How to Can Peaches

2 bushels of peaches, approximately 56 jars of peaches (8 batches)

Last year I did a little photo/text tutorial on canning peaches. I know some people prefer to see tutorials in video format so this year when my husband and I were canning two bushels of peaches we decided to document the process on tape for you all. Enjoy!

Tattler Reusable Canning Lids

As mentioned in the video, I was experimenting with reusable canning lids for the first time. I removed the lid off of one jar and reused it in a later batch and it sealed just fine! Overall I was very happy with the results. I think it will take a little getting used to it is a little bit different than traditional lids in how tight you have to put the lids on … but definitely worth figuring out!

What I LOVE
If you are a canner, you may have noticed that the disposable lids have gotten quite a bit more expensive lately (12 lids for around $4 or $0.33 per lid). I’ve also had a hard time finding them in stores (they only seem to have wide-mouth lids in stock ever). To buy 3-dozen Tattler lids with the gaskets it was $26.40 including shipping ($0.73 per lid). We visited with the people at the Tattler booth at the Self Reliance Expo over the weekend and they told me to expect at least 15 uses with the gaskets before I would need to replace them. The lids are reusable forever and the gaskets can be replaced VERY inexpensively.

With the amount of canning I do each year, this is going to save me a LOT of money (and a lot of trash). My only problem now is I need to get myself a lot more of the lids. I’ve also noticed it’s nice to keep a few of the disposable ones on hand so that when I have open bottles in the fridge I can stick those on and immediately reuse the Tattler lids.

Comparing a used gasket to an unused gasket
This picture shows you what happens to the gasket after it has performed a proper seal (top one is used). It is indented and you can easily tell it apart from an unused gasket. Each time you use a gasket you should invert it so it wears evenly on both sides.

Comparing a gasket to a traditional lid
You can see that the indentations in the gasket look very similar to the indentations in a traditional metal lid. Getting familiar with how they look will help you easily recognize which way to place your gasket on your next batch.

PLEASE NOTE:
If you are curious about the approved use of these lids, here is the official statement that most local extension offices are providing:

Elizabeth Andress, Extension Food Safety Specialist – Department of Foods and Nutrition, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and National Center for Home Food Preservation shares the following response:

“The Tattler lids have been around a long time, but I have never used them or known of them being used in any reported research (ie, publicly available research). If people want to use them, they just need to go by the guidance provided by the company/manufacturer. I have no information that would tell me anything about seal failures or sealing rates, number of re-uses and performance throughout re-uses. I do not know what kind of vacuum levels are achieved, which would indicate how much air/oxygen gets vented out of the jar during processing. The lid choice itself would not impact the safety of the canning heat process if used on the correct shape and size of canning jar as the process specifies, and all other canning recommendations for jar filling, canner use, food preparation style, etc., are followed. So if people want to try them, they just need to be sure they can tell how to be sure they have a vacuum seal on their jar after processing and throughout storage.”