I just canned tomatoes juice with the trueliving jars with bands and lids. 2/7 buckled. This is the second batch with these jars and lids/band that this has happened. They are not over filled, not over tightened, pressure goes down naturally and canner is not opened up for a while. i am in my 65 years old and have been canning since a teen. I have never had this happen before. will not buy this product again. I thought i would check the net to see if any one else is having this problem. I wish I had checked after the first batch.

I don't think they were ranting, they were recommending a technique to influence manufacturers. Boycotts work sometimes, but not often. What might help is to write to the companies, but we already know they changed on purpose to thwart home canners, so doubt we'd have much luck. I reread this thread and also want to say ksrogers must be doing something wrong to have so many mayo jars break. I have used them a lot and had only two break in about 25 years of canning. It is important to have a rack or even a folded cloth under the jars to keep them from rattling incessantly against the bottom of the canning kettle. For the Classico jars, I use them with the lids they come with. Works well. My sister saves them for me and I bring them home in my luggage when I visit her.

G'morning! They float when processed in Water Bath... there is just not as much head space (top + bottom) so it was not as noticeable. I never had any problems in the past using W/B process, but unfortunately now that many varieties of tomato's have lost their acidity through modern genetic tweaking and hybridizing it is now necessary to add acid to tomatoes, including heirloom varieties when canning them :-( The level of temperature needed to kill botulism bacteria for low-acid foods can only be reached by using a pressure canner. So, I bought a new pressure canner, and now I am going through the growing pains of learning how to use it. I am just above sea level, so I only used 10 psi to process. It is quite the learning curve - it was SO much easier 10 years ago! I've always wanted to try canning Salmon though so now that I've invested in the proper equipment, that will be my next project :-) I did notice the interior of the canner was shiny ... I added a tbsp of vinegar to the water as suggested in the manual but I guess it was the lemon juice? Since I was having so much trouble getting the pressure up (took WAY 2 long on my stove), I've now invested in an outdoor cooking burner so when I get a chance I will try another batch of tomatoes and see if that improves the final outcome. I will also try using citric acid instead of lemon juice because I have a feeling I am not going to like the flavor in a few months once that lemon juice settles in :-( I was trying to avoid doing a hot pack - it is just one more step that makes it a longer process :-( I am almost at the point that I want to freeze them in the future ... seems like a LOT less trouble! I will persist tho - because I have invested 2 much time and $ 2 give up now :-) Thx again for all of your help and suggestions - I really appreciate it! :-) Have a gr8 day!

I'll take the steps in chronological order instead of the way you addressed them - I pulled out my big stockpot (not the largest I use as a BWB) to cool the tomatoes in since they weren't all going to fit in my dishpan - the sink isn't much deeper and I don't like putting food in it b/c of the disposal, though I do bleach it once a week. I do sit a footed colander in it to wash each batch - I guess I should wash everything and put in a large bowl until they're all done, then start blanching? So all I had to boil them in was my 6qt. I could use the other (8qt?) and use my largest (BWB) to cool in, I do have an insert for the 8qt. But do all the tomatoes have to be submerged or will the steam be enough to peel them? I assume it's OK to let them sit in the ice water for a few minutes - but if I have to blanch in batches b/c I just don't have large enough pot or insert won't hold 12 lbs of tomatoes under the water, can I let them sit longer? You mention doing it in batches - how many batches does it take you to do 12 lbs of tomatoes? How long does it take? I was trying to do hot pack and peel a few lbs of tomatoes, throw them in roaster, while next few lbs were blanching/cooling. You're right, raw pack just has too much air. I'm not heating, peeling, packing a jar (even doing raw pack), then blanching, peeling more for the next jar. I had all the tomatoes blanched and cooled, ready to go before I took 1st jar out of canner, but was peeling them for raw pack a jar at a time, didn't think I should let them sit (in ice water? a separate bowl?) while I peeled all of them. If I ever do raw pack again I will peel them all first as you suggested. This is the sort of practical advice I need! For hot pack I was heating to boiling on the stove since my roaster didn't seem to be getting the middle hot enough, then packing 1 at a time. Should I give up on my roaster/Dutch oven when processing more than 5 qts? Will food get hot enough in 8qt pot with 10" diameter? I am limited to standard kitchen utensils (besides the PC) and I cook for a family of 4 not an army so don't have huge pots, or place to store them (canning stuff goes in the basement during the winter, no room in kitchen cabinets). I also have 2 large burners on the front of the range, smaller ones are in the back and it's hard to fit anything bigger than a teakettle back there when the front burners are in use. In fact, in 6 years I've probably used the back burners 5-6 times max. The control panel/knobs are on the back too, and I simply can't fit large diameter pot back there, couldn't reach knobs even if I did. But if I need 1 front burner for something else, I can heat the jars with hot tap water (100 degrees or so) as you suggested to someone else, they don't need to be hot for long, just as long as they're hot when you're filling them. But the canner is a problem - I really need to get the BWB boiling while I'm prepping (though I don't seem to have a problem organizing myself then). PCing doesn't require as much hot water (just a gal) - should I try heating 6C at time in my big Pyrex cup in the MW and pour in the PC so it won't take as long on the burner, I can put it on when I pull the blanching pot off? I'd use the blanching water but that gets nasty and I'm afraid a stray seed might float in under the rim of a jar and then I've got the siphoning problem again. As far as lining up all the jars and filling them, I thought you were supposed to fill 1 at a time and put in canner to keep warm, otherwise the food gets cold in the first jar and the last empty jar is cold by the time you fill it. It does take me almost 2x as long to fill quarts as pints (and 2x as long for pints as halfpints) b/c I only have 1 ladle, so I have to scoop 2x as many times to fill a jar. I do have to speed up on adding the CA, freeing bubbles, and wiping the jars - when I'm filling halfpints and even pints I just have to wipe the rim but maybe b/c I'm rushing with the larger jars I get sloppy and drip stuff down the outside of the funnel (and raw pack tomatoes I forgot to use the funnel, just peeled tomatoes over the WM jar and made a real mess). I will try the 2C Pyrex next time, and only use the ladle when I get to the bottom of the pan. The thing that drives me crazy about the 1 jar siphoning each time is that it's not sealing (the meat did but not the tomatoes b/c of the seeds getting caught on the rim after they boiled up). Thanks for the tips, at least the prep and filling the jars should go faster next time! I hesitate to ask, since I don't have much storage space, but what minimum equipment should I have to be able to do 1 canner load at a time (I don't think I'm going to get into marathons, even if I can speed things up so that I have time to do more than 1 load a day)?