[madison]

Thinking down the line quite a few years, how do you save produce if you are out of single use canning jar lids? How do you put away food then? Will we be able to save only root vegetables in cold storage all winter?

I never did find resealing canning jar lids in all my online research, I think they are an urban myth. Dang, wish I could invent them! It would be a future goldmine, lol!

[DomusAlbion]

Seal with wax.

[oowolf]

...still available:
http://www.goodmans.net/get_item_bl-370 ... torage.htm

[oowolf]

http://canninglids.com/index2.html

[stayathomedad]

just like they preserved food in the old days....look at "Sauerkraut" do not need a single thing not made from wood. works just fine.

the wax thing works great too, some pottery, some wood, some wax, some smoking with hot smoke, drying in air, oh do not forget saving seeds or tubers...you'll do fine

[RonMN]

There ARE ways...you just need to re-learn them...salting, canning, drying, freezing are all ways of preserving food.

Bet ya didn't know that beef was corned (corned beef) to preserve it (?)

We just need to relearn what's been lost...

[BW3]

Salting, drying, smoking, root cellar, pickeling (sauerkraut), packed in lard.

[Ebyss]

http://forum.rivercottage.net/viewforum.php?f=31

Have a look there for many different ways to preserve foods. Many of the posters are seasoned "homesteaders" (we would say smallholders) and have been doing this kind of thing for years. Others are complete beginners, so there's a good range of opinions/advice. There's even a thread on how to build your own smoker.

Don't forget the good old, salted and air-dried parma ham. (excuse me.. I mean parma-STYLE ham )

[madison]

Thanks for the responses nad the links, I'll check them out.

While at work today I was thinking about this, and I realized there is more variety than I'd considered. Fresh food could consist of (among other less palatable things) fresh eggs, raw milk, meat from chickens & rabbits & fish. Stored things, things in bags, sacks, or simple sealed jars would be stuff like oats, tea, coffee, molasses, nuts, maple syrup if I ever find a tree, dried beans & lentils, nuts, jerky. Cold stored items would be stuff like butter, raw milk, squash, root veggies like potatoes, onions, bacon. And then the smoked and hung stuff like hams, salamis, cheeses, and all the herbs.

Feeling better about the situation, thanks!

[Yavicleus]

What about just using Mason jars? Mason jars are very reusable. I've always used them with no trouble. Just seal them and boil them and you're good to go.

[bobaloo]

Yavicleus, that's what the discussion was about, the issue is the lids used to seal the Mason jars. They're really only good for one use, although they can be reused if desperate. The soft rubber on the seal gradually hardens and will no longer seal. It takes quite a while, I've used some 15 years old that worked fine, but at some point they will no longer work.

In addition, all of the lids in the U.S. are made by one company, which makes both the Ball and Kerr lids, so we've got a sole supplier of this vital item.

I've got a lot of them stashed away, cool, dark and vacuum sealed, but eventually they're going to run out and we're back to root cellars, drying and pickling, the traditional methods. That's why I get the funny look from the cashier every month when I buy 50 or 100 pounds of salt. It's dirt cheap at the moment, but once you start pickling and preserving you go through huge amounts of it. It keeps forever and is a great item to stock up on in 25 or 50 pounds bags of NON-iodized salt (for preserving).

[Trab]

I would think that an upsurge in the cost of processed and/or transported foods might lead to a revival of canning and other food preserving methods.
The availability of canning supplies and the like would increase with a rise in demand for those items. The energy costs to produce them would be less than the costs incurred by the usual '3,000-mile caesar salad.'

I know it sounds like a typical 'the market will save us' solution, but seriously, considering a possible increased use of canning methods, I think that even a more energy-limited future would be able to produce those items for a while, at least.

I know that you're not supposed to re-use Ball-style canning lids. Can they be refurbished or recycled? Sending your used lids back to the company that made them would give them a ready supply of the raw materials needed to make more.

[oowolf]

I've thought about using tree pitch or latex from milkweed etc. to recoat lids bit have never tried it.

[bobaloo]

Seems like a great business opportunity out there for some chemist. Surely, with all the advances in material science, there's a compound that could be used for the soft sealing gasket on the lids that would be reusable and last for many years? All it has to do is hold a vacuum, the demands aren't too tough.

[Ludi]

I think it would be worthwhile exploring various plant gums and pitches to see what might work as a sealing agent.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('madison', 'T')hinking down the line quite a few years, how do you save produce if you are out of single use canning jar lids? How do you put away food then? Will we be able to save only root vegetables in cold storage all winter?

I never did find resealing canning jar lids in all my online research, I think they are an urban myth. Dang, wish I could invent them! It would be a future goldmine, lol!

[The_Virginian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') think it would be worthwhile exploring various plant gums and pitches to see what might work as a sealing agent.

[bobaloo]

Here's the website for the company that claims to sell them Tattler Reusable Canning Lids.

They're cheap enough, I'll order some and see if they're any good.

At Goodwill today I found a tool which is clearly designed to gently grab canning lids and lift them off, sort of like a big pair of pliers with a rubber-lined grip. Might not make them reusable for canning, but will sure be useful with the vacuum sealer. I've got the mason jar attachment for it, pretty neat, put dry stuff in a quart jar and vacuum seal it.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('The_Virginian', '
')
It comes from Pine, and is called "Rosin"

[The_Virginian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')'d use beeswax, if I could get it.