Canning Question

[Mackay]

I used my new American canner for the first time yesterday canning beans with tattler lids.

out of 11 jars only 3 sealed.. and by sealing I mean that the center dome on the lid did not suck down and become concave as they generally do. When I take the rings off it seems like the lids are on tight.

Is this a total failure?

Thanks

 

[Sam BigDeer]

Not necessarily, if you're doing 'HOT WATER BATH' method then get/use some NEW lids, clean the jar rims, add new lids and re-process (you can shorten the process time on this re-do). . . .
Hank

 

[Mackay]

Well, I did a pressure cook on them. Guess I could do it over again.. have to pressure cook them again for 50 minutes?

I wonder if this has anything to do with the tattler lids. Im sure my rims were quite clean.

 

[Sam BigDeer]

Mackay, I've never used the Tattler lids so hesitate to comment on them specifically.
I should have been a bit more attentive; should have known you 'pressure-canned' by your note of using the American canner..
I was just concerned about the loss of time & work if you tossed out eight (8) jars of good beans and I know that the lids can be replaced with new lids and a process to seal them which involves raising the jars with contents temperature then allowing to cool back to ambient (room temp)...
But this needs to be done pretty soon, not allowing beans to remain open/exposed for very long . . . .
Sam

 

[seedcorn]

Know nothing about that brand but IF lids on tight where you have to use opener, I would think you are good.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was not familiar with the tattler lids so I went online. This is one of the reviews I found.

Some of the things I like about the Tattler lids are that they are free of BPA, are indefinitely reusable, dishwasher safe, can be used for hot water bath or pressure canning, and made in the good ol’ USA (bonus!). I’ve canned jams, fruits, carrots, beans, chicken, broth, beef stew, potatoes, salsa, tomatoes, and water (yes, water) with these lids. The best advice I can give you about these Tattler lids is…you need a lot of practice to get it right. The first few batches I canned did not seal well. I had about a 50% failure rate, which is totally unacceptable in my book. I tried re-processing the jars and very few of them sealed the second time around.

At first I was pretty ticked off about the failure rate. I’ve been canning food since I was a kid, and I’m no spring chicken. So the idea that half of my jars didn’t seal was a real slap in the face. I chalked it up to learning experience went back to square one. I read the instructions again and decided that my mistake may have been in how tight to screw on the lids. The instructions say to tighten the lids, then turn back ¼ inch. I followed the instructions to a T and began again. My next attempt went much better, but I still had a jar or two from each batch that didn’t seal properly. More practice and quite a few foul words ensued.

What I don’t like about these canning lids is that, to this day, I still don’t have as good a success rate with the Tattler canning lids as I do with the disposable metal lids. You can’t tell if your jars seal by listening for the pinging sound that the metal lids make as they cool. You also can’t tell by looking at the lids for the depressed center and lack of ‘bounce back’ you’ll get from the metal lids when the seal is tight. You have to wait until the jars of food have cooled, take the metal screw band off, and then gently pull up on the lid to see if comes off. If it feels like it’s stuck tight, then the seal is good.

In addition to the learning curve necessary for using the Tattler lids, you also need to be prepared to replace the rubber rings every so often. They are not indestructible, so care needs to be taken when opening your canned goods. Don’t use a sharp knife to pry the plastic lid off the jar, or you may damage the rubber rings. I have a few that were dumped in the sink with other dishes and now they are all wonky and messed up. So I need to order a new supply of rubber rings.

And a link to the review.

http://theprepperproject.com/tattler-reusable-canning-lids-review/

Tattler apparently is quite proud that their lids are made in the USA. All Kerr and Ball lids are made in Muncie, Indiana. I guess Muncie is not in the USA. I don’t know, I’ve never been there. So yeah, it’s a bonus that Tattler are made in the USA. (It just rubs me the wrong way when someone implies they are doing something that their competitor is not when it is not true. Even though they didn’t lie, it just seems dishonest.)


Then there is the BPA. BPA is bad stuff. You can get it from practically anything. I don’t go out of my way to consume it because it is bad stuff. There is some in Kerr and Ball lids. It’s all cumulative but supposedly a normal 150 pound healthy adult would have to eat between 2400 to 4300 cans of home canned food every day to reach the maximum daily safety limit of BPA if the only source of BPA is home canned goods. So yeah, BPA free is another big advantage of the Tattler lids.

It appears the big claim with Tattler is that the metal lids are reusable but the bands have a limited life. And there appears to be a big learning curve in how to use them. A high failure rate to start with may be common, especially if you don’t follow the instructions exactly. But as Seed said, as long as the lid is on tight it worked.

Personally I’ll stick with the Kerr and Ball lids, even if they are manufactured in Muncie and are loaded with BPA. At least my jars seal.

 

[dickiebird]

If you retry to can your beans and some still don't seal the contents of the improperly sealed jars is still OK to consume. Just refrigerate and use in the next few days.

THANX RICH

 

[seedcorn]

Hey, Muncie is in Indiana and Indiana is one of the 50 states. Both kids went to BSU-Ball State. Ball family was very generous to help state college.

If you can't pry lid off, how do you get a a Tattler lid off?

 

[thistlebloom]

That was good information @Ridgerunner .

I don't know about anybody else but now I'm feeling very relieved about my BPA consumption. Something that usually keeps me awake at night. But since I have always kept my consumption of home canned foods under 2399/day I will sleep like a baby tonight!

 

[Mackay]

Thanks everyone. I did recook those bottles that did not seal properly. I think the problem was that I might have closed the lids too tight.. after reviewing a couple of you tubes I saw that it said to close the rings with finger power only... well we screwed them on real tight... then my neighbor came over and the first thing he said that you don't screw them on tight because you want some air to be able to escape as the lid seals.