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 am gradually (as budget allows) switching over to all glass storage in my kitchen. Including my food storage, water storage and spices and seasonings. I am also slowly changing over to all cast iron cooking pans.
I would love to have all those lovely Weck jars.
I would really like to make a change in my storage. I love the Round TrueSeal Food Storage with Green Lid (4 sizes)
Thanks for the awesome giveaway 🙂
Renee
fattybumpkins at yahoo dot com
My fresh-out-of-college pots and pans have been put through the wringer and I have been looking to upgrade and expand, especially to cast iron. Frittatas! Cornbread!
They have so many great things! I’d love to get the Little Bites Silicone Ice Pop molds so that I can make BPA-free frozen popsicles. I’m trying to get more and more plastic out of my kitchen.
I’m working on switching entirely to cast iron cookware! I already have two pieces and I’d love something small now for making eggs.
I would like to replace all the plastic baggies and kid’s plates and cups with glass and stainless steel items.
Eat more grains!
I don’t use a microwave, but replacing plastic with glass would be wonderful. Not only is it healthier, the food is more visible and attractive, and is much more likely to be eaten, and not shoved into the back of the fridge.
It looks like I’m not the first to say so, but I’d really like to replace all of my plastic food storage containers with glass alternatives. I’m also planning to invest in some re-usable sandwich bags; I am a champion lunch-packer and I need something to fill the gap between glass jar and rectangular rubbermaid!
I would LOVE to ditch every scrap of plastic from my kitchen! (And what a beautiful set you are giving away. I’m drooling!)
What a beautiful set! Getting rid of plastic is a big one for me. Also, staying away from products with yucky ingredients…..wholesome food is always better!
I really want to upgrade all of my containers to glass ones with glass lids or jars with metal lids. And I also want to start making all my own condiments.
less plastic, definitely.
Like many others that have commented, my next big kitchen hurdle is replacing plastic tupperware with glass and stainless steel. And getting a soup thermos for my hubby to take soups to work and not have to use the microwave! And I’ve had my eye on Weck canning jars for quite some time to store dry goods in, plus have just gotten interested in canning, so this giveaway would be like a dream come true!
I would like to replace all my wooden spoons with bamboo!
I am trying to transition to sustainable kitchen items that are durable and have good business practices.
Oops. I accidentally commented on the wrong post initially because my reader was being fussy!
Anyways:
I would like to move away from using plastic containers for my lunch/leftovers and just use glass all the time.
I love your site btw! I’ve made both blueberry/ginger shrub and raspberry shrub this summer and they are amazing!
I have lofty goals and wish to change our winter purchases this season by canning all of our own produce as well as those I purchase at farmers markets! I am all against GMO’s and all for teaching others how to garden, can and cook for themselves! As an avid seed trader – -> I have seen my “babies” go all over the world. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE this set so I can double my canning pleasure! Beautiful set! WOW
How I would like to improve our kitchen – all I do know is that this set would make an awesome difference in our lifestyle as canning fever would prevail and we would also get rid of much of our plastic containers.
The glass containers for leftovers! We’re trying to get rid of all plastic containers in our kitchen. It’s a slow but worthwhile process!
I’m working on eliminating plastic containers from the kitchen as much as possible.
I would love to switch over from Gladware and Tupperware to only stainless steel and glass, but the process has been slow since it is a bit costly for me. I started storing dry goods in 1/2 gallon Ball jars a few years back and I love it.
Like several others in the comments, I would like to rid my kitchen of plastic containers. It’s not so much that I’m panicked by BPA (I figured that ship has sailed with all the plastic I’ve heated and reheated), but I really hate the lingering smells that stick to plastic.
I would love to outfit my cupboards with durable glassware that I can pack up into my lunch bag.
Less plastic, more glass. I love Weck jars but only have a few. I gave them to a friend for her birthday-hope she loves them as much as I do!
I would love to give up storage of items in plastic and replace with stainless steel or glass.
We are still using Tupperware I bought in the ’70’s! I think it is time to replace them. I really like the Glasslock glass containers on the website
I would love to get rid of our microwave. My husband uses it for everything and it drives me crazy. Hmmmm… if I got rid of the husband then the microwave could go with him?!?!? Or, hopefully one day he will learn how unhealthy it is, that’s my hope.
I would definitely get rid of all my plastic stuff, and in a dream world (where my husband wouldn’t throw a fit) I’d ditch our microwave to stick to gas stove heating.
My goal is to cut down on the BPA-lined cans-o-stuff (especially tomatoes and beans!) that my husband and I keep using. Since I’ve now made beans from scratch (once), I’m hoping that I can overcome my fear to canning tomatoes, since that’s step 2. That said, since I don’t have a canner (yet), I keep having to do lots of small batches to fit in my stock pot.
I have been dying to use a Chemex Glass Coffeemaker instead of my Keurig which produces so much waste.
Replacing plastic with glass….never microwaving in plastic…and we will not be replacing the microwave when it decides to give up the ghost
I would really like to get a dishwasher – I know that would help make sanitizing the jars for canning so much easier – and not to mention the daily dishes… 🙂
I am ditching all the plastics in my kitchen. I am finding it difficult to find a replacement for ziplock freezer bags for freezing meat, waffles, and the like.
I started canning during WWII when we had a Victory garden. After we moved to Texas I gave away all my canning supplies except my Weck jars. Then my pomegranate tree produced the most beautiful fruit one year and I made jelly & syrup.
Now when summer comes, I watch the fruit and can’t wait for Autumn so I can pick it and start canning. This year I also made bread & butter pickles which are a delight. More jars would be great so I can make more special foods for our table.
i have been drooling for quite some time on all posts that show weck jars. i want some sooooo bad
I’d like to use more natural cleaners and make some of my own. To cut down on the chemicals my family is exposed to.
I’d like to upgrade to an insulated stainless steel thermos for carrying hot drinks in the winter, rather than using my old, scratched plastic ones (yuck).
I would love to get an excaliber food dehydrator to make healthy snacks! And I wamt these JARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!
Like most of the others who have commented, I’d like to find a replacement for the plastic storage containers I rely on for leftover storage and freezing. New glass storage containers really add up! I’m also reluctant to carry them to and from the office since I already have to tote my laptop back and forth on public transit. I get concerned about containers leaking and the extra weight of glass. I’m going to have to experiment slowly, I guess. The products on MightyNest are very inspiring!
I would like to replace all of my salvaged plastic to-go containers with glass food storage containers. And replace plastic food storage bags with washable, reusable bags.
I’d love to get a some glass jars and bottles for condiments; right now many of my homemade condiments reside in the bottles of their store-bought predecessors.
I’d love one of those silicone freezer compost thingies. We already compost, but are being discouraged by the fruit flies. This year my homemade fruit fly traps just can’t keep up! Thanks for the entry – what a great giveaway!
I would like to make ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and peanut butter.. Not only would this reduce waste/shipping, taste better, be healthier; it would yield greater satisfaction.
I’d really love to cut meat down to only once or twice a month, and make that meat very high quality. We’re living with my (very meat and potatoes) father-in-law, so it’s just a pipe dream for now, but that’ll be the first thing I’ll change when we move!
If I could do one thing to make my kitchen healthier, it would be replacing all the plastic with glass or metal — from mixing bowls to measuring cups to leftover storage, I’m slowly but surely changing our ways!
I’d like to replace a lot of our little kitchen implements — funnel, spatulas — with metal or silicon. I made pudding last week and was using a plastic spatula to scrape the sides of the saucepan when I suddenly became convinced that the boiling pudding was melting the plastic…so I ran my finger over the tip of the spatula to check. Silicon spatulas would save me from having to ice my index finger overnight.
I’m working on being able to can and store more fresh fruit and veggies so I stock up for times when it isn’t so available. I always full in a rut of buying prepared items in winter!
I would like to remove plastic storage containers from my kitchen… the more we find out about chemicals leaching into our food when heated in plastic… kinda scary!
Chuck the microwave and the last of the plastic! I just found your website while looking for a hand to hold while using my new Weck jars for the first time. Thanks much for the info and reassurance. Gotta get back to my pickles!
I want to find a replacement for plastic zipper bags for freezing of liquids, etc
I’ve been trying to get rid of all plastic food serving and storage containers. It has been a slow go, but I’m getting there. I find jars to be the perfect replacement and use them for everything now.