Reusable Canning Lids

I don't know about you guys, but I enjoy growing food AND finding new ways to store it.  I have a freezer and a refrigerator, just like the next guy... and I'm setting up my house to run off a generator when the power goes out... but I only have so much gasoline, somebody can steal my generator, or it could just plain break!

Now if I am going to spend all the $ and time on a garden and going hunting, I want a backup backup plan!  Right now, as I see it, I have two options when all else fails...

1) I can put things on the dehydrator.
2) I can water bath can or pressure can my food in Mason jars... just like my grandparents would have done!

I'll talk about the dehydrator more in the future I'm sure...

For now it's canning!

Canning... putting  your food in jars and heating them up to the point of killing anything bad inside.  High acid foods like apples or tomato's can be done in a water bath caner and all else goes into a pressure caner... after you put them into the Mason jars of course!

(There's more to it than that... these are not instructions on how to can!)

But in our world today or use it once and throw it away, the same has applied to canning as well.  More specifically, the lids.  The metal lids have a thin amount of material that is not so reliable the second time around for sealing up your lids... defeating the whole point of canning!  Well I just wanted to introduce any of you who might not know about it to a product by a company called Tattler (http://www.reusablecanninglids.com).

While they may cost more than your metal, one time use, canning lids... they are good to go till you screw them up!  (The rubber seals, I've heard, eventually wear out).  I've used them so far to can Turkey, Turkey broth, Applesauce and Cincinnati style chili.  (That's right, when the power goes out, I can now snack on my home made Cincinnati Chili with Venison burger!)  

I should note one popular restaurant chain of this food type is not concealed carry friendly. Therefore I do not do business with them anymore and will not mention their name.

But I was just in the neighborhood of one of my favorite places to shop and thought I'd check out prices... no specials.  But next time I'm looking to purchase more lids, here's my selection.

I'll also throw in a good reference I got from my Grandma in-law... its a book called Preserving the Harvest, and I highly recommend it to anybody who is getting started or is looking for something different!

Thanks Grandma!

I'm working on my posts for Installing a Generator Transfer Switch, but this is all for now.  Enjoy!