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Why can’t they be reused?

• BooneJS 6y ago
  They don’t re-seal. You can use them for dry goods storage or freezer jam, but if you need a seal for room temperature storage or cellar storage, they’re no good anymore.
  • Scoundreller 6y ago
    Nobody has DIY’d a layer of something that you could apply as a thin liquid layer that would seal up at boiling temperatures?
    • BooneJS 6y ago
      Not that I know of. The lids have been so cheap that no one cared.
      • wolco2 6y ago
        And the high cost of wasting jam makes local experimenting unwise.
        • dragontamer 6y ago
          And if you mess this up, food poisoning can blind and/or kill you. Food sitting around at room temperature for 6 months or 2 years is not really a process you want to be experimenting with... I guess the cans have the "clicky click" to ensure safety. But this is actually life-or-death: you don't want to mess this up at any step of the process.
    • jrmg 6y ago
      Until recently (in the ‘humans making jam’ scheme of things, at least) melted paraffin wax was commonly used for this. It’s now considered unsafe.
      • Scoundreller 6y ago
        Ah, i didn’t mean as a food-covering layer, but applying a ring around the jar-lid mating surface. We’re just making a gasket here, no?
        • oh_sigh 6y ago
          Just a gasket, but you need to be really confident it maintains its sealant properties for years, or else you get botulism and die when you eat your jam
          • danielodievich 6y ago
            Very true. Years ago I tried canning italian plums. I didn't think anyone else in my househoold will like them, so I decided to experiment. I thought I'd try for a light syrup so I used 1/3 of the sugar - some recipes in the 1939 Kerr canning cookbook that I have called for that, with paraffin on top. Plus, I decided to reuse some of the previously used lids, being too cheap that specific year. They turned out beautiful to look at and went into my pantry Well, about a month later, I was awoken in the middle of the night by explosion from downstairs. 2 jars exploded, most of those jars were fermenting, some had really nasty organic growth scum on it, and the cleanup was quite terrible. I think it was the lack of sugar, not the lids, but lid reuse didn't help. Key takeaway - always use the right amount of sugar (1:1, even if it seems like you're pouring white death on), and never reuse lids.
            • jelliclesfarm 6y ago
              I ferment garlic cloves in honey. You have to ‘burp’ them. Ditto with kimchi. Also..this is why I always preserve fruit in alcohol. Why not?
          • dragontamer 6y ago
            > botulism Botulism actually dies when in contact with oxygen. So you can only die to Botulism if you properly seal a can. Actually... you don't die to Botulism, but to Botulism's toxins. As soon as you open a can, Botulism dies. The leftover toxins however will kill you. ----------- You seal a can to protect it from all other infectious diseases: E. Coli, Black Mold, etc. etc. This stuff can kill you as well. ------- "Normal" diseases die at boiling temperatures. So when you boil a can, its sufficient to kill off E. Coli, Black Mold, etc. etc. However, Botulism dies at higher temperatures... you need a pressure canner to raise the boiling point above 212F (!!!) to kill Botulism spores. So the high-temperature is to kill Botulism. The sealing is to then keep all other diseases out after you've decontaminated the food.
  • jrmg 6y ago
    Have you tried it? We have some we’ve been reusing for years for jam and chutney making and they always reseal.
• dragontamer 6y ago
  They're talking about the actual canning process. When you can using those lids: you melt the sealant due to the high temperature (boiling, or above-boiling using a pressure-canner). The sealant forms an airtight-seal for the can, protecting your jams for literally years even at room temperature. --------- For "normies" who don't can, use the grey plastic "Ball Leakproof Lid", which has numerous superior properties for non-canners. In particular: plastic does NOT rust, they're more eminently reusable. With that being said: cheap one-time-use bands + lids are good for dry goods and non-sealing purposes. If you simply put your cans in the refrigerator, they're sufficient to be reused (as long as they don't rust).
  • dehrmann 6y ago
    Adding onto this, the way you usually remove the lids is to pry them off, deforming part of the lid.