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 would like to get better at using my cast-iron skillet so I can finally ditch the teflon!
I see lots of readers making the switch from plastic to glass: awesome endeavor I have undertaken as well. For, me, I would love to cut down on my processed food (that is, prepackaged) and make more homemade meals. These jars would be prefect for storage and my own plum jam recipe!! 🙂
since i began canning i have always looked for innovative ways to do it…glass is perfection and stainless steel is great for those with lifting disabilities like myself…if i could change anything it would be all glass or all stainless steel…but for now i will settle for half and half
I’d have to say getting a dehydrator in order to preserve in more ways besides just canning.
I just found your website the other day when I was looking for recipes to send out with a CSA newsletter. It’s great! 🙂
I am actually pretty conservative with what I let into my kitchen anymore– I use glass pyrex with rubber lids instead of tupperware, all cast-iron pans, heck, I even wash my dishes with homemade baking-soda cleanser.
I WOULD love some weck jars though. I’ve read that Ball canning lids have BPA, which is kind of the point of home canning–avoiding the added chemicals. 😛
I would love to add some of the stainless baking pans to my kitchen. I try to not use non stick and I use a lot of glass, these would be amazing (and my husband, the retired chef, would think he had died and gone to heaven)
I would like to replace all of my plastic containers with glass containers.
I’m really in need of a enamel coated cast iron pot for the oven and some non-reactive glass bowls for mixing… really large bowls. I was canning zucchini relish this week and had a really hard time finding something to let it sit in over night (the zucchini, onions, and salt). And if I could… I’d add some of those gorgeous Weck jars!
i would love to get rid of some of my plastic storage containers and replace them with bpa-free glass ones.
I’d like to add glassware storage containers to my kitchen supply. I’ve already ditched the plastic.
We bought a small farm a couple of years ago, and are trying to raise most of what we eat. We have a large garden and several chickens and ducks, we also have quail and rabbits, two pigs, and a calf. I can most of the garden. We freeze most of the meat we butcher our self, some of it I can, like chicken,and rabbit. I also can a lot of soups and chili, and my own broth. These jars would be a great addition to my pantry. Thanks for such a great give away. I’m sure whoever wins tham will enjoy them dearly.
I just discovered your blog and I’m loving it! I’m new to canning, so I would love a real canner. I just use the biggest pot I have and a dish towel on the bottom. As I result many of my jars were processed in green or blue water, and I can’t process anything bigger than a 500ml jar. Overall I’m having fun!
It would have to be replacing our leftover yogurt containers-as-leftover-food-containers with non plastic (probably glass) storage containers. I feel good in that we’re keeping plastic out of the landfill by repurposing them to hold leftovers and lunches, but I know that plastic isn’t the best thing for our bodies.
One thing I’d really like to do is can all my tomatoes for the coming tomato-less months, after finding out just how bad cans are and what’s being leached into my store-bought stewed tomatoes.
I need a new salad spinner. My son “over loved” mine by spinning dinosaurs in it. As such, we don’t have salad as often as we used to! Love this give away, and I’m anxiously waiting for your book to arrive- i ordered it yesterday!
Being a new mom, I was astounded at how I suddenly realized I had been decieved into being a “sheeple” all of these years. Since my daughter has arrived (7 months ago)I have been making changes- some gradual, some with a bit more “oomph”– to lessen my impact on the environment and to change us around as a family to being more green as well as self sustainable. I think in the kitchen the one thing I would do would be to remove all the plastics and switch over to all glass storage ware and utensils. Thanks for hosting the giveaway!
My kids love dried fruit. I would love a food dehydrator to make my own. I would also like a larger cast iron pan – love my cast iron!
I would love to get rid of all the plastic in my kitchen and go to glass or metal. 🙂
finding ways to get rid of teflon – slowly getting there!
I love them all, too! The one thing I probably want the most, besides the canning jars, is a cast iron skillet.
Plastics for me too! Isn’t it crazy that we are all stuck on this one? I have made so many changes over time, to try to have the healthiest kitchen for our family, but with a four year old, we have always had some plastic things for her to eat from. I never put it in the microwave, nor in the dishwasher, so I’m as careful as I can be with it, but I would like to be rid of it entirely. As she’s getting older, it’s easier and easier to do, since she’s much less likely to toss things onto the floor or bang them together and break things.
Thanks for offering the giveaway! My fingers are crossed!
I’d love to make the full switch from plastics to glass. Convenience is a tough habit to break, though. 🙂 But really, glass is SO much fun, and prettier too!
I would love to get a cast iron skillet instead of using crappy nonstick teflon pans. I am new to canning and so excited about this giveaway!
what an amazing give away! Wow! I do wish I had more glass storage for dry goods and homemade items like granola. And of course, preserves! 🙂
I would like to plan better meals
I’d like to switch out my plastic ladles, spatulas, and other utensils for stainless or wood.
I’d love to get ceramic coated pans to replace my failing non-stick pans.
I would like to replace my plastic cutting boards with bamboo cutting boards.
I see I’m thinking the same thing as a lot of people here : I would like to replace my plastic storage with some nice glass storage.
Also – being new to canning, preserving food is actually something I want to incorporate more of. And this set looks such a SEXY way to do that! Very pretty.
I have a glass top stove and just learned I should use a flat bottom canner (which this looks like it might be) so I really hope to win!! Thanks! 🙂
Popcorn being a popular snack in our home, I would love to replace microwave popcorn bags with a glass, microwave popcorn popper. So many benefits! Eliminates chemicals from microwave bags, unhealthy chemicals used as preservatives, contributes to a ‘greener’ world by eliminating the bag and replacing with washable glass, and tastes fresher, AND allows for using a variety of types of popcorn for a different taste each night 🙂 GREAT product and awesome giveaway by MightyNest…kudos!
I plan on replacing my plastic with glass or non-BPA plastic.
I’m working on using more environmentally-friendly (and people-friendly) cleaning products on my dishes and kitchen surfaces–I like the thing where MightyNest will send you a set of cleaning products on a regular basis so you don’t have to remember to shop for them!
I would really like to start dehydrating my own stuff. We are really starting to make headways in really making most of our food and this could only help. Also I recently got a soda stream for my birthday and its helping me cut down on my diet soda intake.
I’d like to start using less disposable plastic sandwich bags.
I’d love BPA-free canning jars and lids. The Weck ones look amazing, and would make my kitchen a much happier place. 🙂
I wish I could compost, but my building doesn’t. I *should* start a fire escape garden so I can use more fresh herbs and home grown veggies in my kitchen, but haven’t gotten around to that yet.
Like many others, I’d like to gradually replace plastic storage containers with glass. I’d also like to be a little more organized to avoid waste and try to be a little more adventurous with food choices
I would like to do a better job of keeping my freezer stocked by doubling recipes so that I don’t resort to unhealthy food when life gets busy.
I have been trying for some time to switch to all glass rather than plastic storage containers. I use Mason jars for some things, but getting larger storage options can be pricey, and even “nice” storage square/rectangle containers that are all glass, for stuff like leftovers, are not cheap. Another issue is getting away from using Ziploc baggies in all their variations. If I suddenly came into some money right now, that would be one of the things I take care of 😉
I am phasing out plastic, like so many others. But now that my 10 year old is starting to cook, I would also feel safer if I had an induction cooktop instead of a gas range – even though I’m always around, I’ve become more anxious about the flame now that there’s an active child nearby. Sigh, in my dreams.
I would love to replace my plastic-lidded items with glass ones!
I would also like to replace my plastic storage containers, but for a different reason. They are all opaque. If I had glass, I could see the contents. This would let me make better use of healthy left overs and make sure I use them before they spoil. Seeing them might also make my husband more likely to eat them and less likely to open one of his high fat/high sodium/low fiber cans he keeps sneaking into the house.
What a fantastic giveaway! Loveliness. I still need to find a BPA free alternative to our current canning lids. And by find, I mean just suck it up and try the Tattler lids already.
Fingers crossed.
The one new change we are focusing on this year is dehydrating instead of just canning. This way we can measure out just what we are needing instead of ending up buying prepackaged stuff that are laced in chemicals in order to not waste. The Weck jars would be a great jar for canning or storing dried goods (without plastic).
I have been trying to make my kitchen healthier by replacing plastics with glass, stainless steel or wood, and by canning. I especially love the Weck jars. This giveaway looks amazing!
Get rid of plastic wrap entirely and use waxed paper and canvas, cloth sacks, etc.
Along with the rest of the crowd, I’m trying to replace my plastic storage containers with glass. We’re about halfway there…
I’d like to finally get rid of all the plastic containers. I’ve just started taking my breakfast to work in a Weck jar instead of the usual Lock & Lock containers we’ve been using for ages, and it just seemed so much nicer.
I’d love to set up a baking area in my kitchen: jars filled with flours, sugars and chocolate chips. But mostly to make many batches of giant thumbprint cookies with my homemade jams. I would purchase the jars at MightyNest. They have a lovely selection and are very reasonably priced.
we have two non-sticks and I keep meaning/wanting to really season our cast iron and move over to them instead