Used to have several discussions here about them but the only one that remains and hasn't fallen off the server is linked below. Since that discussion 2 years ago I have bought another dozen but I continue to only use them on high acid foods and in BWB only. They work fine IME and many of mine have now been used multiple times. The only problem with them I have found is you have to very carefully remove then when opening the jar to avoid damage and wash both the rubber rings and the caps by hand - they melt in the dishwasher. (don't ask me how I know) Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Tattler Csnning Lids discussion

It's a myth that traditional no-added-pectin jams require more sugar. In fact, it's just the opposite. Ironically, it's jams with added commercial pectin that require the greatest amount of sugar. The plus with such jams is higher yield. The minus is a blander flavor due to a lower proportion of fruit to sugar than traditional preserves. It's perfectly possible to make fine strawberry jam without added commercial pectin or any other amendments, but it's easier in the Pacific Northwest where the berries have a different ratio of acid to pectin due to the cooler climate. I never use commercial pectin in my strawberry jam and I use far less sugar than would be required by Sure-Jell, for instance. As Dave mentioned, several previous threads have posted recipes for strawberry jam/preserves. Carol

When I got it, it was horse pasture on a hill. My garden spot was in the middle on one of the terraces they created when the pasture was created. Long and narrow, 20 ft x 60 or more long. I believe it was all trees at one time. I don't really know. In the "old days" they used to burn or bury all their trash. I figure at some point, these were buried or got buried over time. They weren't deep either. Not more than 6 or 8 inches. The other place they used to dispose of things were in outhouses. Relic hunters look on old home sites for old outhouse sites in search of old glass bottles and relics of the past. I doubt there was an outhouse there, but that dirt might have been excavated when terracing or clear cutting for the pasture. I dunno. Of course, it could have been from years of passersby tossing things in the woods at the time and they just happened to land there. Or maybe it was an old moonshine still site. Not too far from the creek... :-)

irun, sometimes I get impatient and "test" a jar for a seal and the center pops down and stays down as you described. I don't seem to have any more lid failures with those jars than with the ones that pop by themselves, but I don't advocate doing that. I should be more patient and just let the darned things do their sealing on their own time, but I've had no catastrophic failures from my impatience......yet. Annie