I use a product called Sodium Metabisulphate ( used by home brewers Down Under as a sterilizer agent immediatly before use) and I would be wary of reusing the lids as a storage method for a seal - lids can react to bottled items leading to food poisoning, keep lids till jar is opened is what I do. This method will not suit all products but will do for a lot.
Seal the bottled goods with food grade wax or you can get a clear celephane cover that is imersed in vinegar to give an air tight seal - secured by an elastic band - label and date bottled goods.
Hope this helps you in Canada.

I would think it would depend on what you are storing in the bottles. If it is dry foods try one... put the food in and add an oxygen absorber. If the lid pops down and stays there you should be good to go. Not so sure about wet or acidic foods. The original top may not be durable or intact enough to reuse. Not worth taking the chance in my opinion.

JAB

A few ladies in the area reuse pickle jars for canning and have been doing so for many years. I have not however.

I only use them for dry storage, like powders for soup bases and things like that. Maybe I'll just use them for things like matches and such. No more food.
Thank you all!

I love to reuse jars like that. I usually put sugar, dried herbs, flour or rice in them for short term storage.
Here's an interesting story, after begging my old Italian Mother in-law to teach me to jar tomatoes, she rolls out two old used jars and bottled up eight tomatoes before my very eyes. Naturally after reading all I read and learning all I learned I was horrified at the very thought but they assured me that they have done this numerous times and it really is no big deal. She did tell me to watch out for anything white growing on top and make sure the top sealed tightly. In my opinion, I would rather use everything new and sterile, but I guess in a pinch, it seems to have worked for some.

Food storage sure. Canning no.
Dry storage or things that go in the fridge are ok (I use em all the time for sauerkraut - but it stays in the fridge after fermenting).
They are a bit small, right now all the canning stuff will be on sale. A dozen quart jars for $15 or less, see if you can find some Tattler re-usable lids and they'll be good for many years.

Back in the day - people reused any jars they could. I have a friend who has been canning for 50 years and she can't understand my absolute horror at some of her practices 🙂 She cans in those jars for "give aways". For the most part it's pickles, relish, pickled beets etc - so very high acid and sugar however I would NOT recommend it!

IMHO, for dry goods, no issues at all, for short term storage in regards to high acid or high sugar products (use under 3 months) for personal use provided you use correct preportions, cooking processes and storage process, long term storage, no, pressure canning, heck No! 😛

My mother still does this and uses the old school wax sealing method with no issues at all. Although I happily accept jars of her home made hot dog relish that she puts up like this, I don't reuse commercial jars for any kind of food storage other than dry goods. The wax method is no longer recommended as a reliable way to seal jars. Like I said, my mom does it, but has been doing it for longer than I have been alive, so probably has a few tricks up her sleeve by now. For someone starting to can food....avoid reusing jars. The sealing ring on the lid as well as the thin glass they are made of are the two issues.
I have heard that jars from Classico pasta sauce are thick enough and will fit standard mason lids, but have not tried them.

To say that I am a Bit surprised by some of these posts- is an understatement - although I don't use modern jars (I have oodles from years ago still ) I see no issue with re-using these jars with correct celophane seal - ( a health food store or a good homeware store should have these), lids are not re-used UNTIL the product is open (due to acid content of some products) for use then treat as any other product. I have done this for years - I am not dead from this.
Just maintain hygiene, good preserving practices, good sterilizing agent, good quality product to conserve for a start.
There are ample books on this subject around.

What are you all going to do five or ten years after a major event when things go to crap?????
None of you can have that much bottled now?
Learn these old skills now - it served our parents, grand-parents, great grand-parents, get the picture - scoure garage sales for older bottles. Talk to some of the older people you know - you may be surprised as some most likely still have these older bottles in a shed.

Hi FNQ

I can alot, typically well over a thousand jars a year ( I think that counts as a lot right?)

I understand where you are coming from but given that lots of folks no longer have training from their grandparents or parents in how to can, its a good idea for first time canners to learn under the new guideslines, I fully admit that I can and do keep the skills alive from my family, which breaks a goodly number of the current rules with no health issues to date but having said that, there are many new canning books and recipes that have been created in regards to acid levels, or sugar levels with all the new rules in place, there is many a time in the past couples years where I have read a recipe and thought, huh, well that really would only be safe if pressure canner and would idea need to be used in the the six months or one year that they are saying..

I have a good number of newly published books from england, ireland and always smile at the canning sections, they are still safely using oven canning (no longer considered safe here either) wax coverings (no longer considered safe here) and even a tradional one with rendered lamb fat as the covering, which I have never even heard of here, but I'm so going to try it!

So there are those on the board the keep the tradions and knowledge alive and well in our own homes but without being able to train on just how things need to be done, its not a good idea on the net to recommend anything but that which is considered within the current safety guidelines.

G'day farmgal

I see your point - I also understand that the use of caution is needed in these processes for those without the know.
But surely people can make an effort to go and 'help' experienced people who still perform these practices at home for their personal use.
That way there is no formal training involved - you are meerly helping out a neighbour - if you pick up a skill that one day in the future may be a benifite - more power to you, the most you loose will be some time in helping another do a task they perform each year.
Who knows what knowledge may be passed on this way - practical experience far outweighs theory any day in my books.

To say that I am a Bit surprised by some of these posts- is an understatement - although I don't use modern jars (I have oodles from years ago still ) I see no issue with re-using these jars with correct celophane seal - ( a health food store or a good homeware store should have these), lids are not re-used UNTIL the product is open (due to acid content of some products) for use then treat as any other product. I have done this for years - I am not dead from this.
Just maintain hygiene, good preserving practices, good sterilizing agent, good quality product to conserve for a start.
There are ample books on this subject around.

What are you all going to do five or ten years after a major event when things go to crap?????
None of you can have that much bottled now?
Learn these old skills now - it served our parents, grand-parents, great grand-parents, get the picture - scoure garage sales for older bottles. Talk to some of the older people you know - you may be surprised as some most likely still have these older bottles in a shed.

I am not sure if you are refering to old canning jars or old commercial "pickle" jars. The beginning of the post was talking about reusing jars that commercial product comes in and the lids. Sorry if I am confused.

Well FNQ'er, since you asked.
My plan is to accumulate enough canning jars to can a little over a year's worth of my canned goods.
I also plan to start using Tattler lids, and in time, will have enough to seal all my jars.
In the mean time, I stock up on disposable lids, which I occasionally reuse, even though it's not recommended.
Experience and trial and error have taught me how to identify which ones will usually re seal.
As the Tattler lids will be reusable for 20 years, that should allow for industries that make lids to return to production.
When modern science starts to look at old time ways, and deem them problematic, I tend to listen...especially when my children's food supply is concerned.
Yes, our grandparents used these older methods, and lived to tell about it, but some people likely did not and I am not going ti risk putting my children's lives at risk.
I'm not trying to be rude, but just point out that there are other options other than the old ways that "usually" worked.