can lids be found to reuse baby food jars. i know they are small, but they make a great size for jellies and jams for christmas and gifts. they are cheap to get, as most throw them away. my wife froze fruit and made jams in december and made nice covers with cloth and ribbon. we just told everyonet to put them in the fridge. i was thinking though, they would make a great little cottage business. little jars of homemade jelly at good prices?

-- randy wybrant (rwybrant@coin.org), January 15, 2002

Answers

Please check with your state regulations. Hate to kill your creativity, but if you are selling as a business (as opposed to giving to friends) you have to meet a much higher standard of sanitation. Typically jar lids cannot be re-used in canning as they may not seal properly. Jars must be clean and free of defects with new lids and rings (in regards to canning). Honestly, I discard gifts given to me in suspect containers, no matter how dear the friend. Typically commercial jars (mayo and jelly) cannot be reused due to the heat factor and breakage during canning. See the archives re: these topics.

-- Anne (Healthytouch101@wildmail.com), January 15, 2002.

you can find them,, not sure where. And selling things in those containers is asking for trouble. But for gifys and such,, why not seal in wax instead?

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), January 15, 2002.

i don't want to reuse lids, i want new ones to fit the jars.

-- randy wybrant (rwybrant@coin.org), January 15, 2002.

For small jars try looking for Maple Syrup Supply stores, or for bee keeping supply stores. Both should handle small jars for honey, and maple butter. For example, a case (12) of 125ml round open top with gold lids cost $6.95 a case Canadian. (125ml is half a cup) Lids sell for 22c or 23c each, or a bag of 96 is $19.80 Canadian. Try searching for American Maple Syrup Suppliers and see what you find.

-- Bernadette Kerr (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.

Why not run a search for the company that makes the jars for the baby food companies, & Hillshire farms (they sell jelly, & sauces in jars that small also). These companies have to get their jars from somewhere. If you can find one you could buy from (some won't sell unless you buy a minimum # of jars), you won't have to worry about finding anymore lids or cleaning any jars either (they should come sterile).

Just my 2 cents

animalfarms

-- animalfarms (jawjlewis@netzero.com), January 15, 2002.

Did a search on "canning jar lids". Wwaaaayyy too much to list here. Also did search on "baby food jars" with similar results.

Why not call baby food manufacturer and ask where they get their lids?

All they can say is "it's top secret" or something like that.

And no, using wax to seal canning jars of any size is no longer recommended by Ball Blue Book - and that does it for me!

-- Michaela (flhomestead@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.

As a business I would not re-use the jars. Sanitation is an issue. I certainly doubt that most of us have the capabilities in our home kitchecns to meet the sanitation requirements needed to re-use food grade jars in a business.

-- Anne (Healthytouch101@wildmail.com), January 15, 2002.

For myself and friends,,I just use the baby jar lids over if not bent or warped in anyway. Yu can tell if they are sealed by pushing in middle..if no give,,it is sealed. ***I have been canning since the 60s and I have re-used many comercial jars mostly for jellies, jams. No problems. Also I use mayo jars for canning,,and in all those years I can count how many broke on my fingers. So, I don't think that is bad. Mayo jars always do well for me. It was a case of "no money" so make do..back in those years,,and as a result I still use them along with regular canning jars...am enjoying my jelly, apple butter, yum!!

-- Patsy, MT (cozyhollow-gal@care2.com), January 17, 2002.