Simpler Living Blog

FOOD PRESERVATION, PRODUCT REVIEW

Bulk Canning Lids Are Back!

Lehman's
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Among people who enjoy canning food, Lehman’s is famous for its economical opportunity to buy canning lids in bulk. Or they were. Like so many others things in the last couple of years, canning lids have been in short supply due to supply-chain issues. Even Lehman’s ran out. But recently the store found another supplier for canning lids, made by a local company (out of Ohio) called “Superb.” Now Lehman’s has these lids available in bulk quantity. “Quantity” is great. But what about quality? How well do these Superb canning lids work? I decided to put a batch through their paces to find out. The very first thing that is noticeable about these lids is the bright-blue gasket. The second thing is they are indeed thicker and feel heftier. The quality seemed excellent. I mean seriously excellent – better than any of the name-brand lids I’ve used.

Here's a lid edge-on. canning lid edge-on

And here's a "Superb" lid compared to a name-brand lid. The gasket is noticeable thicker.

I decided to make a batch of applesauce to test the lids in a water-bath, and put up some green beans to test the lids in a pressure canner. After the applesauce had finished processing, I turned off the heat and let the jars sit for a few minutes in the hot water before pulling them out (this helps keep the contents from bubbling up and overflowing the jars). But when I pulled the jars of applesauce out, I was mildly distressed to see the lids had not yet sealed. I put the jars on a towel and waited. And waited. And waited.

Then...THUNK. One after the other, they all "popped" and sealed – music to a canner’s ears. Interestingly, the "pop" was in a base tone, not a treble tone – a much deeper sound than a standard lid. I expect the short delay in sealing was due to the thicker nature of the lids. When I pulled the green beans from the canner, the same thing happened – a short delay, then one by one they all popped in and sealed. canned green beans

I'm extremely pleased with the quality of these lids, and can recommend them without hesitation. What I can recommend even more is the price. I picked up a couple boxes of regular-mouth name-brand lids at our local grocery store last February. A box of 12 lids cost $0.39/lid. However Superb (regular-mouth) lids from Lehman's are much more economical: pack of 60 ($0.33/lid), or pack of 360 lids ($0.23/lid). (The wide-mouth lids pack of 300 are $0.28/lid.) If anyone is in the market for bulk quantities of high-quality canning lids, this is the deal for you. Note: Lehman’s sent Patrice a pack of lids in exchange for her testing and review of the product. Please see Lehmans.com for latest pricing.

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