Attention canners...gift ideas?

[Phentex]

I'd like to give a friend some canning supplies. She loves to give jams and applesauce to others as gifts. I thought I might find some sort of decorative jars that she wouldn't necessarily buy for herself. I found Bormioli Rocco on Amazon. Know anything about them?

Was also thinking about some decorative labels. She won't use a computer to print so they need to be something she can write on. I see they make some dissolvable labels too.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[grasswire]

1. If you have the know-how, I think personalized labels would be cool.

And some people make little fabric "skirts" for their jellies, with a pinked circle of fabric.

[Phentex]

2. Well I know how to order them!

and just did. That is a great idea! Thank you.

[japple]

3. Here are a couple of things.

As a home canner, I would be thrilled if someone gave me a box of these jars. They are pretty and out-of-the-ordinary.



http://www.amazon.com/Bernardin-Mason-Jars-Decorative/dp/B000H6HFAK/ref=sr_1_104?ie=UTF8&qid=1388795842&sr=8-104&keywords=canning+jar+lids+and+bands

These are nice, too. It's what grasswire suggested and you could easily put together something like this, or you could order a set.



http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product/decorative-jar-topper-kits/canning-lids-rings-caps


Several years ago, I ordered some decorative jar lids and rings by Bernardin through amazon. They had brilliantly colored fruits on them, but I don't see them anywhere on their site now.

[jtuck004]

6. Are there better, heavier jars than the typical mass-market canning jars sold by the dozen?

They seem a little fragile, break too easy. I'm not exactly gentle, but geez.

Maybe I will start by looking at the jars you posted here - they look at least a little more substantial.

Thank you.

[Phentex]

7. Very pretty

but they seem a little big compared to what she normally uses. I really love that design though.

[Major Nikon]

4. Italian made Bormioli Rocco canning jars are great for gifts

Naturally they are more expensive than Mason or Ball jars, but they are a lot more decorative and unusual. Amazon has them in various sizes.



http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Quattro-Stagioni-Canning/dp/B0000CFHM6/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1388796464&sr=1-1&keywords=Bormioli+Rocco+canning

[Phentex]

8. What size would you recommend?

Looks like she uses a half pint size most of the time.

[Major Nikon]

10. They have an 8.5 oz size

This is a nice size for gifts as far as things like jams and preserves go.

You can get 4 of them gift boxed:
www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Quattro-Stagioni-2-Ounce/dp/B000WO4DOI

Or you can get 12 of them which are cheaper on a per jar basis:
http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Quattro-Stagioni-Canning/dp/B00005067G

[Lucinda]

11. That oner would be great for my lemon curd.

Wanders off to Amazon before going to find food.

[Retrograde]

5. Lids!

I'm a canner, and while I have enough jars and screw rings I always need lids, since they're not reusable. A basket filled with various sizes of lids (well, in the US there are really only two, wide-mouth and regular), along with maybe a collection of labels, markers, and those foo-foo fabric circles would be something I'd appreciate.

[Phentex]

9. stupid question...

do both kinds of lids work on the half pint jars? Or are the regular the most common?

[Retrograde]

12. Not stupid at all

The sizes Ball uses have to do with the size of the jar mouth. I usually do pints and quarts, but I do have a few half-jars and regular lids seem to fit on them. My quart jars come in two styles, regular (i.e., the opening is the same size as on the pint jars) and wide-mouth, which have larger openings and are easier for packing in stuff like fruit. If I had to guess, I'd say the regular size is more common since I see those lids most often.

[anasv]

13. I would skip the fabric myself

adds nothing, imho. Just waste.

[Le Taz Hot]

14. Ball and Mason jars are made in the U.S.A.

Personally, that's important to me as I want to support American-made products whenever I can. Both companies offer decorative jars. I've had many of my American-made jars for 40 years. They're sturdy and practical and they're virtually impossible to break. I don't know anything about the Italian stuff but if you're going to go with foreign-made I would make sure the size of the opening fits standard and wide-mouth lids and are not something odd-sized that she would have a hell of a time finding replacements for.

If you're going to give jars, I know if I run out of jars, it's always the pint size because I use them the most. If she only does jams and applesauce you can use the jelly jars (8 oz) or the pint size (16 oz). If she does other things, I would say quart jars would be the next best thing but that's only if she cans things like tomatoes and pasta sauce. Personally, people are always giving me canning jars because they know I'm the mad canner around here. However, it's almost always jelly jars so I have an abundance of them. Maybe ask her what kind of jars she uses the most.

As an aside, this summer I discovered that they make 1/2 gallon jars! I bought two cases of them. Haven't done anything with them yet but, if nothing else, they're great for storing dry goods such as pastas and rice.

Another suggestion is a canning book: Here's one that I use ALL the time: jBall Blue Book Guide to Preserving There's all kinds of recipes in this thing (I used the Peach Butter recipe to win 1st place at the fair last year).

I've no idea how much you want to spend but if you're willing to lay down a little more scratch, she might not have a pressure canner/cooker. As the name implies, it's duel use. However, they're pricey.

One last suggestion is seals. They're not real decorative but you have to buy them every year so she may appreciate that.

That's all I got.

Come back and let us know what you ended up getting.

LTH

[Lasher]

15. A pressure canner?

Don't know if you want to spend that much money. And to be honest I hardly ever use mine for canning. I use it mostly for cooking a great big whatever, such as a turkey.

And have you thought about giving her some of those old jars that are green and blue? They could be hard to find but I value mine.

I buy pasta in bulk and I use wide mouth half gallon jars to store it. They make good canisters, and maybe she'd use them to can something.

[Phentex]

16. DAMN YOU, SNOWPOCALYPSE!

Even though I paid for expedited shipping (which was DUMB in the first place since that was more than the labels) the winter blast is keeping my labels in the Midwest.

It's my own fault for waiting to ask about gift ideas but I'm still annoyed.

However, the jars arrived!