast iron scrub brush!
Switching over from plastic containers for leftovers/storage to glass is a change I would love to make.
I would like to get more home canned goods on my shelves! I just started canning for the first time last week. Picked too many blackberries while on the farm and thought it would be the perfect time to start learning! I started easy with Blackberry freezer jam and then made some blackberry syrup. When I started hearing my jars of syrup “pop” after coming out of the water bath I was hooked! Today the adventure continues with Pickles and pickled green beans! Soon my pantry will be full…….but I am going to run out of jars soon too, hmmmmmm.
We’ve been looking for an alternative to chemically-treated, non-stick pans for quite some time, so it’d be great to find something that is both eco-friendly and safe for us!
I began phasing out plastic containers for food storage a while back and it is an on going battle/project. My glass jars do not fit all occasions & foods.
I would love to replace our small plastic dishes with Little Bites Silicone Bowls.
I need more glass jars so I don’t have to use any plastic for leftovers.
I would like to transfer all of my spices and herbs to glass jars and out of those plastic ones they come in!
I am consciously making an effort to reduce my zip lock bags usage and using more glass for food storage. 😉
I’ve been trying to get rid of all the tupperwear in the house and transition to glass storage. It’s a slow process to get away from that habit. What a great giveaway!
I would love to win this. I have been researching and wanting to start canning but am lacking the finances to get started.
I’d change our food storage entirely to glass!
I’d love to replace my sketchy cookware with something safe like the Logic seasoned cast iron skillets.
I would love to get rid of all my plastic/Tupperware products! Thanks!
Im in the process of switching over to glass myself. Would love some of these.
I’d like to not use as many ziplok baggies in the lunches of my 7 kids.
After 15 years in the military eating out of plastic MRE bags, etc….I’ve been trying to get rid of any extra plastic & other BPA sources in the kitchen to coincide with our clean eating lifestyle. Not an easy, nor inexpensive task…
I would live to get rid of all plastic -cups, straws, lunch containers in particular. Thanks!
Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and sharing these amazing products with us! I had never heard of these jars. We can quite a bit and have always used Mason, Bell, etc. I would love to change over to these jars due to the BPA in my old collection.
I need to get rid of the plastic spoons and ladles and replace with all wood or stainless steel
I haven’t been buying any more plastic for my kitchen and I’ve been slowly replacing items I already own. Only stainless steel, glass and/or wood!
Over the last few years I have gotten rid of the plastic containers, switched to stainless steel cookie sheets and bread pans, one of the last areas to tackle is the pancake griddle and waffle iron, both are the old nonstick coated material. This giveaway is amazing!
I’ve made so many changes over the last several years. Lately, I’ve been contemplating solutions for packing a lunch for my husband. And I still need a good alternative for plastic wrap!
I’d get rid of the questionable non-stick cookware my husband insists on keeping and replace it with something safer (and prettier!)
I have been there! I was lucky that my step mom purchased better cookware for my family. Hope you prosper! 🙂
I would get rid of those last few plastic containers that are lurking in my lunch bag for work. And replace them with glass or stainless ones
Would love to be done with paper towels. We don’t use them often, but it still bothers me to use something once and throw it away. Thanks for the giveaway. 🙂
These would be really nice for gift baskets, but almost to pretty to give away.
I have been trying to get to the point that I’m not using metal cans for anything… that has been slow, but I’m canning my own stuff a lot more now. The next step is to starting cutting down the BPA. It’s a process, I know. Healthier, one step at a time.
I’ve been very reluctant to start a garden, knowing how much produce I’ll end up with. Considering the fact that I am the only real vegetable eater in our household, I’d hate for everything else to go to waste. Once I learn how to can properly, I will feel much more confident in starting our home garden!
I am new at canning, having just started this summer with wild Maine blueberry jam. I would love to have a set of BPA free canning equipment!
One change I want to make {that this giveaway helps with} is to can more! I already can, but want to make it more of a staple of our daily life.
Great giveaway!!
I would love to get rid of my cookware that has aluminum in it.
We started making bread and have been wanting to try canning. I have been intimidated to try it. I think I can tackle it with this set up 🙂
Healthy Resolution: one afternoon/evening of recipe doubling can yield two or three dinners IF you have those great freezer to oven glass bake dishes! Even soups in the two cup size will save you from resorting to deli take out! Thankfully there are so many safe new plastics, but it’s hard to beat the beauty and practicality of glass baking and storing.
Getting rid of all plastic, soaking/sprouting our grain.
I’ve just started the process of getting rid of my old plastic storage containers. I’m a little attached to them as I grew up with Tupperware:) Changing over to glass has started to be a beautiful transformation! It really is pretty!
id like to replace my non stick pans and skillets that hubby keeps buying…
I am wanting to find a really good food mill. I’ve been making applesauce this week and have discovered the one I am using is rubbing metal gunk off itself even after a really good scrubbing. So, I had to switch to making apple pies. I would also really like to get bpa free canning lids.
I too am replacing all plastic storage containers with glass. After a 20 years I am back in to canning and would love to have an alternative to BPA coated lids. This is truly a great giveaway.
I would love to have a way to inexpensively filter the drinking and cooking water to get rid of all toxins, including FLOURIDE! All that are out there are so expensive 🙁
I’d like to stop using so much plastic wrap. I am pretty good about putting leftovers in glass, but I still find myself using more plastic wrap than I would like. I also want to get to where I am cooking almost all my food from scratch and reduce food waste and packaging waste.
When I bought my place, I moved away from a large but terribly laid out kitchen to a small but bright, airy kitchen that I love. Sadly, I also moved away from a dishwasher and have no place for one now (without making it my kitchen table as well… don’t believe I didn’t think of doing that!). Now that I have to wash everything by hand, my plastic storage containers seem to have a oil-film on them that I can only remove with more elbow grease than I care to part with. I’m switching to glass storage, and love my ‘canning jars in waiting’ for this. Have been searching for the Weck ‘mold’ jars to make this easier since it is now canning season and all my regular ones have to be pressed into service….
I would love to get rid of all the plastic in my kitchen. Glass lasts so much longer!
I would get rid of all my Teflon coated products cold turkey. I have been replacing them one at at time in the interest of frugality but if I could I’d throw them all away and start over:-) love your blog & book – looking forward to my start in canning.
I, like so many others are looking to get rid of the plastic. I am going back to having my great grandmothers’ kitchen. Clean, simple and durable.
I have been looking for more glass jars, and these are AWESOME! I can already see so many ways they could be used to make storing food for my family so much healthier and safer! Thank you for this opportunity 🙂
I am committed this year to buying more bulk, and storing in all glass storage. I have an open pantry concept, I like the look of glass jars as opposed to consumer packaging!!
I would love to change from plastic to all glass containers and rid my kitchen of that chemical hazard. I have wanted for sometime to learn canning but havent had the funds to invest in well made canning supplies. I have also been a bit intimidated with the entire process. I have found memories of my grandmas large canning room and opening up a new jar of her mulberry jam!!
Hi! Thank you for a chance to win a spectacular set for home canning! The most needed change in my kitchen would be to part with my beloved omelette pan! It has the dreaded no stick coating. Guess I should go stainless, master my heat settings and use more BUTTER! :0) Would love to win! Thank you!
I’d like to get rid of plastic all together in the kitchen. We are slowing phasing it out, but it’s hard to break old habits!
i have been steadily using less plastic, and heading towards glass. i would love to win a canning set with these types of jars! how amazing! i have three tiny kiddos, and am working on canning and preserving everything i can!
I would like to trim my large plastic storage container collection and start using more glass.
I would like to add more glass containers to my kitchen so we can stop using plastic for food storage and more cast iron for cooking.
These jars look awesome. I love the different sizes. Kudos to MightyNest for the work they do! I’ve purchased stainless lunch gear through them, but I would love to stop using plastic containers at home for leftovers. This giveaway is very exciting. I am crossing my fingers that my family wins!
I am trying to stop using plastic in my kitchen. I have mostly phased out the plastic containers, but getting rid of plastic baggies is hard. I hadn’t thought about spices until I read it on another comment. Oh my, now I am going to have to start working on that, too!!
Would love it if my hubby would stop using paper towels. I use cloth but he refuses to use it because of “that distinctive smell”, he says.