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De-pickling the pickle jar?  RSS feed

 
Jenna Sanders
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Location: Michigan, zone 5
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posted 4 years ago
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I'm in need of some gallon glass jars, to store my raw milk in, and the only thing I could think of was those giant pickle jars. Has anyone had any success getting the pickle smell out of the jar, to re use them?

“The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.” Robert Louis Stevenson

 
R Scott
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Location: Kansas Zone 6a
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posted 4 years ago
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YES. They will smell for the first few times, but they don't impart flavor to the milk. 90% of the smell is in the lid. You can buy replacement lids cheap online--a jar of pickles plus a new lid for less than the cost of empty gallon jars. Plus PICKLES, which are good for the first couple gallons. After the first few, you may consider them less good--but then consider them free chicken feed.

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus

 
John Elliott
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Bleach. Something that permies and other environmentally conscious people try to minimize the use of, but this is one of the uses. To get rid of the molecules hanging around producing the pickle odor, you either have to oxidize them (the bleach) or bake the jars in a hot oven for a few hours. Either way, the odor molecules will be gone. Baking soda is another popular de-odorizer, but it is not heavy duty enough to take care of the pickle odor.
 
Matu Collins
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I agree, most of the smell is in the lid. I have had success with putting some baking soda in the lid and screwing the lid on upside down so baking soda is wedged tight around the edge and a layer sits on the cover. Then leaving them alone for a while.

“Enough is as good as a feast"
-Mary Poppins

 
Jenna Sanders
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posted 4 years ago
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These are all great suggestions, thanks so much!
John- Do you fill the jar with bleach and water or just bleach?

“The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.” Robert Louis Stevenson

 
John Elliott
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Jenna Sanders wrote:
John- Do you fill the jar with bleach and water or just bleach?



It matters less how much you dilute the bleach (the active oxidants in the bleach will find the odor molecules) and more the amount of contact time. As has been noted, the metal lid with its painted-on coating absorbs more of the odor than the glass itself, so I like Matu's idea of swirling the de-odorizing solution around and then letting the jar sit upside-down for a while.

Or you can just soak all the lids overnight in bleach/water and hope that takes care of most of the problem.
 
Jenna Sanders
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posted 4 years ago
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YES. They will smell for the first few times, but they don't impart flavor to the milk. 90% of the smell is in the lid. You can buy replacement lids cheap online--a jar of pickles plus a new lid for less than the cost of empty gallon jars. Plus PICKLES, which are good for the first couple gallons. After the first few, you may consider them less good--but then consider them free chicken feed.



Is there somewhere you have ordered the lids from in the past? I'm not sure if the lids are a one size fits all gallon jars type thing?

“The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.” Robert Louis Stevenson

 
R Scott
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I have gotten them from the Amish store down the road. They are not a one-size fits all, although all Vlassics seem to be the same.

Azure sells some, but theirs are the WIDE mouth, different than pickle jars--not a bad price if shipping doesn't kill you: https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/brand/208

I did stumble across this cure for pickle lids, SUNLIGHT!! http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/4649




"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus

 
R Scott
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posted 4 years ago
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Here is someone that probably has what you need: http://www.fillmorecontainer.com/Closures-C26.aspx

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." --Mahatma Gandhi
"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words." --Francis of Assisi.
"Family farms work when the whole family works the farm." -- Adam Klaus

 
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