Chicago source for canning supplies?

Was wondering where you home canners around here go for supplies? I won't be doing real canning but am getting a Foodsaver and want to stock up on Ball jars/lids to use for vacuum storage. I see lots of online places but figure the shipping costs could add up real fast so was interested in finding a local retailer that isn't a crazy drive for this northside Chicagoan. TIA.

You can get jars and lids at most grocery stores and super markets, and any utensils that you might need are available at any kitchen/cooking supply store.

Jane

An amazingly high percentage of supermarkets and hardware stores carry jars and lids even in neighborhoods where you wonder about how much demand there is. Ace Hardware stores with decent cooking equipment sections usually carry canning supplies. The Edward Don Outlet Store carries a pretty good selection of supplies and equipment. They tend to clear much of the inventory at very good prices in the fall, which means I tend to restock lids then. Because demand for canning supplies is quite seasonal in Chicago, stocks may be pretty low now. Within a month inventories should be better. Lids are available pretty well year round, but the bulkier jars may not be too plentiful yet.

Note that cases of jars usually include lids, so you won't need more lids until the jars are reused. Always use new lids to insure safe seals.

Edward Don Outlet Store
2525 North Elston
Chicago

Hi,

I have been fortunate to be at the receiving end of plenty of jars donated to me by people who were retiring from canning. I also buy jars at church rummage sales for no more than 10 cents per jar. I have seen them marked at 25 and 50 cents, I advise I will buy for 10 cents; which when they get no other takers they accept.

The only jars I really run out of are jelly and occasionally pint. I then hope I can get a good deal at Odd Lots stores which sells Golden Harvest. Please note one company owns Ball, Kerr and Golden Harvest; they have no competition.

I buy my lids from Odd Lots, Woodmans just over the Wisconsin border or at Ace hardware when they go on sale around the 4th of July. I don't store my jars with rings on, you really don't want to do that, so I have a group which I use over-and-over for processing. I give fresh rings for jars given away as gifts. When I open a jar for home use, then I use a recycled screw lid from a mayonnaise jar. Please note the narrow mouth is substantially cheaper than the wide mouth, that I try to keep as much to the narrow mouth as possible.

&&&

Now that I have answered your question, I would like to know what you intend to store in these jars.

Thanks in advance!

ekreider wrote:Because demand for canning supplies is quite seasonal in Chicago, stocks may be pretty low now. Within a month inventories should be better. Lids are available pretty well year round, but the bulkier jars may not be too plentiful yet.

Cub Foods in Arlington Heights is generally a reliable source of canning jars and supplies year round.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,


Now that I have answered your question, I would like to know what you intend to store in these jars.

Thanks in advance!

Dry goods, leftovers, coffee beans . . . stuff I don't even know just yet. I've been wanting a Foodsaver for a while and been following the Yahoo Foodsaver group. Seems it's a lot more economical (and perhaps more "green"), when possible, to use reuseable containers like mason jars instead of what are essentially disposable plastic bags (though some people report favorably on washing/reusing the bags - another topic). I'll use the bags for portion sized stuff I can freeze for heat and serve like BBQ, casseroles, etc. but think the mason jar idea makes a lot of sense for other stuff.

Yes, I know that they are all the same company - Alltrista/Jarden - I just generically refer to them as "Ball" jars like all tissues are Kleenex.

Anyways, that's more info on why I'm asking and thanks for the responses.

You can find them lots of places, even Wal-mart in the fall during canning time. I would also second the recommendation for Ace havng them year round, moreso than grocery stores, at least the few years I have canned. If the Woodman's in Algonquin is the same Woodman's, that may be closer for you than going to Wisconsin, provided they have the same selection of goods in every store...

Also, I know someone said that you need to get new lids each time - this certainly applies to canning (as does removing the ring once sealed), but may not apply for your purposes. The other group of folks may be better equipped to tell you for certain how often to swap out the lids...

Good luck!

Christine

If you are not actually canning, one-piece lids are good and can be reused. They come in both metal and plastic versions. Plastic lids are often used for covering things that were canned with two-piece lids but are not consumed at a single session. Jams, jellies and pickles are examples where you usually need to re-cover. Plastic lids are not affected by acids, but reused metal lids may have flaws in their inner plating that could react with acids. This is important if you are making herb vinegars.

Note that if you are going to freeze things with much water content, you want jars with full-width openings. The half-pint (and some larger) jelly jars use standard lids. Otherwise, you need wide mouth jars. For storage without canning or freezing, old mayonnaise jars are OK. Their glass isn't strong enough for pressures of freezing or the heat processing of canning.

One question. If you are just using mason jars to store dry foodstuffs, why do you need to vacuum seal them? I mean it is one thing if you plan to hold on to the stuff for years. However, for less than one year, why bother??

I collect the olde-tyme-y blue glass Mason jars for storage of beans, legumes, wild rice dried shrooms, and small chiles (e.g., cascabel, arbol, chilpotle). They have screw-on one-piece zinc lids, and are very attractive, as well as being practical. I pick mine up at flea markets, antique shops, estate sales, and such; they come in all different sizes and colors, too, as well as slightly different shapes. If you have room to display them in your kitchen - perhaps on top of a bookcase, as I do - they look great, plus you'll know what needs restocking with a glance.

jlawrence01 wrote:One question. If you are just using mason jars to store dry foodstuffs, why do you need to vacuum seal them? I mean it is one thing if you plan to hold on to the stuff for years. However, for less than one year, why bother??

As far as I know, you don't have to vacuum seal dry food, such as beans, pasta, rice, etc. I never have, and I can't think of an instance when you would have to.

Vacuum sealing fresh foods, such as tomatoes, fruits, vegetables, even meats, in a hot water bath in a canner accomplishes several things. Among them are heating the food enough to kill bacteria and sealing the jar to prevent bacterial growth and spoilage. Dry foods don't need that kind of treatment.

Carol wrote:As far as I know, you don't have to vacuum seal dry food, such as beans, pasta, rice, etc. I never have, and I can't think of an instance when you would have to.

I was reviewing an LDS website a few years ago on preserving food and they talked about canning dry foodstuffs like beans and rice. Personally, that did not make a lot of sense to me as they were only planning on holding the food for 12-16 months at a time.

I will admit that I do pour open packages of beans, pasta, etc. into jars to keep down the bug and vermin population.

Yesterday, I was at my local Jewel (River Forest) and noticed they had canning supplies in the baking pan/gadget aisle.

A note on the vacuum sealing aspect:

Try to get wide-mouth jars - they're the easiest to vacuum seal.

Pry the lids off gently and you can reuse them for vacuum sealing (but not for real canning).

If you get regular mouth mason jars you will need to order the sealer for that size, and it won't work unless you put one lid on the jar properly, and another one upside down on top of it. For some reason that's the ONLY way you can get a regular sized jar vacuum sealed.

Why do it, well, I'm hoping it's helping those spices I buy in big bags at Caputo's to last....

Nancy

I looked today at Wal-Mart and they didn't know who might have them.

Hardware stores?

Really - not at Walmart???? I've seen them there before, but it's been years ago. I've also purchases them at ACE and True Value and even Jewel and Dominicks. I haven't bought any this year, though. . .

Hi,

Big Lots discount stores have jars and lids at this time of year. I also get supplies from Woodman's, including the harder to find canning salt.

I also buy most of my jars at rummage sales for about 10 cents each. I refuse to spend more at that level. Often these people overprice them that it rivals buying them new. I do inspect the jar's rims for chips and leave those behind.

My preference in jars is the narrow mouths, because the lids are cheaper. I use the large mouth as my jar of last resort.

Regards,

I just picked up canning supplies today at Lincoln Square Hardware (an ACE store).
4874 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
773.275.7077

They had the boiling water canner, tons of jars, lids, etc. Pretty much everything you need.

Update for anyone looking. Every time I've been at Strack and Van Til on Elston, regardless of time of year, they have canning supplies including lids, jars and threaded ring thingees that hold the lid on during processing.

HI,

Strack and Van Til also has my favorite size of freezer ziplocs: pints. Gallon and Quart size are everywhere, but the far more useful pint size is often MIA. I reliably find them at S & T as well as Walmart.

Pint size more reflects a serving size better than a quart. However since they are so rare, I suspect someday it will be removed from their product line.

Regards,

The A&G Supermarket at Belmont and Cicero also has canning supplies-- they are tucked off in a corner by the cut flowers, near the front windows. They have canning salt, jars, lids, and pectin.
Jen

Edited to add: The canning supplies are now gone (March 09)-- they had a lot of pectin on the sale table, so I loaded up. They may restock in the fall.

If you are further north, the hardware store on Oakton near Tub Tim Thai has a very good selection. It is on the south side of the street west of Cicero/Skokie Blvd, and before you get to downtown Skokie, the library, the site of the farmers market, etc. It's on a corner. (Sorry not to have the address.) I stop there on my way home from the Skokie farmers market.

Skokie Ace Hardware
www.acehardware.com

5035 Oakton St
Skokie, IL 60077
(847) 568-0349

Bought canning supplies today from Strack and Van Til. Called Crafty Beaver hardware store on Oakton, and they didn't have them. Neither did Big Lots on Dempster in Morton Grove.

Strack didn't have any 8-ounce jars; only 4-ounce, 16-ounce, and 32-ounce.

Made a small amount of strawberry-rhubarb jam.

Fleur, if you're on Oakton, the Ace or True Value (I forget which) just up the street at Oakton near Lincoln carries canning supplies (I've found these stores to be a more reliable source than most places) Also, I happened on a good selection at the Jewel on Howard St.

I'm waiting to go strawberry picking - looks like the season is late this year...

I bought strawberries at the Evanston farmers' market on Saturday.

Was very surprised to see them!

Does anyone have an address for where I can get canning jars, reasonably priced of course. I have driven around this city with no luck. I am looking for 8oz around 500 of them.
Any help would be great.

Cookie Monster - I generally buy the 12-packs of jars from Ace Hardware. I don't know if there's a place that sells significantly larger quantities at lower prices. Plus, I don't think most of the stores stock 500 jars. They would have to special order them.

In any case, the two locations of which I am aware that consistently have a good supply in stock are

Stauber Hardware
3911 N Lincoln Ave (just south of Irving Park)
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 281-1777

Clark Street Ave Hardware
3011 N Clark St (just south of Belmont Avenue and Halsted Avenue)
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 348-3333

Not sure they have them, but might be worth checking out

Jetro
1030 W. Division Street
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 397-0258

you might need your tax ID #

Hi,

Jarden Corp is the producer of canning jars in the country. They acquired Ball, Kerr and others. I would contact them directly to learn their distributor or perhaps buy directly from them. At 500 jars, you are a commercial account, not retail.

Regards,