Knock Off Canning Lids: Are They Worth the Risk?

Mason jar canning lids have been a huge challenge to find over the last year or so. In desperation, we ordered this variety of lids and decided to experiment to see which lids perform the best. In this video, we share with you our results along with some great advice to ensure the canning lids work better.Show more

These are the lids that we found for our experiment:
• Konblimc Mason Jar Lids https://amzn.to/3DbPCMM
• Country Classic picked up from our local hardware store
• Lehmans Mason Jar Canning Lids https://bit.ly/2YgY9hY
• Kerr Mason Jar Canning Lids https://amzn.to/3mn4QaX
• Ball Mason Jar Canning Lids https://amzn.to/2YsdpZT

In our experimenting, we used all 5 varieties of canning lids in both pressure canning and water bath canning. I have been canning practically all of my life and have never had as much trouble as I did this year.

I reached out to my friend Val (an expert canner) and asked her for some advice. She agreed that their were some new challenges but gave me this list to help prevent canning lids from buckling.

1. Tightening the jar rings too tightly before processing. During processing the metal lid permits the jar to exhaust air and rings that are too tight will not allow the air to escape. "Fingertip tight" as is recommended in most safe tested recipes is actually looser than most folks think. Have you seen the new Ball Sure Tight Band Tool? https://amzn.to/2ZVnJds

2. Preheating (especially boiling) lids and rings that shouldn't be. All boxes of lids since 2015 have said not to boil or even simmer, just wash, rinse, let dry and use.

3. Filling the jars too full...headspace needs to be exact.

4. Raw packing starchy vegetables.

5. A steam leak from a pressure canner lid.

6. Cooling a pressure canner down too fast (rather than letting it completely cool down naturally).

7. Using a jar that isn't a regulation canning jar (for instance old glass mayonnaise jars or Classico spaghetti sauce jars).

8. Using poor quality lids made in different countries (for example, the fake Ball lids from China).

We’ve made a huge effort to make sure that the lids are not tight and that I don’t get greedy filling the jars too full. It has made a difference. I used the same techniques as I had in the past and suddenly had huge failures. By implementing Val’s techniques we have had fewer challenges even with the knock off lids.

"Just because it sealed doesn't mean it's safe!" If a tested safe recipe and procedures weren't used, it will never be safe. I can get a jar of anything to "seal" by just putting it in my hot car in the summer...but I'd never consider eating any of it. Lots of folks who follow "family traditions" or "rebel canning" practices claim that their food is safe just because the lid is sealed. -- Val

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