Can the smell be dishwashing detergent?? If the jars are washed and initially rinsed in a mild bleach solution they should be rinsed well and allowed to air dry. Lids can have an odor, but its usually due to the silicone ruber seal or its primer coatings. As people get older, their sense of smell and tastes seems to change. I have problems with smelling many things now, and think I have BO even if I shower daily with good soaps, and wear clean clothes. I go around the house and try to find the offensive odor and have not yet found it. My sinuses are toast.. I do know that when I dry dill weed and place in a canning jar, remove the air with a FoodSaver canning jar adapter, that its smell is always there when I open the jar and use some dill.

Ken, I've seen the lids with fruit designs by Bernardin and have several boxes. I've found the gingham and salsa on a regular basis and usually spend a fortune thinking they'll discontinue them. I haven't found the Disney Characters; I bought several last year but down to my last set. I like to use those for the grandkids and a couple of adults who buy season passes to Disney. Nor have I found the peach, strawberry or grape like I described. One year I found some with a hat and shovel imprinted on a white lid with a plain white ring. I do check ebay off and on; there weren't any the last time I checked. I've also found the sellers want far more than I'm willing to pay and I've willingly paid the prices at Golda's Kitchen. I found some at Amazon but the shipping charges were twice the cost of the product! I don't want them THAT bad! LOL I don't care for the printed stickers; just my idiosyncracy. What I will do, is print out the jar content and for pie fillings, include baking instructions on a business card decorated according to the jar content. Using a single hole puncher, punch a hole into the corner and tie it around the ring with some ribbon or raffia. That seems to dress up the plain jars I want to give away.

There is no acknowledged change in the glass formula from Jarden-Ball as long as you stick with their products and no increase in complaints that I am aware of. Some feel the jars have gotten thinner and when compared to a 20-30 year old jar that is pretty obvious. But the market of late has also been flooded with off-brand and copy-cat jars and lids that many have complained about - Mainstay, Empire, etc. - that are China-made. But that said, and as one who recently posted here about my own thermal shock issue i have sympathy for you. But it is preventable regardless of the jars used. I know mine happened because even though I was doing things just as I always have for decades, I was rushing to play catch-up from a distraction and I hadn't bothered to check my water temp in the canner before inserting the jars. Clearly in hindsight it had been heating up longer than usual and it was hotter than normal and jar had cooled more than usual on the counter. So while I'd love to blame the jars, I really can't. When doing cold pack knowing the temp of the water is even more important of course. In fact I have gotten into the habit of just filling the canner with warm tap water and no heat turned on until after all the cold pack jars are loaded. I'd say "hot" tap water but that all depends on what your water heater is set at. Mine is set at 180 so that alone would be too hot for cold pack jars. Dave

The FlyLady's Cafe’ Mocha recipe: Cafe’ Mocha 1 cup of instant coffee, I like Tasters Choice best 2 cups of Nestles NESQUIK 3 cups of Carnation Instant Milk I have tried other brands and they don’t taste as well. Pour ingredients into a mixing bowl. Stir with a spoon. If you use a less expensive/coarser powdered milk, you can put all of it into a food processor or blender and mix it better. I have even used the Hazelnut instant coffee and it is great too. To make your cup of Cafe’ Mocha; boil your water, pour into your mug and add 1/4 cup of the mix into your mug. Note: Can make any amount, just keep the proportions the same.