Early in our marriage, my husband’s former girlfriend (who has since become my BFF…another story for another time!) took me strawberry picking. She then offered to help me make strawberry preserves, a task I’ve joyfully embraced for the past fifty-plus years.
Back in May (while I was at my annual Quilt Week retreat!!!), my husband bought two flats of strawberries in anticipation of making preserves. Since he had done it the year before (under my supervision, I must add!), he thought it couldn't be that hard! What's that saying...if anything can go wrong, it will? Thankfully, nothing did!!!
Canning is a relatively recent development in the long history of food preservation. Humans have dried, salted, and fermented foods since before recorded history. But preserving food by heat-treating and then sealing it in airtight containers didn't come along until the late 18th century.
In the mid-19th century, housewives harvested their gardens from late spring through the fall, until a killing frost descended on their particular part of the country. With different fruits and vegetables coming in abundance, and sometimes overlapping, the women would often find themselves overwhelmed by the endless bounty to “put up”. But if they wanted their harvest to sustain them during the winter months, they had to tackle the seemingly never-ending process.
Primitive Canning
When Nicolas Appert, a French inventor, first put food in glass jars in 1795, he believed it was the exclusion of air that preserved it. He was half right; the other half was his method of placing food in jars and then boiling the sealed jars. Until 1858, canning jars used a glass jar, a tin flat lid, and sealing wax, which was not reusable and messy!
Mason Jars
But in 1858, John L Mason, an inventor and tin smith from New York City, invented the mason jar. His machine cut threads into the lids, making it practical to manufacture a jar with a reusable, screw-on lid. His design, a glass container with a thread molded into its top and a zinc lid with a rubber ring, greatly improved the design of his predecessors. The rubber created the seal, and the threaded lid maintained it. The jar included his patent: “Mason’s Patent November 30th. 1858.”
Molds for blowing bottles, Patented by John L. Mason, November 23, 1858.
1873
With this simple invention, Mason revolutionized home canning, bringing with it the reliability of consistently made canning jars, lids, and rings into the public realm for the first time.
Figure 1. Courtesy of Jo-Ann Roberts
The photo above is part of my antique collection of canning jars passed down to me by my late mother-in-law.
Clamped Glass-Lid Jars (Lightning Jars)
Another type of canning jar was the “Lightning” or wire ball jar. Invented in 1882 by Henry William Putnam of Bennington, Vermont, these fruit jars used a glass lid and a metal clamp to hold the lid in place. These “Lightning jars” became popular because no metal (which could rust or break the seal) came in contact with the food, and the metal clamps made the lids easier to seal and remove (hence, the “Lightning” name).
Basically, a wire loop and levers operated to clamp down securely onto the lid and close the jar. The “Putnam” jars were made by at least 11 glass companies, some of which made them into the early 1900s. Aqua is the most commonly seen color, as was typical of utilitarian glass of the period.
It’s likely that “White Lightning” derived its name from the fact that bootleggers used these jars to store their product!
Atlas Jars
The Atlas E-Z Seal is a type of Lightning jar. The difference is a raised lip to help keep the jar from cracking. This was called the “Strong Shoulder” and was similar to the mason jar. Cracking was a common problem with the shoulder seal jars. Hazel-Atlas Glass Company was in operation from the late 1800s until 1964.
Figure 2. Courtesy of Jo-Ann Roberts.
Ball Jars
Meanwhile, in 1880, in Buffalo, NY, William Ball and his brothers, Lucius, Lorenzo, Frank, Edmund, and George, borrowed $200 from their uncle and were soon in the business of manufacturing wood-jacketed tin cans for the storage of oil, lard, kerosene, and paint. Four years later, the brothers began making glass home-canning jars, the product that established Ball as a household name. The brothers moved the company from Buffalo, New York, to Muncie, Indiana, in 1887 to take advantage of abundant natural gas reserves essential to making glass.
Figure 3. The Ball Brothers of Buffalo, NY. Courtesy of Ball State University Archive
Kerr Jars
At the turn of the 20th century, Alexander Kerr founded the Hermetic Fruit Jar Company, featuring the Economy and Self-Sealing jars. The Economy jars were among the first wide-mouth jars, and thus, were easy to fill. They also incorporated elements from two 1903 patents held by another inventor, Julius Landsberger…a metal lid with a permanently attached gasket. This made the lids easy to use and inexpensive.
In 1915, Kerr invented a smaller, flat metal disk with the same permanent composition gasket. The lid sealed the top of a mason jar; a threaded metal ring held the lid in place during the hot water process. This allowed reusable old canning jars to be used with inexpensive and easy-to-use disposable lids. This two-part system transformed home canning safety and remains in use today.
Eco-Friendly Uses in the Modern World
As one of the most useful containers on the planet, the mason jar has skyrocketed in recent years for its huge range of uses, and it all started with canning.
Pinterest and DIY users have discovered the lure and nostalgia of vintage mason jars, turning them into solar lights, pantry organizers, kitchen and/or bathroom decor, Christmas luminaries, and centerpieces for a rustic country-style wedding.
Figure 4 Photo Courtesy of Jo-Ann Roberts
A resurgence in canning is largely tied to the 2020 global pandemic, which led many Americans to explore home gardening. “Pandemic hobbies” became highly popular activities as life with the coronavirus extended into its second year. With a new wave of gardeners emerging, the desire to grow food without pesticides and chemicals has increased the interest in and popularity of glass mason jars.
Besides, what could be more satisfying than tasting a hint of summer on lightly buttered toast on a cold February morning? Here’s to a job well done, Papa Bob!
Figure 5 Photo by Jo-Ann Roberts.
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My Current Release....
Ash “Shotgun” McCrae can never make up for all the wrong he’s done. After leaving a notorious outlaw gang, he thought he’d discovered the peaceful existence he’d been looking for when he found work laying tracks for the railroad in Rivers Bend. Yet, when trouble shows up in town, he fears he may never free himself from the burden of his past.
Schoolteacher Kate Cummings stands as the one bright light in contrast to the curious looks and behind-the-glove whispers blowing through the town. The arrival of Padraic “Patch” Rooney and his gang challenges the small-town serenity she holds dear. Still, her steadfast trust in Ash awakens the strength of courage within them all, giving rise to the collective defiance against the approaching danger.
In a deadly game of dangerous outlaws and secret schemes, Kate and Ash must decide whether they are willing to risk everything for their love, including their lives.
Schoolteacher Kate Cummings stands as the one bright light in contrast to the curious looks and behind-the-glove whispers blowing through the town. The arrival of Padraic “Patch” Rooney and his gang challenges the small-town serenity she holds dear. Still, her steadfast trust in Ash awakens the strength of courage within them all, giving rise to the collective defiance against the approaching danger.
In a deadly game of dangerous outlaws and secret schemes, Kate and Ash must decide whether they are willing to risk everything for their love, including their lives.
