Yep, it is ridiculous. I cleaned out my pantry and dumped old jams etc in order to get enough 8oz jars for Christmas goodies. I figure the jars will be the coveted part of the gift, lol. I don't remember the last time I saw 12oz jars.

We haven't had any for months now and ordering online is prohibitively expensive.

An aside: I was expecting Lord Vader (fortunate typo) and thinking on what I found at my mother's house today. It was shaped kind of like a bowling pin that ends before the neck, and had a bail top. The sugar was in it! (Not in the sugar canister.) And it had a rose and periwinkle checked ring around it...and geese!!!! Wherever it came from, it wasn't new! Remember the geese! I swear I've never seen such a thing before... especially when there's a perfectly good sugar canister in the cupboard behind it. :)

Y'know, they're showing a bazillion uses for canning jars on chat shows, blogs and Tik Tok. They're not for jam anymore...

My sister is into canning, and she just said the same thing about hard to find the jars.

I have been trying to find the 16 ounce jars for months. And, I refuse to pay the prices on Amazon.

I read an article about the canning jar shortage. " Everyone" decided to garden. So "everyone" started canning. Ball (Kerr, Golden Harvest and Bernadine (?)) are not expected to be restocked until March 2021, so production can catch up. Craziness!

I have seen canning jars at Michael's arts and crafts and within the past month.

For a while I couldn't find quart and 16 0z. jars and all I could find is 12 oz. ones, which I already had at home. Now it's others. But I'm done canning for now. I do my Christmas gifts in the 8 oz. jars.

Went to Michael's website and their prices are too high, too.

I don't wander around stores like I use to.... thanks to COVID, but I'm going to keep my eyes open wherever I go just in case there might be some at a hardware store.. or such.

Michael's does put them on sale every now and then.

If you have a Menard's near you, they usually have some too. I got mine at the farm store, here we have Family Farm and Home, Quality Farm and Fleet, and Blain's Farm Center. They're kind of like a combination feed store, hardware store, canning supply center and have baby chicks, bunnies and bees in season. They are usually the cheapest source of supplies for me, other than yard sales, second hand stores and auctions, none of which I'm going to right now. As I said, we do have an on-line auction, but it's local. Bid on line and then call ahead and they'll have your items ready for pick up when you arrive, it's pretty handy but again, you have to be local.

Annie

Annie

I use wide mouth canning jars instead of plastic storage containers for almost everything, with only a few exceptions, such as something that needs to be in a large block.

I have been doing this for years now.

They get a bit scarce on the shelf as I can my summer produce and a bit before that I will save other jars to tide me over until we use and empty some of the canned produce.

They are the best. They get cold, food keeps well, they don't stain or have odors, and the same lids fit every one of them. I can also seal them with the vacuum sealer to keep things fresh for a surprising long time.

I even put them in the freezer. There are some things that you need to be aware of when you do that, but they can be used for some freezer uses.

When we moved my mom out of her house, we gave away hundreds of canning jars. Unless you break them, they will last for years and years.

I bought hubs some half gallon ones that he uses to make his kombucha.

Kitchen confection gift recipients are often unaware of the value of canning jars. They often just toss them in the garbage. I gifted a co-worker with a warm loaf of crusty boule and a garlic, fresh rosemary, flaky sea salt, overnight infused EVOO in a small fancy veck jar. After enjoying, he tossed the jar in the garbage. When he left the area, I retrieved it, 😂.

It has to be a supply issue. From the manufacturer. The company I use is more like a wholesaler. Just checked and they are out of stock for so many containers...link here. SKS bottle and packaging

Fortunately I have a stack of cases from them. For my spice blends. And various other sizes. Still deciding on what spice blend to make. Probably the Umami Bomb. Longer shelf life. Well stocked in ingredients for that one. (co-worker gifts).

I've read that some spice houses have the bulk spices but not containers. Just like where I get some of my dried beans had stock but no bags. That took 4-5 months. Price gouging is unacceptable.

We treasure all our quality canning jars, especially the wide mouth, straight sided pints and quarts.

Maybe a bit embarrassing to ask that jars be saved and returned?. Family and close friends should be no problem. I bet Annie, with that pantry, has no problem asking for jars to be returned.

I will usually get most of my jars back from the recipient eventually but it may take a year or two. My cousin is good at returning them but I only see him once or twice a year, Friends that see often will wash them and gather them somewhere and I grab them when I visit.

I always wash and save the used flats for use on dehydrated things, dry goods, or liquids being frozen in jars so I don't have to use brand new ones. Right now I probably have 10 times the number of used flats as I do new ones.

Jack, like you I wash and save the used flats for storage purposes, a lot of times I'll "decant" something into a jar for storage and need a lid.

I also freeze things in the jars, leaving a generous amount of expansion room. That's the only way I store the apple cider we press with Dad's old hand powered press, I freeze it. If I can it, it just turns into apple juice, so into the freezer it goes.

Kate, I was at my local WalMart today, picking up Mother's prescriptions. They had canning jars, plus flats. They had pints and quarts, but no other sizes.

Annie

Goodwill and other second hand stores are good places for finding canning jars. Also craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

I thought I saw this thread, but maybe I was mistaken....

Anywho, I’ve seen jars coming back at Menards and Meijer last week. Regular lids at Meijer, though not a lot. A few cases on the shelf at the local grocery store.

Pst, if the lid is in good shape and also better if one of the older ones, no rust, etc. you can use them over again. The biggest risk is the seal not taking but you can reprocess or freeze or refrigerate in those cases if you have the space. Considering how flimsy they make modern lids, it is not uncommon for me to have a jar that doesn't seal even with brand new lids . . . of course the lids that you reuse cannot be seriously dented, finish scraped off, rusty, worn, etc. But it does slightly extend your use-able options. I actually reused some old store bought jam jars in good shape for my own jams, I can tell right away if there are any sealing issues . . .acidic high sugar jams are a mold issue not a botulism issue if you use approved recipes.