Bernardin's New BPA-Free Canning Lids

This has been the first year in many, many, many years that my home canning in down.  Despite that, I am always on the look-out for home canning products.  One of the recent food contaminants concerns has been BPA (Bisphenol-A), an additive found in many plastics.  Most of the exposure to BPA is dietary through plastic food containers and the lining in metal cans.  The general work around is to avoid using plastics entirely and if not possible use BPA-free plastics.  Home canners, however were forced to use BPA lined single use canning lids unless they used glass inserts or Tattler reusable canning lids.  [Please note the warning against using the 4ever Recap canning lids as they have an extremely high seal failure rate during storage.] 

One of the reasons I do a lot of home canning is to avoid food contaminates like BPA.  The fact that the metal single use snap canning lids contained BPA has bothered me ever since I made that discovery.  As a result I have been in the process of switching to glass inserts and Tattlers.  However, only gaskets for the Gem jars are currently available which limits how many of my inserts can be used and switching to Tattlers is expensive when doing large scale canning.  Despite the additional initial cost, Tattlers really are the frugal choice but only if you going to do enough canning that they will be reused to justify the added expense.  Glass inserts and Tattlers are too expensive to be used on home canned foods that will be given as gifts.

I recently discovered Bernardin BPA-free canning lids at Dollarama.  Dollarama is currently the cheapest source for the single use canning lids.  A couple of years ago a package of 12 cost $1 but now they are $1.50, still almost half the cost of other retailers. A lost cost BPA-free canning lid is definitely a welcomed addition in the home canning world!

Visually there is very little difference between the BPA-free lids and those containing BPA.  In comparison to the older gold colour Bernardin lids, the underside is whiter than the newer silver lids.  The newer lids with BPA are very slightly mottled while the BPA-free lids look smoother.  Other than that, you can't really tell the difference.  You can however, have peace of mind that you are not contaminating your food with BPA.

I currently have a stash of 36 boxes of snap lids in three sizes (standard, widemouth, Gem).  As I use those boxes I am replacing with the BPA-free lids.  In general, food does not come into contact with the plastic coating when foods are properly processed in a boiling water bath canner.  Food will come into contact with the plastic coating when foods are pressure canned.  It is imperative to follow the instructions with the lids as the prep has changed.  The plastisol sealant on the new lids (with or without BPA) has changed so there is no longer a need to boil or heat the lids before processing.  Simply place them on the prepared jars and continue with the sealing process. 

4ever Recap Reusable Canning Lids Warning

I am a high volume home canner with over 30 years of experience.  In addition to the two piece metal snap lids, I also use reusable canning lids (eg. glass inserts, glass lids, Tattler, and 4ever Recap).  I ordered one dozen standard and one dozen wide-mouth size of the 4ever Recap lids.  The 4ever Recap lids came in at 10¢ less per lid than the Tattlers and promised the lids with gaskets (treated properly) would last forever.  As a high volume canner, I knew that savings would make a difference.   I contacted 4 Ward Industries immediately upon receiving my 4ever Recap lids who did not resolve my problem or address my concerns.

I started testing the 4ever Recap lids in April of 2013, wrote about sealing problems with the 4ever Recap lids the same month, and wrote a review of the 4ever Recap lids in May.  I left the remainder of the jars using 4ever Recap lids in the pantry which is both cool and dark.  During the midst of the busiest of my canning while putting newly canned foods in the pantry I noticed a jar of stock with a 4ever Recap lid that looked strange.  Upon closer inspection I discovered the lid had actually popped up and the contents obviously spoiled.  I immediately checked through all my jars of stored food, no easy task given the volume.  Every jar with a 4ever Recap lid had come unsealed.  I have to tell you, I was beyond furious!

I have used the reusable lids often enough that I can tell just by a quick glance whether the seal has failed.  It is very, very subtle but there is less compression between the lid and the jar (orange arrow).  What caught my attention though was the clouding of the turkey stock (yellow arrow left).  What I found with the remaining jars with 4 ever Recap lids were clear signs of spoilage (yellow arrow right).  I carefully brought the jars to the kitchen for further investigation, taking pictures.  Of note, jars of the same stock canned on the same day in the same batches using Tattler reusable canning lids and metal snap lids were fine with no sign of spoilage or seal failure.  All of the jars were stored in the same pantry in the same conditions.

I know the jars using the 4ever Recap lids were sealed when they went into storage.  They were removed from the pressure canner, bands firmly tightened immediately then sat undisturbed for 24 hours as per normal.  In fact, I noted seal failures at a rate of 25% during this initial period but after reprocessing all had sealed and were sealed when put into the pantry.  I removed the bands and tested those seals before the jars went into the pantry.  The beauty of the reusable lids aside of being eco-friendly is they are either sealed or they aren't.  If a lid is not sealed it easily slides or lifts off the jar with no resistance.  It is would be impossible to miss a lid that wasn't sealed.

In my initial correspondence with Jackie Ward of 4 Ward Industries, I asked about the apparent gasket seat flaw that allows the gasket to move somewhat on the lid.  She did not address my concerns but rather brushed them off.  Pictured is a comparison of a Tattler reusable lid to the 4ever Recap lids.  The gasket sits firmly on the gasket seat of the Tattler lid.  It is tight against the flange (green arrow) with no possible room for movement.  The gasket sits loosely on the 4ever Recap lids with a fair amount of room for movement (red arrow).  It does not sit tightly against the flange but rather if the gasket is pushed tight against the flange it leave a wiggle room of 1/8 - inch. This movement makes placing the prepared lids on filled jars more difficult and definitely explains the higher percentage of initial seal failures fresh from the canner because the gasket actually has enough room to shift so as to not cover the rim of the jar properly.
 
Yesterday, a reader who wished to remain anonymous left the following comment on the 4ever Recap review post:

You may be interested in knowing that after finding out that their "superior silicone' rings will not stay sealed longer then 3 weeks, 4Ever Recap is now selling nitrile rings. Now if you have a superior product, why would you exact copy your competitors tried & true (which you claim to be inferior) product? Also interesting, if you type 4Ever Recap Trademark into your search engine you will find that the company is actually owned by Kang Investments LLC. You form your own opinions on that one!  

I decided to do some investigation:

According to their website, 4 Ward Industries LLC in Anna, Ohio "is the company that brings" you 4ever Recap owned by Jackie Ward (President).  Brandon Ward, her husband, is Director of Marketing and Sales.  The website 4everrecap.com is a GoDaddy domain with the registrant set as private and their IP 64.29.151.221 points to InternetNamesForBusinesses.com in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  I could find no real information on 4 Ward Industries LLC other than what is on their website which is rather odd.  Of note, Anna is a village of under 1,600 people and the Village of Anna Businesses does not list 4 Ward Industries as a business in Anna, Ohio but City Squares listed 4ever Recap (not 4 Ward Industries) at 114 West North Street in Anna.  It's interesting that Google Street View shows nothing that appears to be a building for manufacturing the lids but perhaps it is a small enough operation to fit in a large shed.  The 4ever Recap trademark is definitely owned by Kang Investments LLC (also not listed in the Village of Anna Businesses) in Anna, Ohio, filed by Matthew H. Swyers who appears to be a trademark lawyer for The Trademark Company in Vienna, Virginia.  The address given for Kang Investments is 12800 Wengler Rd. which appears on Google Street View as two rather impressive homes on a dirt road across the road from an empty field. .  My conclusion is that 4 Ward Industries is not who they say they are and may possibly be portraying themselves in a deceptive manner.  I don't feel they are actually manufacturing the lids themselves as their website indicates 'the company that brings you' not manufacturers of 4ever Recap lids.  It is unclear where these lids are made and may or may not be BPA-free.  At any rate there is evidence that 4 Ward Industries is simply selling someone else's product that mimics Tattler. 

According to their website, 4ever Recap is offering silicone (red) and nitrile (black) gaskets.  If the silicone gaskets were superior in the first place, inquiring minds would like to know why they are suddenly offering nitrile gaskets?  Nitrile is an oil-resistant synthetic rubber that has recently been used in the manufacturing of medical gloves as a less expensive alternative to latex gloves.  It is also used in applications such as gaskets where oil resistance is necessary.   Clearly, there have been seal problems with the 4ever Recap both immediately and during storage which is why 4ever Recap is again copying Tattler by offering nitrile gaskets BUT they are still offering silicone gaskets despite the gasket seating defects which would lead to seal failures and the problem in general with the seal failures using silicone.  My conclusion is both Jackie and Bruce are aware of the high level of seal failures AND have relayed that to whom ever is manufacturing the lids.  Rather than correct the problem, an alternative gasket is being offered.  Clearly, an alternative nitrile gasket would not be offered if there weren't known seal problems with the silicone gasket!  Based on the numerous complaints over seal failures using the 4ever Recap lids and the multitude of canning sites and forums recommending against their use, I would not be surprised to see a class action lawsuit in the near future!

The bottom line:

Regardless of the confusion over who actually manufactures the 4ever Recap reusable lids, there is sufficient evidence to indicate that they are not manufactured at the location implied by the Wards.  There is a question on the feasibility of a business built on a non-sustainable business plan selling a product designed to last forever meaning they are only interested in first time buyers not maintaining existing customers.  There is reasonable evidence to speculate that these lids may not manufactured in the USA which brings their safety into question.  There clearly is a recognized problem with the silicone gaskets that leads to a higher rate of initial seal failures as well as increased seal failures during storage.  Of note, all negative comments regarding the 4ever Recap lids have been removed from their Facebook page, something they do blame Facebook for but I have my doubts.  It's their page so they have the power to remove any comments as they see fit.  I fully believe they have removed the negative comments to prevent perspective buyers from seeing them which could influence them not to buy the faulty lids.

On a personal level, I was not happy with the correspondence from Jackie who failed to resolve my problem or address my initial concerns over the gasket seating.  Despite several emails, she did not answer my concerns at all!  She blamed seal failures on being a new user of 4ever Recap lids even though they are used exactly the same way glass inserts and Tattler reusable lids are used, both of which I have been using on a regular basis for a few years.  Every single jar with a 4ever Recap lid in storage had lost the seal by September.  While this is longer than the 3 week in storage failure some are reporting, it is still unacceptable.  I currently have a little over 12 dozen jars in storage using Tattler and glass inserts.  Some of those jars have been in storage over a year.  To date the only seal failures I have experienced during storage has been using the 4ever Recap lids.   I definitely will not be using these shoddy reusable canning lids!  I am not willing to waste my time, effort, cooking fuel and food using what is clearly a substandard, defective product!  I do not recommend these lids!

Pretty in Pink - Low Sugar Chocolate Raspberry Sauce

There has been a breast cancer awareness badge on this blog since it was first created.  Like many, breast cancer has, in more than one way, affected our family.  I was delighted when Brad Steig, President of S&S Innovations, Corp invited me to promote their limited edition pink Tattler reusable lids.  This was an offer I could not refuse!  I have been using the Tattler reusable canning lids for over three years now and cannot say enough good things about them. 
 

I wanted a special product to showcase my new pink Tattler lids.  I chose my original low sugar chocolate raspberry sauce because I thought the pretty pink lids would compliment it nicely.   The original recipe has a firmer consistency which makes the sauce perfect to topping cream cheese or as a dessert topping.  This time I made changes to my original recipe to give a softer texture sauce suitable for use as an ice cream topping.  With a bit of tweaking of the sugar and adding vanilla for a little warmth, I ended up with a delectable ice cream topping worthy of the limited edition pink Tattler lids.  My husband poured some of the left over chocolate raspberry sauce over French vanilla ice cream.  He declared it a winner and went for a second helping with a huge grin on his face.

I'd like to thank Brand Steig and S&S Innovations, Corp for sending me a sample of the limited edition pink Tattler lids.  They perform just as nicely as the regular white Tattler lids except 35% of proceeds from their sale is being donated to the Munson Medical Center Women's Cancer Fund in Traverse City, Michigan!  If you would like to buy some of these lids in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you can you can click the pink button for the sale on the Women's Cancer information page on the Tattler website on October 1.  I just know you will enjoy these lids as much as I do!

Put a Lid on Cancer!

Over the course of authoring this blog for over seven years, I have had the great pleasure to form online relationships as well as endorse products I use and believe in.  Quite some time ago, I did extensive testing of the Tattler reusable canning lids and wrote a review on them.  I've been using Tattler lids for a little over three years now.  They quickly became and remain my preferred canning lid to use wherever possible.  I should clarify the 'possible' which really means I don't like using them on home canned foods that will be gifted as they are meant to be kept and reused multiple times.  Earlier this month, I received an email from Brad Steig, President of S&S Innovations, Corp. manufacturer of Tattler Reusable Canning Lids asking me if I would be interested in promoting their limited edition pink reusable canning lids in support of breast cancer awareness month with 35% of proceeds from their sale being donated to the Munson Medical Center Women's Cancer Fund in Traverse City, Michigan.  Through this program, 100% of donated funds go directly toward assisting women in meeting the financial burdens associated with battling cancer.  This request was one I could not turn down!

Nearly 1.5 million world wide were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010.   While this statistic includes both male and female diagnosed with breast cancer, the disease remains the most common female cancer world wide.  North America along with the UK and Australia/New Zealand have the highest incidence rates world wide, making these countries a priority for breast cancer awareness.  October is breast cancer awareness month.  Breast cancer affects everyone.  Someone you know is now battling this disease or have lost their life to it.  Like most, we too have been affected by breast cancer which is rather prevalent on my husband's side.  In 2001 we welcomed our beautiful daughter-in-law into our family and hearts.  Little did we know that we would see her go through the devastating pain of losing a sister from breast cancer who left behind a husband and two very young children. 

The S&S Innovations, Corp sent me four boxes of their Tattler reusable lids as pictured.  Two of the boxes were their limited edition pink reusable canning lids, one box of wide mouth and one box of standard!  They are gorgeous, the perfect shade of pink for breast cancer awareness month.  I will be using these lids for something special and share the results with you.

How can you get these gorgeous limited edition lids?  On October 1 you can click the pink button for the sale on the Women's Cancer information page on the Tattler website.  Be sure to get your special, limited edition pink Tattler lids to support this worthy cause!

Great News From NCHFP Regarding Reusable Canning Lids

Social media really is the place to keep up on a lot of food related information.  I am on both Twitter and Facebook one a personal and blogging basis.  A couple of days ago, I spotted an interesting post regarding reusable canning lids.  Now, in technicality, the only recommended closure for home canning is the metal two piece snap lids consisting of a metal disc with attached plastisol and a metal band.  Notice that I say recommended not approved?  The USDA does not approve anything including recipes, it only makes recommendations, something the canning police fail to recognize.

At any rate, reusable canning lids have been used for almost a hundred years.  I have used both glass lids and glass inserts as well as Tattler and 4ever Recap reusable canning lids.  Glass lids and inserts have been in use since at least the forties and while neither are no longer made as well as the gaskets for the standard mouth glass inserts, the gaskets for the glass lids and Gem jars are still in production.  Tattler lids are a plastic disc with a rubber gasket that has been in production since 1976 and 4ever Recap lids has only been in production a few years.  If the folks who are adamant about following the USDA guidelines to the point of it being a fault aka the canning police had their way, no one would be using the reusable lids.  Seriously, some of these folks are so insistent on the USDA guidelines that no substitutions are allowed in any USDA recommended recipe meaning sea salt should not be substituted for regular salt which is utter nonsense but that is another story.  What they fail to realize is the USDA makes their recommendations based on testing and that testing is paid for by manufacturers.  Recipes submitted to the USDA to be tested for home canning safety are tested at a cost to the submitter.  So, the large scale manufactures like Ball and Kerr in the US paid to have their closures, the metal two piece snap lids tested to the point the USDA would recommend them.  Note, recommend not approve.  Bernardin, a Canadian owned company and leading expert in home canning in Canada were purchased by Altrista Corporation (now Jarden Corp) in 1993.  They remain the leading Canadian home canning experts and are still well known for their jars, closures and publications.  Their jars and closures also are recommended by the USDA.

To date, the reusable canning lids have not been tested by the USDA even though many experienced home canners including myself feel the reusable canning lids are safer than the metal snap lids as the possibility of false seals is eliminated.  Not only are they safer, they are the eco-friendly choice for home canners.  The the United States, university extension services do testing for the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) on behalf of the USDA.  The University of Minnesota Extension service made the following announcement in their June 2013 newsletter:

Reusable canning lids have been around for 40 years and today, there is renewed interest in these lids. When using the lids, carefully follow the manufacturer’s (Tattler®) instructions. This lid should not impact the safety of the product as long as the food was processed properly. Currently, there is no research that looks at seal failures, rates, number of reuses or performance throughout reuses. The National Center for Home Food Preservation recently received a grant to study the performance of these lids with results available in 2014 or 2015.

This is amazing news!  Home canning is not exactly a high priority with respect to funding for testing.  On a per capita basis, home canning is a activity that is mainly low level and quite seasonal focusing mostly on jams, jellies, and pickles.  Those with higher level canning volumes tend to be rural folk, survivalists, and religious groups but there are a growing number of folk wanting to take control of their food supply.  These folks like myself want to put good, healthy foods on their table that are preservative free, additive free, and not laden with all those things the food industry puts into our foods that in turn are causing health problems.  Home canning is seeing a revival and has since the y2K scare as more realize it is a frugal and eco-friendly way to enjoy good food year round.

Like many home canners, I will be keeping a close eye for the results of the NCHFP's results testing the Tattler lids.  While the testing is specific to Tattler lids, the result will apply to the Gem glass inserts with rubber gaskets as well as the 4ever Recap lids.  The only differences are the discs for Gem are glass and the gaskets for the 4ever Recap are silicone.  Hopefully this will lead to the testing of the 4ever Recap closures.  I doubt testing will be done on the glass inserts because the inserts themselves are no longer in production and most Gem jar usage is in the Canadian prairie provinces.  At any rate, I am excited to hear about the testing and hope the results will finally put the minds of the canning police at ease!

Canadian Made Improved Gem Jars for Home Canning

I have been talking about the very generous gift of old canning jars received from one of our friends.  Yesterday, I talked about why old canning jars using glass lids and inserts are still quite safe to use and what closures to not use.  Today, I want to share with you a bit more on the Canadian Gem jars that were in the boxes.

I was very impressed!  There were 12 newer style (about 30 years old) Imperial size Canadian jars (upper right corner), 27 Canadian made Improved Gem jars with glass inserts (middle), 25 mainly Canadian made Crown jars (right) with glass lids, 6 extra glass lids, 10 Gem bands and 12 zinc bands.  All of the jars were in excellent condition with no chips.  All of the lids and glass inserts were in excellent condition with no chips.  Finding older jars (circa 1950's) with glass inserts, glass lids and rings in this kind of condition is almost unheard of.  They certainly were well loved and cared for by someone!  I am very honoured to be able to give them a home and like their previous owner will gladly love and care for them.

The Canadian made Gem jars have quite a history.  They were the most popular jars on the Canadian prairies for over 100 years.  The Improved Gem jars made by Bernardin (Toronto, Ontario) have a mouth opening of 78 mm, in between standard mouth (70 mm) and wide mouth (86 mm).  When Bernardin was bought by Altrista Corporation in 1993, the Canadian manufacturing of Bernardin jars and lids moved to the US.   The Canadian manufacturing plant ceased operations in 2001 spelling the end of Gem lids rendering the many thousands of Gem jars useless unless of course they had the glass inserts.  However, by 2001 most of the home canners some who were canning over 3,000 jars of food per year were using the metal snap lids for Gem jars, manufactured only at the Canadian Bernardin plant.  Paulette Lysyshyn, a home canner from Saskatchewan took up a petition to get the Gem lids back into production in 2002 but she wasn't the only one pressuring Bernardin to resume producing the lids.  About 27,000 members of the western Hutterite communities with an estimated 250,000 useless Gem jars joined the protest as did Rosann Wowchuk, the cabinet minister of agriculture along with a multitude of other home canners depending on the Gem metal snap lids.   As a result, in January of 2003 the Gem metal snap lids went back into production and have been available ever since. Originally the decision was to make one long run of the Gem metal snap lids but that quickly changed to continue production as long a folks kept buying the lids.  While the issue with Bernardin was being settled, Gordon Tirebuck, a former manager of Bernardin who had signed a contract not to go into direct competition with them, went into production with Gem lids under his own company, Canadian Home Canning Inc.  With Tirebuck in production and Bernardin back in production, there were two choices of lids for the beloved Gem jars. 

There are two options for closures for Gem jars.  There are the original glass inserts with metal bands and rubber gaskets as pictured.  The rubber gaskets, made by Viceroy (Weston, Ontario) are still in production and available on a limited basis depending on location.  I paid $1.99 for a box of 12 at Home Hardware.  I did notice that while these gaskets were originally made in Canada the newer boxes say 'made in Sri Lanka' and they are now about triple the price I used to pay for them .  The rubber gaskets fit on the glass insert.  A deeper metal band is necessary to use the glass inserts.  Note that these are not zinc bands (see previous post).  They assembled glass insert and rubber gasket is placed on the filled jar then the band is tightened and turned back a quarter inch for processing.  Immediately after removing from the canner the band is fully tightened and left for the cooling period.  The band is then removed.  If the jar did not seal, it will be immediately apparent as the lid will pop right off with no pressure.  While the glass inserts are not recommended by the USDA they are a viable, eco-friendly alternative to the metal snap lids AND there is no worry over BPA leaching into your food.  The second option is the metal snap lids.  A box of bands and lids cost about $8.50 for 12; lids without the bands can be bought in a box of a dozen as well.  Both are available at Home Hardware. 

Of note are the bands for the Gem jars.  The silver coloured widest band (left) is for use on the jars when using a glass insert and rubber gasket.  The centre gold band is for use on the jars when using a metal snap lid.  The smaller, narrowest band (right) is a standard mouth (70 mm) band to show the difference in band depth between Gem jars and the standard or wide mouth bands both of which are not as deep as the Gem band.

Gem jars are mainly used in Canada specifically the prairie provinces and the jars themselves are no longer in production, only the metal snap lids for the jars.  Canning jars tend to get around because home canned foods are gifted so it is quite possible to find Gem jars throughout North America.  Generally what has happened is these jars get discarded because there were no available lids.  To date there are no Tattler or 4ever recap lids available for the Gem jars although I did see where Tattler may consider it.  While Bernardin does make plastic storage lids in both standard and wide mouth sizes, they do not make them for Gem.  There is also no Gem size attachment for food savers to vacuum seal the jars however, Gem jars can be vacuum sealed using the canister method.

I am beyond excited at acquiring this number of Gem jars!  They effectively replace two dozen of my regular jars AND complete with the glass inserts are one step further from depending on the metal snap lids.   Not only that, I also have the option of using the Gem metal snap lids even though they are a little over double the price of wide mouth that are more expensive than stand lids.  Still, having the option is nice!  Now it's time to get all these jars filled with this years harvest...

Old Canning Jars and Closures

I posted yesterday about my wonderful gift of old canning jars.  These jars are all quite usable for home canning and I intend to use them as such.  I really want to tell you more about the Gem jars, a uniquely Canadian home canning jar but thought I should discuss a few thought on jars and closures first.  Before the canning police feel the need to inform me that the old glass jars with zinc lids and rubber seals are not approved by the USDA, I will explain further.  First off, the USDA does not approve any home canning product.  Instead the USDA makes recommendations based on their testing and it should be noted for a product to be tested by the USDA it costs the manufacturer.  So smaller companies like Tattler that make reusable canning lids have not been tested by the USDA simply because of the cost factor.

The 2001 Ball Blue Book says that porcelain lined zinc caps and glass lids with wire bails requiring rubber gaskets should not be used for home canning as there is no way to determine if the closure has a safe seal.  Pictured are a few of the jars from my collection that are not in regular use canning that the USDA recommend not using.  As you can see from the lid, the porcelain liner is attached to the lid.  The lid screws on the jar but there is no gasket that would complete a seal.  Honestly, it would be quite difficult to use these jars for canning because the lids are very hard to find and the newer band or even the older deep metal or zinc bands won't fit on them.  The other two have the bail and wire closure with gaskets.  I'm on the fence about the bail and wire closure as it is fairly close to the Weck canning jars widely used but I think with Weck the wire clips are removed for storage.

In my opinion these jars should be used for display purposes only.  First, the jars themselves are old glass so there are flaws such as bubbles and in the case of the smaller back jar with metal cap on it, the seam is rough at the top causing unevenness around the rim.   Both types of closures would make it difficult to tell if there is a seal or not because there is no way for the lid to pop off indicating a seal failure.  Second, the age of these jars make them antiques.   In good condition, complete with caps  are worth a bit of money.

Newer versions of the Ball Blue Book has simplified the USDA recommendation to include all zinc lids with rubber gaskets even though the USDA was referring to the porcelain lined zinc lids as well as the bail and wire closures.  This recommendation does not apply to the older glass lids, older glass inserts or newer plastic discs all which use rubber or silicone gaskets.  Essentially these are a two piece version of the metal snap lids. The USDA recommends against using zinc bands that are used for glass inserts with rubber gaskets.

Pictured are older metal bands (left), older deep standard mouth band for glass inserts and newer bands for metal snap lids or reusable lids (centre back) and zinc band (right).  The older metal bands are smooth with the same type of finish as the newer metal bands.  These can safely be used for home canning with glass lids or glass inserts.  There are deeper to accommodate the extra width of the glass lid or insert and the gasket. The older zinc bands develop a whitish film much like hard water buildup so they take on a dull greyish appearance as well as a roughness to the touch.  Although the USDA says it is difficult to easily tell if  a jar is sealed, which is true of the porcelain lined zinc lids or the bail and wire closures,  this does not apply to the glass lids, glass inserts or newer plastic discs.

The USDA recommends the metal snap lids because the manufacturers paid to have them tested.  They are relatively easy to use with minimal seal failures and at one time were fairly inexpensive.  It is important to note that when the USDA wrote their guidelines, the emphasis was on food safety which still holds true but the concern over availability of the metal snap lids or the fact they were single use was a non-issue.  The USDA also was not concerned over the leaching of BPA into food from the plastic lining on the metal snap lids which we now know is a health concern.  None of the reusable lids (glass or plastic) have been tested by the USDA so no recommendation has been made.  Thousands of home canners are using all three types of lids and the plastic discs are growing increasingly popular.  The only difference between these closures and the metal snap lids is the closure becomes a three piece system comprised of lid, gasket and band rather than two (metal lid with sealant, band).  If anything, the glass lids, glass inserts and plastic discs (eg. Tattler, 4ever recap) are safer than the metal snap lids because there is no danger of a false seal that can happen if the centre of the metal lid is pressed before the jar is fully cooled.  This will make it appear that the jar is sealed when in fact during storage is will quickly become apparent that it is not sealed.  However, the problem arises if the band is left on preventing the lid from popping off the unsealed jar.  In contrast, if a jar does not seal using a glass lid, glass insert or plastic disc it is immediately apparent upon removal of the band.  The lid will pop right off!  bottom line is the USDA recommends the metal two piece snap lids, recommends against porcelain lined zinc lids and makes no recommendation with respect to the glass lids, glass inserts or plastic discs all using rubber gaskets.

If a zinc lid is in good condition, it is suitable for dry storage but be careful as the sharp edges present a cutting hazard.  I am only guessing at the reasoning for the USDA's recommendation against zinc lids but to me, the roughness they develop with use could cause seal failures during the canning process.  Older zinc lids (left) don't bend up over the lid as much as the slightly newer ones (right) and they can be quite sharp on the edges.  It is possible to find some zinc lids that have no bend at all.  To the middle right there is an unused zinc lid showing how these lids look before developing the characteristic deposits and roughness.

The Ball Blue Book does mention to not use rubber gaskets which if following to the letter would mean you would not use the newer plastic discs (eg.  Tattler, 4ever recap).  Regardless, there are two primary issues with rubber gaskets, availability and degrading with age.  Rubber gaskets are hard to find with the exception of those manufactured by Viceroy in Weston, Ontario.  These gaskets fit the older jars with glass lids AND the Canadian Gem jars (78 mm).  These rubber gaskets will not fit the Tattler, 4ever recap or standard (70 mm) mouth glass  inserts.  These gaskets can be found at Home Hardware in Canada but it is very much on a location basis.

Rubber has the distinct problem of drying out and becoming brittle with age as pictured.  This renders the gasket useless for home canning.  The glass inserts that fit the standard mouth (70 mm) jars are vintage as are the rubber gaskets.  Any rubber gaskets available are old vintage stock so may already be brittle depending on how they were stored.   To date, I have found no source for new gaskets to fit these glass inserts.  What this means from a canning perspective is the standard mouth glass inserts will only be useful until the gaskets wear out at which time it is unlikely a replacement will be found although there were sellers on eBay selling the gasket material so you could cut your own. 

Now that I've discussed what jar closures should not be used for canning and why I consider the glass lids, glass inserts and plastic discs every bit as safe for home canning as the metal snap lids, I'll make a couple of points about self-sufficiency and being eco-friendly.  Glass lids, glass inserts and plastic discs allow the home canner to be less reliant on finding a supply of the single use metal snap lids.  At one time these lids were available even in the variety stores but no more.  In our small community there are five stores which sounds like a lot but they only carry limited amounts and other than the dollar store the price for a doze is almost $3.  The dollar store currently sells them for $1.50 and I have cleaned out their stock on several occasions!  That means someone is out of luck until new stock arrive.  Outside of the busy canning season, any canning lid supply in town practically dries up.  In some areas, canning lids are available by mail order only.  Re-usable lids make a lot of sense both in terms of cost and waste reduction while allowing the home canner to take advantage of canning opportunities without worrying about rushing out to buy metal lids.  Re-usable is the eco-friendly approach as well.  Each time I use a reusable lid I save a lid from going to the curb.  Sure, it is the recycle bin but it is still waste that costs to recycle.  At my level of canning, I am saving over a thousand lids per year from ending up in the recycle bin!  Actually, I also saving that many aluminum cans from ending up in the recycle bin as well but that is another story.  Tomorrow I will tell you all about the Gem jars!

4ever Recap Reusable Canning Lids Review

[This is not a paid review and I have no affiliation with 4Ward Industries.  The opinions expressed here about these canning lids are my honest opinions based on my experience with these lids and gaskets. ]

I announced that I was experimenting with 4ever Recap reusable canning lids (manufactured by 4Ward Industries) the second week of April (2013).  These lids are very similar in design to the Tattler reusable lids that I reviewed in September of 2010.  The key advantage to these lids is the ring/gasket is silicone rather than rubber meaning with proper care, the rings should not stretch or wear out.  This is an advantage over having to eventually buy replace rings as would be necessary for other reusable lids (eg. Tattler, glass inserts).  I have now had over a month to test out these lids on various home canned products.  I tested 2 dozen of these lids (standard mouth, wide mouth) under various conditions looking at several variables that were important to me.  Here is my full review of these lids.

Abstract:

• product - 4ever Recap lids are a BPA-free heavy plastic reusable canning lid made in the USA.  The lid requires a separate silicone ring that is included with the lids. Replacement silicone rings are not available at this time.
• why? - Currently the only approved lids for canning are the two piece metal, single-use snap lids.  The three problems with these metal lids are:  1) single-use which adds to landfills; 2) availability which isn't guaranteed; and 3) BPA content in the plastic coating on the metal lids.  Until now, two types of reusable canning lids existed:  glass inserts (vintage, no longer in production) and Tattler (plastic disc, rubber ring).  The 4ever Recap lids The cost of lids was an influencing factor as was the fact the ring is silicone rather than rubber.
• test conditions - I tested the 4ever Recap reusable lids under normal home canning conditions using different sizes of jars, boiling water bath (BWB) and pressure canner (PC) processing.  I also tested the lids for ease of use, seal failures, staining, reusing, vacuum sealing, cost, storage and miscellaneous problems.
  

Results:

• cost - The metal, single-use snap lids cost me 13¢ per lid at their current lowest price.  The Tattler's currently cost me an 85¢ per lid investment meaning I need to reuse each lid 7 times before realizing a payback but after that they will cost nothing.  The 4ever Recap lids cot me 72¢ per lid investing with a payback of 6 reuses.
• ease of use -  The 4ever Recap reusable canning lids have a slightly different preparation method.  Once the lid is placed on the jar it and the ring tightened it is extremely important to turn back the ring by ¼- inch for proper venting during the canning process.  I really did not have a problem adjusting to  the method for using the 4ever Recap lids as it is the same method used for the Tattler lids and glass inserts.
• processing method - The 4ever Recap lids performed equally well in BWB and PC conditions.
• jar sizes - The 4ever Recap lids performed well on all jar sizes I tested on:  250 ml, 500 ml and 1 L standard mouth, and 250 ml and 500 ml wide mouth jars
• seal failures - I experienced 3 seal failures during the testing period using the 4ever Recap lids on beef stock.  Troubleshooting revealed one defective threading on
• reusing -  I tested reusing the lids canning water both in BWB and PC.  I then reused the lids to can other foods and I reused any lids that failed to seal.  Lids that were reused performed as well as new lids.
• staining - I did not test specifically for staining because I was not canning any foods (eg. tomato based products) that stain plastic. I suspect there will be slight discolouration from tomato based products similar to the Tattler lids.  This staining also occurs on the plastic coating on metal snap lids used on tomato based products.  The staining does not affect the seal or food quality.
• storage - Anyone doing larger scale home canning can relate to the storage issues for both filled jars as well as new lids and rings.  I remove the rings, wash and dry rings and jars then store any jars with reusable lids without the ring.  Storing large numbers of reusable lids could be a problem especially with larger scale canning however, I have not had a problem.  I use a plastic tote for the plastic Tattler discs and rings as well as my glass inserts and rings so set up the same system for the 4ever Recap lids.  When used properly, there shouldn't be a huge number of the reusable lids not in use but rather they are constantly being reused as soon as there are enough to run a canner load.  At most I have about 2 dozen each of Tattler and glass inserts not in use at any given time.  As I only have 2 doz of the 4ever Recap lids, I only have 6 of them currently not in use.
• vacuum sealing - The 4ever Recap lids outperform the metal snap lids for vacuum sealing! 

Miscellaneous Problems:

• breakage - One of the wide mouth lids was broken when my package arrived.  The break was about 1 inch wide, semi-circular, widest at the outer rim and moving into the lid.  It was not broke completely through, more of a deep crack where the broken piece being able to flex down.  I did notify the manufacture of this problem.  They did request the return of the lid so they could see what the problem.  According to their instructions defective parts are replaced with no questions asked BUT the consumer pays shipping and handling.  This becomes a buyer beware as it would end up costing me more than double the price of that lid to get it replaced.  That part does bother me a bit!
• packaging - The multi-pack of standard and wide mouth lids I ordered came simply in a box with the standard lids stacked on top of the wide mouth lids but with nothing to prevent any movement during shipping that could cause the lids to break especially if jarred during cold winter months. Seriously, how difficult could it be to stuff a bit of paper into the box to prevent the lids from moving during shipping?
• seal problems - I experienced a total of five seal failures using the standard size lids.  Three seal failures occurred on the first on beef stock processed in the pressure canner.  Those lids were reused to reprocess those three jars of beef stock.  Two of those lids failed again.  They did however, seal on the third time being processed.  I determined the cause of one seal failure to be faulty threads on the jar so the ring did not hold the lid as tight as it should have during the cooling period.  The actual cause for the other four seal failures remains undetermined.

Conclusion:

My inital investment on the 4ever Recap lids was $17.50 for 2 dozen lids.  I tested them processing in a boiling water bath canner (water, jelly) and in a pressure canner (water, stock, dried beans).  Testing was reduced in comparison to the Tattler reusable lids for two reasons.  First, it is not the busy canning season so I'm canning less to begin with.  Second, the method of sealing with the 4ever Recaps is the same as the Tattlers and glass inserts so I am not learning a new method.  Canning water is the standard method I use for testing using either BWB or PC processing so as to not waste food prior to being sure the lids work as they are supposed to.  Both stock and dried beans can be problematic due to natural fats in the oil and expansion in the beans.  From experience, these are the two products where seal failures occur most often.

At the cost, the 4ever Recap lids need to be used 6 times before they pay for themselves in comparison to the cost of metal snap lids at current price of  13¢ per lid.  It is quite reasonable to expect considerably more than six uses of these lids as the lids themselves should not wear out and with proper care, neither should the silicone ring.I am impressed with the performance of the 4ever Recap lids!  Like my other reusable lids, the 4ever Recap lids perform as well as the metal lids.  In my opinion once you get over the learning curve for using these lids they are far superior to the metal lids.  I also like the appearance of the 4ever Recap lids. 

As someone who cans well over 1,000 jars (closer to 1,400 jars the past few years) of food annually, I am elated to find another reliable source of reusable canning lids that reduce what is going to the recyclers or landfill while saving me money.  In my opinion, the 4ever Recap lids are equally as eco-friendly as Tattler reusable lids and glass inserts.   In general I found these lids seal better than the metal lids as they eliminate false seals.  The lids are either sealed or they are not.

Ok, now for the bad and for me that is very much customer service.  I contacted the manufacturer over the broken lid.  [Edited: It was brought to my attention after I wrote this post that the manufacturer did email an apology in response to my first email.  They offered a replacement at my expense.]  In addition, I specifically asked two questions regarding the lids that were not answered.  Rather the manufacturer ignored the questions focusing only on glossing over the lids.  To me, that is a problem and it definitely is a reflection that this manufacturer's business model is not based on repeat buyers since both lids and rings are designed to last indefinitely.  I am a high volume home canner who does not have the time to deal with the expense, delay and aggravation of defective canning lids.  As a result of the breakage and poor customer service, this product does get a lower rating from me.  Again, with this product it is very much buyer beware!

Overall Rating of 4ever Recap Reusable Canning Lids (x/10):

• performance - 8/10
• ease of use - 8/10
• durability - 7/10
• shipping price - 10/10
• price - 10/10
• customer service - 3/10

Sealing Problems Canning Beef Stock

It's that time of year to get a bit of canning done before the busy canning months start.  This is a great time of the year to clean out the bones from the freezer that have been saved to make stock to free up a bit of freezer space in preparation for the arrival of our beef on the hoof purchase.  I like running a full load (16 - 500 ml jars) in the pressure canner.  A couple of weekends ago I decided to take a bit of time to can beef and turkey stocks.  I ended up using two large beef soup bones for the beef stock and 2 turkey carcasses for the turkey stock.

I have been testing the 4ever Recap reusable canning lids.  The lids performed nicely as expected until I ran the first load of beef stock.  Pictured is the first load of beef stock.  The five jars on the left had Tattler reusable lids with one seal failure.  The six jars in the middle had metal snap lids with no seal failures.  The five jars on the right had the 4ever Recap reusable lids with three seal failures.  In terms of seal failures, a total of 4 of 16 or 25% seal failure is certainly not acceptable!

At this point, many home canners would blame the reusable lids and go back to using the metal snap lids.  That certainly happened when the manufacturers changed the metal lid colour from gold to silver, resulting in many complaints that the silver lids had a higher seal failure.  In reality they did not as the only difference was the colour.  Seal failures again increased when the manufacturers changed the plastisol sealant on the metal jars.  The old sealant required the lids to be scalded but the new sealant only needs to be warmed.  Over heating the new sealant results in seal failure so the real reason for these seal failures was user error.

I can't say I was happy about the seal failures but had to deal with them which meant doing a bit of trouble shooting.  I put the stock into the refrigerator then washed the lids and rings well and set about making the turkey stock.  The plan was to re-process the beef stock along with processing the turkey stock.  Re-processing is as much work as the original processing.  While stock can handle re-processing, some home canned foods cannot.  If this type of food does not seal, the only choice is to refrigerate and use within a couple of days. 

All went well with filling and processing the jars.  I ran the seal failures first even though I don't like running only a few jars in the canner.  That 1 - 500 ml jar beef stock with Tattler lid and 3 - 500 ml jars.  I ran the turkey stock in a separate load.

The following morning I removed the bands.  Pictured are all of the jars beef and turkey stock (sealed and unsealed).  The jar with the Tattler lid and one with a 4ever Recap lid that did not seal from the first processing sealed with the second processing.  The two unsealed jars of beef stock from the first load to the right had 4ever Recap lids.  They failed to seal with the second processing.  All of the turkey stock sealed.  By now I was getting a bit frustrated, having run the canner three times and still getting seal failures!  In my mind though, there had to be another problem besides just the 4ever lids because of the three that had not sealed in the first load, one had sealed in the second load.  The third load had no re-usable lids and no seal failures.

I was determined to find out what was causing the seal failures.  Meat products can be difficult to home can because there is a bit of natural oil in the product.  If that oil gets onto the rim of the jar where the ring/gasket or plastisol sealant sits, it can cause a seal failure.  If you watched the video of jars of beef stock fresh from the pressure canner, it is easy to see how boiling stock could actually be forced between the lid and rim of the jar.  In this case, proper headspace had been left so I did not feel that leaking stock was the problem.  There was no indication of any leakage in the pressure canner, reinforcing this conclusion.

Even though I used a funnel to fill the jars, I decided to use isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) to wipe the rims of the jar to ensure there was no oil on them. I normally do not do this as my jars go through the dishwasher just before using them so there should be no oil unless spilled on during filling which is unlikely but still possible when using a funnel.  Many home canners routinely wipe the rims of their jars with vodka or white vinegar but I use a paper towel dampened with water.

As I was filling the three jars (2 beef stock re-cans, 1 turkey left-over from run 3), I noticed a problem with the metal band seating on the threading of one of the jars.  At one time, occasionally there would be a problem with a band seating.  This seemed to be isolated to using newer bands on older Imperial mason jars but I haven't ran into that problem in years.  The jar in question was a Golden Harvest, manufactured by Jarden Home Brands in the US.  This is now the same manufacturer of Ball, Kerr and Bernardin mason jars.  This particular 500 ml jar came from a box of jars filled with food that I had to clean out.  The box was purchased in 2010 from Home Hardware so the jars are not old although that doesn't mean the jar itself could be older.  At any rate, it is not an old jar.

Both Tattler and 4ever Recap reusable lids require tightening the band then turning back a quarter an inch for processing.  As I tightened the band, it popped off.  I tried again with the same results.  I quickly poured the hot stock into another prepared jar, positioned the lid and tightened the band then turned it back.  Once the jars were safely in the processing, I turned my attention to the jar.  After trying four different bands, I realized the problem was not with the bands at all but rather the threads on this jar were defective.  They were just off slightly yet the first time through the canner, a band had held just enough but did not tighten enough for the 4ever Recap lid to form a seal.

There is a misconception that new mason jars are flawless.  This simply is not the case.  I have seen brand new canning jars with air bubbles in the glass, small chips in the rim, a droop in the rim and slightly misshaped openings.  It happens.  A defective thread is a difficult one to catch and in fact if a band catches just enough, you might not catch it especially if using a boiling water bath canner.

The two jars of beef stock, one with fresh jar and 4ever Recap, the other with same jar and 4ever Recap sealed.  The turkey stock jar with a 4ever Recap lid sealed as well.  I marked the jar with the defective rim.  Unfortunately this jar will not be suitable for canning or dry storage requiring a screw band closure.  It can however, be used for vacuum sealing.

Finally, after running the canner four times all my jars of stock were sealed.  Two of those loads experienced seal failures.  In total, there were 4 seal failures, 1 was Tattler, the other 3 were 4ever Recap lids. At the end of the fourth run, all lids had sealed.  The only problem I found that accounted for one seal failure was the defective threads on one jar.  I still have no idea why the other 3 lids failed to seal originally.  There was nothing apparent that would contribute to the seal failure.  I do not feel that any of the seal failures were due to the lids considering two brands of reusable lides were affected.  It is possible that I did not turn the band back enough when putting the reusable lids on or I may not have tightened the band enough when just out of the canner even though I took great care during both steps. 

In comparison to the Tattler reusable lids, the 4ever Recap reusable lids perform just as well.  I do like the look of the 4ever Recap reusable lids that have a bit of a raised ridge on top giving them a rather unique look.  One thing I did notice because I reused both lids and rings in this canning session was the absence of sealing marks on the silicone rings.  I'm looking forward to doing a lot of canning reusing the 4ever Recap lids and rings.  It is encouraging that the silicone rings should not wear out under normal use! [retracted November 10, 2013 as all jars using the 4ever Recap reusable lids lost their seals during storage1
!]

Jars of Beef Stock Fresh From the Canner

While many home canners like myself can year round, the busy home canning season (mid-May to mid-October) is just around the corner.   Home canning is a very satisfying and rewarding frugal activity.  It saves a tremendous amount of money!  I've been home canning well over thirty years so know what to expect and what to troubleshoot if something goes wrong.  Those new to home canning often panic thinking there is a problem when what they observe is a natural part of the process.  They are also prone to those accidents that can cause food spoilage and/or physical harm.

At each step of the way, the home canner is dealing with glass that can break due to thermal shock and hot foods that can cause rather nasty burns.  A safety rule is children and pets should not be in the canning area.  If you must have either in the kitchen when canning, set up a safe zone so they do not accidentally get in the canning area.  Aside of avoiding canning when tired or distracted (easier said than done), I minimize the risk for both by:

• prepare ahead -  Everything I need for that canning session is ready to use in the order it will be needed.
• avoiding thermal shock - Glass can break if it is cold and a hot liquid is poured into it or if a canning jar is placed into the canner with too much of a temperature difference.  I keep everything hot!  The jars are hot, the food is hot and the canner is hot ready for the hot prepared jars.  Even though my counter top is ceramic tile it could cause thermal shock during the filling stage and when the jars are removed from the canner.  I always work on a cork trivet when filling the jars which eliminates any thermal difference.  I place hot jars from the canner onto a folded t-towel to cool.  Jars being removed from the canner are particularly susceptible to thermal shock if they are hit with a cold draft.  During the canning process and jar removal,  I close the patio door (we don't have a kitchen window), turn off the exhaust fan if it is on and turn off the ceiling fan.  Cooling jars are always placed so they will not get a draft until they reach room temperature.
• personal safety - I have my hair tied back and wear slip proof socks, capris and a t-shirt when canning.  I don't wear anything loose or baggy that could catch on canning equipment.   I keep a damp t-towel to clean up any spills on the floor as they happen.  I keep another damp t-townel handy to wipe any spills on the counter.  I make sure the dishwasher is empty before starting to can so any utensils or dirty dishes go immediately into the dishwasher as to not clutter up the counter. 

I processed 16 - 500 ml jars of beef stock in the pressure canner yesterday.  Meat stocks are low acid so must be processed in a pressure canner.  They cannot be safely canned in a boiling ,bath canner!  Jars are most susceptible to breakage during the filling stage, loading into the canner and removing from the canner.  Here is a video I took that will give you a bit of a perspective on jars just out of the pressure canner.


The video is of beef stock just out of the canner.  The lids to the left are Tattler reusable lids, the middle are metal snap lids and to the right are the 4ever Recap reusable lids I'm testing.  A pressure canner processes at 240°F rather than the 212°F of a boiling water bath canner.  Foods taken out of a boiling water bath canner are hot.  Foods taken out of a pressure canner are hotter!  If you look close you will see the contents still boiling in the jars.  The contents will continue to boil for ten minutes or more.  That means if a jar were to break, you have a very good chance of being hit with shattering glass as well as boiling food.  The second thing you will notice is the ping.  Home canners love to talk about the ping!  It is important to realize that the ping only occurs with the metal snap lids.  There is no ping with reusable lids (eg. Tattler, 4ever Recap, glass inserts).  There are two types of pings.  The first type of ping is what you are seeing right from the pressure canner in response to the boiling contents of the jars.  This pinging will continue until the contents cool enough to form a vacuum at which time there will be a final ping.  The first type of ping does not occur with foods processed in a boiling water bath canner.

The first type of ping on pressure canned foods explains why leaving the proper amount of headspace when filling jars is critical.  The boiling contents can force their way between the lid and rim of the jar which in turn can cause seal failures.  Not enough headspace can also cause pressure on the lid which can make the lid buckle, also affecting the seal.  Some foods are quite prone to leakage when being pressure canned especially dried beans.  Even if your jars lose liquid or there is signs the jars leaked into the canner, do not panic.  Remove the jars for cooling.  Once cool, check the seal.  If they have sealed, they are fine so simply wash, label and store.  If one or more did not seal, either reprocess or refrigerate and use within a couple of days.  Reprocessing is every bit as much as the initial processing right from heating the jars and food, filling and timing.  In general, I tend to avoid reprocessing if at all possible.  It is not cost effective to run the pressure canner to reprocess only a couple of jars.  If I'm canning something similar later in the day or the next day I will run those jars with it, otherwise I freeze or refrigerate. 

Starting the Testing of 4ever Recap Reusable Canning Lids and Gaskets

I have been a high volume home canner for over three decades, reaching well over 1,000 jars of home canned foods annually with closer to 1,400 jars annually over the past 14 years.  I really went into high gear with y2K preparedness then never really decreased the amount but rather added more products each year to avoid buying mass produced canned foods with food additives and BPA in the can liner.  The single use metal snap lids (the only ones recommended by the USDA) have always bothered me because they are not eco-friendly but the cost is a factor as well.  Even with reusing the metal snap lids for vacuum sealing dry foods, many of my used snap lids found their way to the curbside waste collection because until we moved here they could not go into the recycle box.  That meant my used lids were ending up in a landfill something that really did not sit well with me.  The cheapest price for the metal snap lids was 12/$1 (8¢ per lid) at Dollarama but within a two month period the price went to $1.25 then $1.50 (13¢ per lid).  At 1,000 jars my cost went from $80 to $130 annually but in reality more because the old price only had sales tax of 7% added whereas the new price has HST of 13% added.

Back in August of 2010 I was beyond elated to discover Tattler Reusable lids and rings, manufactured by S&S Innovations, Corp. in Fruita, CO and wrote a review of my experience with the Tattler reusable lids.  The Tattler reusable lids have proven themselves to be well worth the cost.  They perform as promised.  I very seldom have a seal failure.  They are second only to my glass inserts that are no longer in production but I have quite a few and am always looking for more.  Once I got used to the Tattler lids, my intentions were to make the switch to mainly Tattler lids, use glass inserts for jars not leaving the house and use as few of the metal snap lids as possible.  A couple of months ago I came across a new brand of reusable canning lids called 4ever Recap, manufactured by 4Ward Industries in Anna, OH.  The caps looked very much like the Tattlers but were less expensive and the rings were silicone so I ordered a 24 pack of 12 each of standard and widemouth lids with rings.

The 4ever Recap lids are used in the same manner as the Tattler reusable lids and glass inserts in that they are tightened then turned back a quarter inch for process then fully tightened immediately upon remove from the canner.  This differs significantly from the metal snap lids that are tightened finger tight then not tightened after removal from canner.  Processed jars regardless of the lid used to seal sit undisturbed for 24 hours after removal from the canner then the bands are removed, the jars and bands washed and dried.  The metal bands can be replaced loosely on the jars for storage for all but the glass inserts.

Tattler lids have been in production  since 1976 and yet even with all the canning I do and how involved I was with y2K preparedness, I never heard of them until 2010.  The tattler lids (original packaging is darker blue) come packaged 12 in a box.  Part of the pricing of course is to cover the costs of packaging.  When I ordered three dozen the individual boxes were shipped inside a USPS priority post box.  The Tatter lids are 3 dozen standard lids for $30.95 (85¢ each) with free shipping to US destinations.  Each plastic lid (disc) comes with a rubber gasket that sits on the bottom of the lid during use.  Rubber does wear out, can stretch or harden over time and/or become damaged by sharp objects so Tattler does sell the rubber gaskets separately 12 for $3.50 which is a dollar more than when I first started buying Tattler lids.

I could not find a date when 4Ward Industries began manufacturing but it is likely within the last 4 or 5 years if that.  The 4ever caps were simply stacked inside a heavy cardboard box leaving room for quite a bit of movement especially of the standard size lids.  There is a colour sticker on the box so packaging costs are kept to a minimum.  The 4ever Recap lids and rings are 24 standard size at $17 (71¢ each) or a 24 combo pack (standard/widemouth) for $17.50 (72¢ each) with free shipping to US destinations.  That is a 14¢ price difference compared to Tattler!  Each plastic lid (disc) comes with a silicone gasket.  Silicone does not wear out or stretch over time so properly cared for, there is no need to replace the gasket and as such, 4Ward Industries does not sell replacement gaskets at this time.

I ordered the 24 combo pack for $17.50 and had them shipped to our US postal box.  Their shipping time was good.  The only thing I was not impressed with was one of the widemouth lids was damaged along the edge reaching in towards the centre as if it had been pried down.  Obviously 4ever does not mean forever!  I did email them but they did not offer a replacement although they wanted me to ship the lid back so they could troubleshoot.  Let's see, the lid cost 72¢ but to send back would cost me 42¢ for a stamp, the price of a small padded envelope (25¢) and a trip to the US.  In other words, cutting my loss at 72¢ was the frugal thing to do but I must say I am not impressed.  Leaving enough room in the box for the lids to shift and move around during shipping is likely the cause of the breakage but it could have been due to something else and not noticed during packaging.

The Tattler and 4ever Recap lids are similar in function and design but there are some differences.  The Tattler lid (left) is empossed with 'Stieg Tattler reusablecanninglids.com® Made in USA' on the top and 'recycle logo 7 Pat Pending 1' on the underside. There are three raised lines around the rim where the gasket sits.   The 4ever Recap lid (right) is embossed with '4ever recap Made in USA' surrounded by three leaves.  The underside as no embossing but there are 6 circle marks (? from the die) and five raise lines around the outer rim where the gasket sits.  What is clearly missing from the 4ever Recap lid is the burr that Tattler lids have.  This sharp piece of plastic is caused when the piece breaks from the mold.  I find it very irritating and really the only thing I don't like about the Tattler lids as it can cause cuts.  I use an emery board on my Tattlers to remove this burr.  The 4ever recap lids are perfectly smooth which is nice.

The flange (sits inside the jar) on the underside of the Tattler lid is lightly larger in diameter than the 4ever Recap flange.  On the top side, the part of the lid where the flange starts on the Tattler has a gentle slope towards the centre of the lid.  On the 4ever Recap, this portion is raised then has a short, steeper slop.  Clearly the dies for the plastic discs are different. 

The Tattler rubber gasket is a pinky red in colour while the 4ever Recap silicone gasket is an orangy red.  While the Tattler gasket is the same thickness as the 4-ever gasket, it is not as flexible .  A comparison of holding each on one side between thumb and pointer finger, the Tattler gasket has a slight bend while the 4ever Recap has almost twice the bend.  The Tattler gasket sits tight against the flange but there is a bit of play with the 4ever Recap but only on the standard lids.  There is not play on the widemouth lids.  I know there were questions on some of the canning forums regarding the gaskets.  The 4ever Recap gasket does fit the Tattler lids so if 4Ward Industries ever decides to sell the gaskets separately, the rubber gaskets could be replaced with the silicone ones.  I have not tested using a Tattler lid with a 4ever Recap gasket.

According to my husband, 4Ward Industries' business model is not sustainable because it is focused on new customers building their supply of lids and rings rather than building repeat customers.  Their model doesn't support those who may need to buy replacement gaskets.  While the silicone gaskets will last indefinitely with proper care, they are still subject to damage via sharp objects like knives when opening the sealed jar.  The plastic disc becomes useless without the gasket, something we have already seen with glass inserts.  Finding the glass inserts is not the problem, finding the gaskets is.  Currently, home canning is seeing a renewed interest but it is only the hard core home canners that would be interested in reusable canning lids to begin with.  Those are the folk who will quickly note that replacement gaskets are not available so they are more apt to buy Tattler lids that do have replacement gaskets.

I am currently in the testing phase of using the 4ever Recap canning lids so I will be putting them through the paces in both the boiling water bath and pressure canners as well as vacuum sealing, multiple times.  I am not anticipating any problems as in terms of design the 4ever Recap as pretty much the same as Tattler.  The only big difference is the gasket material being silicone rather than rubber but that should not cause any problems, any more than it did going from rubber to plastisol as the sealant on the metal lids.  I will be reporting back each time I use them.  In all honesty, providing the 4ever Recap lids and gaskets perform as well as the Tattler lids and gaskets, I will be buying more.  I currently have 6 dozen Tattlers, 4 dozen glass inserts and 2 dozen 4ever Recap which is a start but I really need to build my supply of reusable lids.  That 14¢ per lid savings is looking very favourable for the 4ever Recap lids.

Cleaning Out the Freezer - Chicken Stock

Stock making is a year round activity because we use a lot of stock.  I prefer stocks over water for cooking many savoury dishes because they add flavour.  The vast majority of the stocks I make are home canned for convenience.  Stocks can be home canned any time of the year but I prefer to can them during the winter months when there is less fresh produce to process.  I also prefer to make stock when there will be enough run the pressure canner at half to full capacity.  I freeze bones to be used for larger batch stock-making during the busier canning season.

This batch started with five large zipper freezer bags of chicken bones.  All stocks are richer and more flavourful when made with roasted bones.  In this case, the bones were from chicken that had been charcoal grilled during the summer months.  This adds an subtle extra flavour element to the stock.

I started the stock with cold water, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, and peppercorns.  Stock-making is always a two day process.  The stock is made the first day, strained of the bones and vegetables then cooled overnight for de-fatting.  The large stock pot would over tax the refrigerator for cooling so I often cool the covered pot in the garage in the winter months.  It cools quickly there while being protected from critters.  In milder weather, I quickly cool the pot of stock in a sink with ice cubes surrounding the pot.

The easiest way to do the first straining for any stock is using a colander.  This removes the larger solids.  I often take the stained solids, add fresh water to them and bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes and strain again.  This adds flavoured liquid to top up the stock without watering it down by using plain water.

Once the large solids are removed, the stock is cooled to allow the fat to congeal on the surface.  The fat is removed then the stock is heated and strained through a cheesecloth double lined colander to remove the finer particles.  At this point, a couple of egg white can be added to help clarify the stock further if desired.  If the stock is to be canned, it can be reduced slightly if desired but it isn't necessary.  The stock can also be frozen as is or it can be reduced to 25% to freeze as a concentrate.  An alternate is to reduce to a thick syrup consistency then dehydrate for homemade bouillon [I'll show the entire method for this in a future post.]
 

As mentioned, I can the majority of the stocks I make.  If I have extra from a batch of stock, I freeze or concentrate it.  I also make homemade bouillon from time to time.  By far, home canned stock is the most convenient for most applications because you don't have to thaw it.  It's ready to use as is.  Homemade bouillon is ideal for those recipes that call for bouillon.  You get the rich flavour of bouillon without the high sodium content.  When I make stock at our vacation home, it is mainly for fresh use with any left-overs frozen to be used while we are there, not long time storage because we rent out our vacation home for periods of time when we aren't using it.

The yield for this batch of rich chicken stock 4 - 1 L, 3 - 750 ml and 8 - 500 ml jars .  The L and 750 ml jars were processed at 10 lb pressure for 25 minutes; the 500 ml jars were processed at the same pressure for 20 minutes.  The L and 750 ml constituted a full canner load while the 500 ml jars were a half canner load.  I used Tattler reusable lids on the 500 ml jars.  The more I use the Tattler lids, the more impressed I am with them.  Their performance has been problem free after the initial learning curve.  Each time I re-use a Tattler lid instead of using a single use metal snap lid, I'm saving 12¢ which doesn't sound like much but over the course of on average 1,200 jars per year, my savings if using all Tattler lids would work out to a savings of $144.