Canning after the Apocalypse!

I just bought a box of new Tattlers a few weeks ago to replenish my stash (I had some rubber rings somehow get too big over time, and also just wanted to increase my stock of lids), and of course they start their big summer sale now (tomorrow, 6/3/20, through the end of the month, 6/30/20): https://reusablecanninglids.com/products. It's 15% off all 50 count ~ 100 count ~ 200 count ~ 500 count bulk Tattler E-Z seal lids (includes rubber rings) and the same free shipping as always (it came USPS when I ordered recently). I'm not affiliated or benefiting in any way from passing this along, just a long-time customer.

I have had Tattler lid seal failures, even after learning the "trick" ("Once the process is completed and the jars are removed from your canner, let the bubbling die down (approximately 4-5 minutes), as this is pressure still releasing from the jars. Place a towel over the still hot jars (for safety) and finish tightening the metal bands. Now, let your jars cool naturally and when cool to room temperature, remove the metal band and lift the jar slightly by the lid. It should be well sealed. Your food is ready for storing (store without metal screw bands)."). I always check the seal after cooling, and any that don't seal, we either eat right away or I re-can.

Oh! And ETA on salt: I discovered this place a few years ago when I owned and ran a vegetable fermentation business and needed a lot of high quality salt, and we just placed another large order from them recently to keep us in salt at home through the current times: https://seasalt.com/. I've found even their cheaper sea salts to be high quality, and free shipping is available for retail orders that weigh 15 pounds or less and are shipped via regular UPS Ground. We're in a food desert, so would have to order even Morton's right now when our usual store an hour away isn't doing curbside pickup, and we didn't want to accumulate quite that many canisters.

For spices and herbs that you either can't grow where you are or don't have sufficient quantity of yet, see if your local coops and similar places with bulk spices and herbs will ship during this time. My mom found and shared with me that a coop a few hours from us in Arizona has started shipping to regular retail customers rather than just delivering to restaurants, etc. (we used to order from them when I worked in restaurant kitchens): https://www.mounthopewholesale.com/. But I bet there are great small places like this going above and beyond all over right now. Let's keep it local and small whenever and wherever we can!

Nokomis Woods wrote:

Jesse Glessner wrote:HEY ALL:  Something missed on this forum is "How to keep the jars on the shelves during that HUGE Earthquake" and believe me that is important.
One would be putting up a retaining board high enough to keep the jars on-shelf, but low enough to be able to pull the jars...

Those in Quake Country might find some useful inspirations on "containment" and efficient simple stabilized shelf systems by googling and browsing images of marine cabinetry.

I've seen a clever simple way to stop jars on a shelf cracking against one another by weaving some rope around the jars and through the front retaining bar. The image is a sceenshot I took of the shelf from a video of a schoolie conversion.

As for rubber rings, I bought some silicone replacement rings for my Kilner jars as they last forever, and can be used over and over again, as long as they don't get damaged mechanically. They won't perish with acids, fats or oxygen. You can also get them for use with Mason/Ball jars. Well worth the extra price.  I've had brand new rubber rings go hard and crack in storage, and others perish when used once with a ferment that came into contact with them.

Edit: I should have said the rope goes through the front and back retaining bars.

Hi Judith ,

Neat idea.  I live a little too close to the New Madrid fault line.  The tremors are frequent enough that we accept them.  And any fault line that has changed the course of the Mississippi River has to get your attention.