Whole Sale jar suppliers

[Shadowgirlau]

I use a variety of jars and lids when preserving. These jars are not just the Mason jars with two piece lids that you can obtain from the Redback Trading Company but also jars from wholesalers with one peice pop top lids from the companies listed below. I have found these jars to be just as good. And yes I also use recycled jars from products that I have bought and used myself and from friends who are always saving me thier jars. You can never have too many jars.

http://www.plasdene.com.au/preservingjars1.htm

I have bought several cases of jars from the above wholesaler and have been very happy.
The last case of jars that I bought from Plasdene in Perth was a case of 56 x 375ml jars which I bought to use for jam. These jars cost 38c each. They came with a lid that had a self sealing membrane and a pop top vacumn seal. (the top popped down once the jar sealed forming a vacumn which was a great visual aid for me)
The lids could also be bought seperate in boxes of 1000 and upon doing the math the lids would have cost me 1 cent each if I had bought them in bulk this way. As I use these type of jars and lids I shall probably do so next time I am up in town.
I like to use a combination of jar types and in particular jars that cost nothing or very little when giving my preserves away or as gifts. The good jars I keep for personal use.

http://www.bakeandbrew.com.au/category39_1.htm

I have bought from Bake and Brew shops as well although they have been found to be more expensive, Then again, the FV (Fowlers Vacola) jars usually are.

Am unable to find the addresses for my other suppliers at this time though shall update this post as I do so.

Both the above companies have outlets in most states of Australia.

Cheers
Kathleen

[minnie]

Hi Kathleen,

I bought Fowlers Vacola jars from Bake and Brew and also found them good to deal with, for me they were quite a bit cheaper from them even with freight than the local Mitre 10 shop.

It really is a matter of shopping around and giving our experiences for everyone to work out the best options.

Thanks for the links and I'll be looking at the other jars as well.


Vicki

[Shadowgirlau]

Here are a few more companies who sell/supply jars and lids for preserving. Well not just for preserving but also for brewing your own drinks, or maybe even for your home made cosmetics and lotions.
I make soaps and lotions as well and have also found them very useful for supplying small jars and tubes as well due to their extensive ranges.

http://www.cospak.com.au

http://www.plasdene.com.au


Will update with more information as I find them in my files. Have checked and both these addresses as still valid. They each have offices in most states.

Kathleen

[iwannabeapirate]

Hi all, I am new to all this.
I have a good pressure cooker (15 psi), and was thinking of embarking on some canning.
I gather all I need now is a recipe and some jars?

This thread has been very informative, and I plan to get some jars quite soon.

My question is this:
If I buy commercial type jars with the disposable twist top lid, with the button that pops down under vacuum; how do I use them?
I assume you don't seal while processing, or they will burst.
My guess is that the lid goes on loose to process, and then you turn it down tight when it is finished but still hot, so it establishes vacuum as it cools (and is still resistant to contamination because the jar is hot up until the point it is sealed).
Am I right?

Thanks in advance

[minnie]

As far as using the pressure cooker I consider myself a novice and each time I pull it out I go through the steps of using it... just me...I get a bit tense with it.

But the lids go on 'finger tight' I think they call it, also head space is important for the correct vacuum. See Kathleen's tip on headspace here
http://www..preserving-australia.com.au ... um.php?f=5 there's some good information in these FAQs.

Other than fish, what were you looking at canning?

To buy jars I can say I've used Vacola, Recycled with new pop top lids and Mason. I prefer the mason system to the vacola, less bits - a lid and reusable band (screw type) that comes off when the jars cool, they have good plastic screw lids for when you open the jars and don't use all the contents and keep in the fridge. The vacola has rubber rings, lids, clips. Where the clips come off after cooling and the lids if stainless and not damaged can be reused and new rubbers each time (I've reused rubbers depending on if they are old etc but it's not recommended). Vacola have a 'snap on' lid for storing after opening and I've never found it works well. Recycled gives you the feel of your supermarket jars and when opened and not all used but stored in the fridge has the lid.

I got mason jars from http://www.redbacktrading.com.au/they are a good price and really good to deal with, very helpful. Just saw they have smokers too if you like smoked fish?

Let us know how you go.

Vicki

[iwannabeapirate]

Finger tight makes sense. I realised a little while after posting that the jars "tighten" themselves up as the cool, but need to be loose enough while processing to release pressure.
The vacola and mason jars sound good, but I was thinking that "normal" jars might be cheaper *(plasdene, cospak).

Not sure what else I will be processing. Probably the things that we used to buy in cans but don't anymore - beetroot is a likely candidate, so are baked beans.
I garden too, so salsa and pasta sauces are likely in summer to save the tomato harvest. What works well for you?

Jeremy

[minnie]

Hi Jeremy,

Now Ali and Kathleen have done baked beans, and Ali can't bottle enough for her family they go so quickly... I'm thinking of doing some, but as we don't eat a lot of baked beans would more than likely put them in small jars (with the twist tops).

For fruit that I use the whole jar I like the vacola size 20, for soup I like the wide mouth 1 pint mason. And for my pasta sauce I use the recycled pasta sauce jars with new lids.

We all end up after a while just working out our sizes and what works best for us.

If you do something like meatloaf the wide mouth jars are best so it can come out easily.

Year before last I made salsa and used mashed up tabasco chilli (a tablespoon) DH nearly choked when I told him, it was really hot but boy was it good. So now we want to create the same... as it's been here for us weather and time wise probably next season.

He makes his tabasco sauce and this year all the bushes turned their toes, probably so much rain, so next year we'll have to plant more... luckily he's got enough to last.

To get a quick start though I'd go with the screw top jars (bulk buy) and they come with lids from memory, then overtime work out what ones you like best. I got a lot of vacola bottle off ebay some time back, but really most I don't and probably never will use so I will probably look at selling them some time.

Vicki

[alicelt]

I use mostly vacola jars, unlike a lot of people here - because that's what I've got!

I find the tall narrow-neck ones (ummmm size 31 I think?) perfect for soups and tomato sauce, and the smaller narrow-neck ones for pasta sauce (i think they are 20's). I also have some size 14's that are great for salsa etc.

I tend to do the same product in different jars though, depending on whether any of them will be leaving hte house. I refuse to take FV jars out to other people's places, or on picnics etc, because they are a pain to re-seal. (ie" impossible unless you cart tupperware with you to decant left-overs into) So if I'm doing salsa, for example, the ones i estimate will be for home use, i do in FV jars, and the ones I estimate will be for taking places, i do in recycled jars.

Pasta sauce always stays in FV jars because it's not something you take out, same with baked beans and soups etc.

Tomato sauce I mix and match because sometimes I like to give it away. I really like passata jars for tomato sauce.

I don't ever use beer bottles like Paul does - because my beer bottle collection is kept purely for the home brew. If I mixed that up, one day DH might open sauce instead and not notice until the first mouthfull LOL

ALi

[soozanne]

This might sound like a stupid question but do all the jars come with lids - as they are not pictured with them?
Cheers

[Shadowgirlau]

Hi,
The only silly question is the one not asked. Yes all the jars do come with lids.
You are also able to buy extra lids seperately.

Kathleen