Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I saw them in the store the other day. I have not tried canning here because it's completely different from what I'm used to. They don't have the ball/mason jars with lids and rings, but rather Weck pots with a latch and a rubber gasket. I've never caned with these type of jars and they kind of freak me out a bit. Also, Weck pots are crazy expensive (I think), so I haven't experimented. However, Ikea has some weck-type pots with rubber gaskets.

Anyone ever used these? I might be willing to experiment since the jars are cheaper.

Yeah, you can totally use the IKEA kind. You should also be able to get something like Mason jars, although they will probably cost the same as the IKEA jars.

If I were you I'd just look into a european canning site. I have canned a few times a long time back, so I don't really remember the process, but it was pretty simple. A lot of work, but simple.

I've canned with the metal tops. I did a lot of canning back home! I'm just scared off a bit by the fact that the jars and lids are different here. I think the Weck pots scare me off because there's not a clear way (to me) to tell that the jars is sealed. On the Ball/Mason jars in the states, the lids would pop when sucked down by the seal and you could tell by pressing on the lid.

I found an awesome Dutch site geared mostly toward home brewers, but there's a lot of DIY stuff there. Even kombucha! I'll see if there are some other sites, though.

whoah! i always thought those were for storage and pickles only. if it's sealed so tightly, how does the air escape? (maybe with that type it doesn't need to?)

Canning is the same with European style jars. I grew up in Switzerland and back then those were the kind of canning jars we would use. They work exactly the same way the Ball canning lids do, since those too have a thin rubber ring except that it is "glued" onto the lid instead of being separate. Once you finish processing Weck type jars, remove the clips. The lid, rubber gasket and jar are held together by the vacuum created during processing. Don't worry, the air does escape while the jars are in the hot water bath. You can tell you have an air tight seal by being able to lift the jar by the lid alone (remember, you removed the clips). The rubber gasket and jar "hang" on. If the lid comes off in your hand, you didn't have a proper seal.
It is the same with Ball canning jars, you are supposed to remove the ring and only leave the lid on the jars. If the seal isn't tight, the lid comes off easily. That's how you can tell the seal isn't good.

The rubber ring can be reused if it is in good shape. Usually websites tell you to throw them out but they can be reused if in good condition. We have done so in the past and I have reused Weck rubber bands myself. The old style rubber gaskets were thicker than the Weck gaskets are, so these might only be reusable once or twice. Inspect for tears and/or dried out gaskets. They can dry out over time.