That's so cool! A whole separate kitchen for canning would be awesome! This is my first year of canning, although my Mom did can tomatoes. I was just at Meijer's yesterday & bought a new canning kettle so I can do quarts next year. I only did pints this year. I saw their 1 1/2 pint jars & thought that was a great size. I can't remember what the price was in the store, but they are having a buy 2 get 1 case free sale on their jars. I think I may pick up a few for next year. Just wondering about processing time. I figured if you processed for the same amount of time as a quart, then you'd be good.

whynotmi, Don't worry, there's no safety issue. The reason for the rack is that if the jars sit right on the bottom of the pot there is some chance of them breaking, since the pot itself is hotter than the water. I don't think it's actually a very big chance --- I have canned with no rack or anything on the bottom a few times and not had any jars break. But it would make a big mess if one did (and be sad to lose a jarful of yummy stuff!), so a rack is a good idea. I tried a dishtowel once and found it floated up a bit and one jar fell over. I have also tried lining the bottom of the pot with jar rings, and the jars didn't stay upright too well on them but it worked okay. But in the end I also have got a cheap rack from the dollar store, it was meant for cooling a cake I think. It does the job just fine. Good luck and happy canning! Zabby

I remove the bands for several reasons. One is that they tend to rust and stick on and I can't get them off later. The real reason, though, is that if you leave the rings on but lose a seal, that ring could hold the lid on and you wouldn't recognize an unsealed jar. My notes say I took this from a "Ball Canning" website, I think it was on the FAQ section: Q: [What about storing rings on the jars after you are done processing] A: We recommend storing your jars with the bands off. (1) If there is moisture in your band, they can start to rust and it becomes very difficult to get those off. (2) Another reason is that you have food that maybe has gotten under that band, around the neck, you get get some mould, grossness growing on it, and maybe you happened to underprocess your recipe, maybe you got busy with something else and distracted in the kitchen and you think you are done processing and you take it out and let it cool and then a few weeks later it starts to spoil, then you won’t really know that right away if you have your band on your jar. If you store your jars without the band and you happen to have spoilage, the bacteria and the microorganisms that are eating all that smorgasboard of deliciousness in your jar, they are going to create a lot of gasses and they are going to cause that lid to actually come unsealed. You’re going to smell that, especially with the bands off, you’re gonna know that something is not quite right which will obviously get you into your pantry or root cellar to figure out which jar it is and dispose of it properly. Another great thing about not storing with the band is again if there’s moisture you don’t need to worry about it being rusted and being that much more difficult to get off, and the third reason, which is one of my favourites, is that you have your band available for your next canning adventure … so it’s really a matter of personal preference, we just recommend without. [4] Advice given in their HarvestPro Sauce Maker book (2016) would seem to indicate that some people at Ball at least are moving more firmly to the canning rings being removed. “Jars should be stored without the bands.” [5] Happy Canning! Annie

I learned canning when I was a little girl with my Grandmother, & Mother and have taught my own girls how to can. We have been very successful with not havind unsealed jars. We have canned close to 100 25# boxes of tomatoes this year. Salsa, Stewed, Chili Sauce & Spag Sauce to name a few. We have followed the new rules to a T and still have several in a batch that do not seal with these new lids. We did 34 jars on Monday, waited the 24 hours before moving or washing them. Checked several times and found 5 that did not seal so I put new lids on and reprocessed them and they seemed to have sealed. When I went to wash the jars to store them, removing the rings found 2 more that had not sealed but I had previously checked the lids by touching and they were all sealed and indented. We want to make vegetable based soup to store for the winter but am afraid now to do it and put them on the shelf for fear the lids will pop and they will spoil. TRASH THESE NEW INVENTIONS AND GET BACK TO THE BASICS.