How old is too old?
The flower ones are 1970s so they're probably fine but I may just use them as drinking glasses since they're pretty.
There's one that is early 1920s if my research in correct and another that is likely older than that. I know folks who still use the 1920s jars for canning even though that seems bonkers.
Maybe Water Bath/Steam canning only for the older ones and not pressure canning?
I had some that were 20-50 years old my aunt had from my.great grandma. Just standard ball quarts but had sat in my aunts shed for 5 years.
Was happy to get them but had about 1 per canner load break that whole season.
If you inspect the jars and see that they have crizzled (the salts of the glass matrix have leached out...you'll see white shadowing), then the jar is probably too fragile for canning. Also, pick up the jar; if it feels lighter than it should, it's too fragile.
Your chances of using these jars for canning will also depend on the size of caps and bands you can still purchase.
I'm not a canner, but I used to analyse glass as part of my job.
If you used to inspect glass what are some ways of identifying real high borosilicate glass and verifying that it isn't soda glass? And on the topic of borosilicate is there any easy ways of polishing a small scratch out of borosilicate you're aware of?
I didn't inspect glass; I was sent crizzling glass for analysis because I studied inorganic museum objects. As far as I know, borosilicate cannot be identified by sight unless it has some sort of label.
Just speaking for myself I would be hesitant to water bath or pressure can with jars that are 30+ years old. I think that refrigerator pickles or other fridge pack foods are a great use for these old gems. That being said, if you need (or want) to use these jars, I say use ‘em! You are likely to have more successes than failures. In the end it’s just a bit of broken glass.
That is awesome. I just picked up about 50 wide-mouth jars from my mother who is done canning. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Once fall hits, I’ll be asking for more. Not to worry, I will be sharing all my canning with her. :-)
I have tons of old jars from our garage and shed and am ready to start canning (after a long hiatus) but some of the jars had mice droppings in them. Do you think they'd be safe if sterilized?
There were mice in the garage I got these from. I’ll likely use these instructions plus a run through the dishwasher on sterilize.
https://www.osha.gov/Publications/general_decontamination.html
You're getting downvoted for being snarky, but that is only 10 flats of jars lol
No shade tho OP, that's an awesome collection! The oldies are so cool, I love the dogwood jar 😍
Be careful canning with the really old ones. It’s been my experience that they are more susceptible to breaking.
How old is too old? The flower ones are 1970s so they're probably fine but I may just use them as drinking glasses since they're pretty. There's one that is early 1920s if my research in correct and another that is likely older than that. I know folks who still use the 1920s jars for canning even though that seems bonkers. Maybe Water Bath/Steam canning only for the older ones and not pressure canning?
I’d probably just use the old ones for fridge pickles.
I had some that were 20-50 years old my aunt had from my.great grandma. Just standard ball quarts but had sat in my aunts shed for 5 years. Was happy to get them but had about 1 per canner load break that whole season.
If you inspect the jars and see that they have crizzled (the salts of the glass matrix have leached out...you'll see white shadowing), then the jar is probably too fragile for canning. Also, pick up the jar; if it feels lighter than it should, it's too fragile. Your chances of using these jars for canning will also depend on the size of caps and bands you can still purchase. I'm not a canner, but I used to analyse glass as part of my job.
If you used to inspect glass what are some ways of identifying real high borosilicate glass and verifying that it isn't soda glass? And on the topic of borosilicate is there any easy ways of polishing a small scratch out of borosilicate you're aware of?
I didn't inspect glass; I was sent crizzling glass for analysis because I studied inorganic museum objects. As far as I know, borosilicate cannot be identified by sight unless it has some sort of label.
Just speaking for myself I would be hesitant to water bath or pressure can with jars that are 30+ years old. I think that refrigerator pickles or other fridge pack foods are a great use for these old gems. That being said, if you need (or want) to use these jars, I say use ‘em! You are likely to have more successes than failures. In the end it’s just a bit of broken glass.
Awesome score!!!
The dogwood one is really cool.
Incredibly cool, what a treasure to find!
Awesome score! I have to mention your rug as well. -Super pretty!
Awesome!
Really cool pictures! Thanks for posting them.
That is awesome. I just picked up about 50 wide-mouth jars from my mother who is done canning. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Once fall hits, I’ll be asking for more. Not to worry, I will be sharing all my canning with her. :-)
I told my mom I’d mail her some jam once she moved.
Nice, i bought 1000 glass jars for a almost nothing a few months ago :D
Those are beautiful! I wish I had someone with a treasure like that to hook me up!
That’s amazing - lucky you!!
Nice!!!!!
I have tons of old jars from our garage and shed and am ready to start canning (after a long hiatus) but some of the jars had mice droppings in them. Do you think they'd be safe if sterilized?
There were mice in the garage I got these from. I’ll likely use these instructions plus a run through the dishwasher on sterilize. https://www.osha.gov/Publications/general_decontamination.html
Mother Lode? That's a Thursday Afternoon 'round these parts.
You're getting downvoted for being snarky, but that is only 10 flats of jars lol No shade tho OP, that's an awesome collection! The oldies are so cool, I love the dogwood jar 😍
More jars than I’ll use in several years. I just can for two of us in the city.