Over the last few years, I have mentioned my love of canning several times and shown everyone my oh-so-European glass-lid canning jars. Once I decided I was going to start canning in Germany, it really did take me quite a few months to adjust to the idea of canning in these things. I grew up canning with my mom in Ball and Mason jars — and I was pretty sure that I’d read somewhere that these funky glass lid jars just weren’t up to par.
But after using them now for several years, I can safely say that they are totally fabulous. And although I have the super old fashioned version of these ultra hip jars, those who completely fall in love with them can actually get them in the US — if you’re willing to pay the price. Whether that be buying them new, or deciding to have them shipped over from Germany somehow.
A few weeks ago, I received the following email — and although I’ve talked a bit about my canning jars in the past, I figured this was a good time to really tell you all about them. And perhaps dispel a few fears for those living over here who really want to try canning, but just can’t get a handle on what these strange jars are all about.
Tiffany,
While viewing your posts on the construction of your new harvest/canning kitchen I became interested in the canning jars you used. Â Can you tell me where they are available, who the manufacturer is, etc?
Thanks!
The glass jars you see in the photo above (and in some of my other canning posts) are actually the standard over here in Germany. Well actually, they are now the standard for old timers and die hard canners — because newer, prettier, more expensive versions of these jars have been released in recent years.
I was extremely intimidated by the glass-lid jars at first because I was used to hearing the jars pop and being able to push on the lids to make sure they were sealed. And I was pretty sure I read from the US FDA that if you used these types of jars, you would likely die from botulism. But a lot of things cause you to die according to the FDA. 😉 Trust me; it’s very clear when one of these jars hasn’t sealed…because when you go to pick it up by the lid, it just opens right up. The clamps which hold the lid on during the canning process are removed after the jars cool down (or 24 hours if you can wait that long) and if the lid stays on, you’re good. I also recently read that if the little rubber tag sticking out on the rings is pointing down, you’ve got a good seal but I have yet to test that theory myself since I just found out about it.
Although I had my apprehensions about these European canning jars, it was really just a matter of getting to know them better…and I absolutely love them now. Not only are they practical, but they look gorgeous — and sometimes you can pick up these older style of jars for next to nothing.
Where do I get some?
I have been lucky enough to obtain a bunch room full of the old canning jars on eBay and Freecycle for pennies. Sometimes you will find people over here that will sell a few boxes of them at once, and you can manage to get them for the price of gas to go pick them up, plus a few euros on top. Or you can put an ad on Freecycle for “einmachgläser” and see if you get any nibbles. I did that a few years ago and literally ended up with about 70 jars for free while a woman was cleaning out her dad’s basement. I think she found me quite strange to be so thrilled about these jars. But I’m used to people finding me a bit unusual. I also lucked into another 100 or so large jars (1.5 – 2 liter size which are harder to find) at my local farmers’ market because they had a sign up that they were giving a bunch of them away. Seriously, here in Germany, these things can be found all over the place if you look around a bit.
Now if you have fallen in love with these jars in the US, and just must have some of them, here are a few places that sell them (ebay is a fairly poor source for them in the US). But trust me — the jars I have are dinosaurs compared to all the new variations they have for these jars now…and they have a fancy price tag to match.
- Weck Jars has a pretty good website and they are one of the original manufacturers of the jars here in Germany.
- Heath Ceramics
- Kaufmann Mercantile
- Mighty Nest
- Crate & Barrel
In addition to the jars, you need the rubber seals and the clips. If you are getting the new jars, they are tiny little things that just slide over the edges of the jars to hold the lid on. Or on the old school jars, the clamp stretches across the top and hooks under opposite sides of the lip of the jar. Mine have the latter as you can see below since they are all quite old. There’s actually quite a bit of tension put on that metal piece in the middle, which I think also helps hold the lid down and improves your chances of the jars sealing (but I may be wrong).
Are Weck canning jars better?
So now that I’ve gone on and on about Weck canning jars and how I’ve grown to really enjoy using them, you’re probably wondering if I think they are better than US jars…. but it’s really hard to say.
You don’t have the problem of the lids or rings rusting like on the Ball jars which I think is great. And there is said to be some small amounts of BPA in the coating on the bottom of the metal lids of Ball/Mason/Kerr/Golden Harvest/etc. You do still have some replacement cost for the rubber bands on the Weck jars and perhaps the clamps from time to time. But both of these pieces will last many years.
You can use Weck canning jars for everything from canning fruit to vegetables to meat. I’ve used them both in water bath and pressure cooker sessions and had great results. The only thing I dislike is that canning pots and such are quite expensive here in Germany with a decent size to them (especially the pressure cookers) so you can’t fit more than 2 jars in at a time which becomes really tedious. But that’s no fault of the jars and the newer ones are usually more slender which would help with this problem.
These Weck canning jars are heavy and really beautiful to look at since they are nearly all glass (minus the rubber ring). People love getting them as gifts and find all sorts of other uses for them later on. Perhaps they are not quite as practical for stacking (at least the older jars) because they have raised writing on the lids, but it doesn’t make it impossible — you just have to be a bit more careful.
I’ve grown to like them quite a bit but as far as canning goes in general, I think it’s really a matter of what you can get your hands on for a decent price. I know a lot of people find Ball jars for a buck each or even a buck a case from time to time…and you can’t beat that price.
I find that both Ball and Weck canning jars have issues from time to time with sealing — that’s always a bit hit or miss with canning. But these usually won’t leak or fill up with water when you don’t get the seal right in the water bath because of the clamp.
Will I be taking these jars with me wherever we move to next? Most definitely! I’ve grown quite attached to the liter sizing and the 1.5- and 2-liter canning jars are fantastic for using as wind lights with candles in them.
To learn more about using the new Weck canning jars, check out Food in Jars, an awesome website about all things canning related.
Have you been bitten by the canning bug? Or are you still waiting for a reason to get your feet wet?
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hey Tiffany,
I did the reverse trick and am now going on my thrid year in near DC VA. The masonjars totally threw me off. My grandmother only cooked in these but when she died we had no storage and so they got lost…I will have to mix and match when I can here..the weckgläser have the sizes I like (small) and they are so pretty…but I know that financially I’ll have to go for mason or bell for the bigger sizes. (BTW there a is company which now sells BPA free lids: tattlers methinx
You mentioned canning pots being expensive, where do I find one? I live in Germany, and am not even sure what to call it, I can’t find a good german word for it. Thanks for the tips, I am very new to canning, but with the abundance of apples around us, I am trying all kinds of things. I am interested in water bath canning right now, though, not ready for pressure canning!
Hi Trish,
Have a look on ebay for “einmachtopf” or “einwecktopf” to get a regular water bath canner. I bought mine for a couple of bucks that way but did have to get a new thermometer on the side since it didn’t have one. I saw a few on ebay earlier starting at €1 but the shipping is of course a bit more pricey at ca. €7.
Depending on how many apples you have, you can also try making your own juice or even apple wine. That’s what we usually did with the 50+ kilos we got from our trees. 😉
Apologies for the really late post but I just stumbled upon this. I’m going to be visiting Germany next month and was hoping to get some jars to bring back with me but have been unable to find out where they are sold from the internet. Everyone says they are cheap and readily available in Germany but I’m not sure if I should start at supermarkets and hardware stores like in the States or if I should look in other places. Thanks for any advice!
Hi Jen,
It really depends whether you are looking for the old fashioned style or the newer “tulip” flared jars — and what size you need. The newer jars are available in many stores (home improvement stores are usually the best place to look for them) at this time of year but the older ones (which are what I have and are generally much cheaper) can be a bit more tricky to locate.
If you’re going to be staying for a week or more and want the older jars, I would suggest using ebay as a place to buy either old or new jars online. Just type in “weck” and you will find tons of them. If you have the address of where you are staying ahead of time (even if it’s a hotel), you can have them mailed there even before you arrive. Just make sure it’s a vendor that will mail them since some only do pickups (especially of the old jars).
And don’t forget the rubber gaskets and clips!
thanks so much!
Hello there…
I’m visiting Germany next month. (Berlin) Do you know where I can pick up some of these jars? Thanks!
You can usually find some to buy on ebay and could maybe get them mailed to your hotel. Or you could have a look at the flea market at Rathaus Schöneberg on Saturday or Sunday morning and might get lucky. They don’t sell jars like this anymore in most stores unless it’s London and they are “antiques” for 15GBP or more.
Unfortunately I won’t be in Berlin anymore at that point or I could give you some of my own. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this! I too pick up a handful ( read…want more!) of the dinosaurs when in the old country. The landlords wife showed me how to do it in the oven! Some of ours broke coming stateside and I’d just Love to have some more! Any ideas?
So far I haven’t seen many of them online in the US, aside from the occasional one on ebay selling for 10 USD or more! Maybe I need to start importing them and selling them 🙂
Hello,
I am new to canning and in the past 5 years, have only water bath canned my applesauce. This year I purchased a pressure canner and some Weck jars. I canned chicken soup in mason jars last week and today just chicken w/broth in Weck jars. Both times I could smell the chicken very strongly during the processing. Also some of the jars “boiled” for hours after removing from the canner but others did not. Even though the mason jars sealed appropriately, the ones that didn’t boil and had obviously lost liquid in processing, I considered a fail and put in the fridge. The Weck are cooling as I write and I have another 23 hours to wait to see if they failed or not.
So my questions are:
Is it normal to smell what you are canning in the pressure canner? (My thought process is that -the water bath contained any smells that might escape during venting of the air in the jar.)
Does the liquid “boiling” once outside the canner have anything to do with obtaining a good seal? (the mason jars that didn’t boil had a nice hard lid but there was about 1/4″ or more of liquid missing.)
The instructions on the Weck site state:
“9. When using the WECK Round Rim jars, apply the rubber ring to the sealing rim of the lid. It is best to apply the rings before filling the jars. Leave the lids with the attached rings in hot water, until both can be placed together on the jar.”
I couldn’t find anything on their site to help me determine which of their jars have round rims so I went ahead and put the ring on the lid and put them in hot water while preparing the jars. Do you have any idea what they mean by “round rim”?
Thanks for your assistance. If you could shoot me an email when you answer, I would greatly appreciate it. motherearthpamatyahoodotcom.
Again, my heartfelt thanks for posting your experiences and any assistance you can offer.
Pam
Hi Pam,
Thanks for your questions. Hopefully I can answer them. 😉
Is there a smell?
Usually there should not be a smell if everything is staying in the jars. I have had an instance or two with different jars where one or two leaked and I could smell the hot sauce, and they still managed to seal. But usually not.
I’ve also had the jars boil most of the time when I can. I don’t know if this has to do with the seal or not. But it happens in pressure cooking as well as water baths. For this reason, I try to be careful with how long I leave the food in the canner since it may get mushy. But with potatoes, they have generally been perfect, even with boiling.
I believe (but may be completely wrong) that the “round rim” jars are the newer version of them. The old jars (like I use in the photos on my blog) are something else. I usually put my rings on after I put in the contents because I sometimes spill stuff and I want a clean seal. So I hate having to wash the ring again and slow down the rest of the process.
I hope this helps and that the rest of your batch turned out great. And feel free to let me know if you have any other questions!
I’m sorry to be posting here so late in the game, but I just bought 12 of the old Weck jars at a flea market in Brussels this past week. (I am American, living in Naples, Italy, btw). I got them for very cheap, but they don’t have the clips on them. I mistakenly thought I could use the new kind of clips, and now realize they need those biggish clamp things. So, my question is: do you know of a place where I can order 12 of the old clamps for 1/4 liter jars? I would really love to actually be able to use them for canning and not just for decoration!
Thank you so much for any advice!
The rubber ring seal for Weck smellS of a rubber odor. It gives me nauseous headache.
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL HOW TO WASH THESE RUBBER RINGS Or TO SOMEHOW GET RID OF THE RUBBER SMELL ODOR?
THANKS,
TOM
Hi
I’m completely new to canning but picked up some delicious jars from Biohof-Bursch at the organic market in Cologne. I’ve just tried to recreate their Weisskohl Untereinander – do you know of any good recipe pages for canning similar vegetable dishes? Many of the English resources focus on jams, chutneys and ketchups.
Ball’s website (they are a canning jar company in the US) often has a lot of veggie recipes. You can try their website: http://www.freshpreserving.com/
Food in Jars is another great resource: http://foodinjars.com/recipe-index/
Thanks for this.
The most postive on weck that I have seen online.
I will definitely be purchasing.
I am new to canning.
I live in the U.K. So everything Canning is expensive!
My pressure canner has been imported from America. As they don’t sell any here. Well they do, the big Hawkins which isn’t even as good as the All American so if I am going to spend that kind of money I might have well go big right?
Kilner jars in the are £3 each
Ball Jars are very hard to come by and only available from 1 shop and I paid £14 for 4.
Weck jars can be ordered for £3 each for the 1080ml jars.
To me, if I am going to invest, I would rather go for those.
I came across your post this morning and am very hopeful you can help me in finding Ruhrglass canning jars. I had bought some when living in Germany in the early 80’s but wish I had bought more. Do you know where I can find some more?
I have rarely seen them in the US. And when I do on ebay, they are quite expensive. I brought several back with me from Germany as well. Sometimes I wish I had brought more! But the old style of jars are no longer around. New Weck jars are available online and in store like The Container Store, though.
Hi there! I’m so glad I cam across your post. I scored a dozen of these beautiful old school Weck jars here in Canada, but I’m having a very hard time finding the rubber rings or the clips and I don’t know if any of the new ones can be adapted (tried the clips, no luck). Any idea where I can find them? Huge thanks!
The rubber rings are still sold for canning in Germany. The clips have changed a bit over the years but I was able to find them on ebay about 10 years ago without trouble as well. Best of luck!
Hi Tiffany,
I agree, I love the old style jars with the clamps that stretch across the top to hold them closed. I was lucky enough to inherit an entire basement full when I moved into my Omas house a few years ago.
My question for you is what you use for pressure canning. I know the FDA freaks about proper procedure but all I can seem to find here in Germany are pressure cookers, not canners. Can you tell me how you tackled this issue, I’d really like to be able to can my green beans this year, not just pickle or freeze them.
Thanks so much,
Andrea
Thanks for solving a mystery! National Geographic has published a magazine on fermenting and picking using the older weck jars on the cover. I want, nay neeed, a few in my life.
I use old improved gem jars with glass lids with rubber rings without a problem.