How I Found Vintage Glass Lids for Canning
Here is how I discovered vintage glass lids for canning that are reusable and affordable. If you live in Canada, you also have these lids available to you, and can build your own collection.
I decided to search for reusable canning lids when we went on a budget. All expenses had to be accounted for, and I was surprised to learn that I was spending more than $0.25 per lid.
When you fill hundreds of jars per year, the cost actually amounts to something significant.
So I began to research reusable canning lids on the market.
At the time, all I found was the German made Weck jar with a glass lid.
Their prices were steep, and it would cost me more than $1,400 to replace my jar collection. We couldn't afford that, no matter how much money it would save in the long run!
How I Found Glass Canning Lids
I live in an old farming community, so we have lots of old cooking and preserving supplies come through our local thrift store.
One spring day, I was wandering through the isles of the thrift store when I spied some glass lids in a bag. The lids inside were labeled Gem and Jewel. Of course I was intrigued, and bought 3 packages for $6.
A friend from northern Canada was visiting me at the time, and when I showed her my purchase, she told me her mom still used those glass lids in her home canning.
But when I tried fitting the glass lids to my wide mouth jars, they were too small.
And oddly enough, they were too big for my standard mouth jars.
My friend and I put the pieces together and realized these lids belonged to the Canadian made Gem and Jewel jars.
The opening on wide mouth jars measure 86mm.
Standard mouth jars measure 70mm.
These jars had a 76mm mouth.
I knew about Gem jars. Most Canadian women 50+ years of age had used them, and there were still plenty of these jars around. I had even used them with a tin lid.
But until that moment, I hadn't realized these jars were originally made with glass lids.
Sure enough. When I tried fitting glass lids to the few Gem and Jewel jars I had on hand, they fit perfectly!
History of Canadian Glass Canning Lids
I've always loved history, so I began researching the Gem and Jewel jar online. And what I found amazed me!
First produced in 1930 on Imperial based measurements, a glass jar, glass lid, rubber ring and a thick metal band was made available to the Canadian housewife for purchase.
These jars were welcomed into the kitchen, and quickly spread throughout the western provinces.
Many women overwintered their families on the contents of the Gem, Jewel, Corona and Crown jars!
When thin tin lids and thin bands came into production as a 2 part system, the chunky, glass lids were replaced in most homes.
Thus updated, the use of these jars carried on. They were especially valued by people who lived off the land and passed their goods on to the next generation (farmers, homesteaders, Mennonites, Hutterites, etc).
Some families had collections of more than 1,000 Gem or Jewel jars. And they lived off the goods within.
Modern History of the Gem and Jewel Lids
With tin lids taking the stage, use of old glass canning lids decreased. Bundles of the old lids were transferred to basements, root cellars and garages.
In year 2000, companies stopped producing Gem jars.
As jars were no longer on the market, the only company creating 78 mm Gem size tin lids (Bernardin), announced they were discontinuing production in 2002.
Canadians are known for being very polite and sweet, but this announcement caused quite a stir.
Some families among the plain people groups had generational collections of 1,000+ canning jars. Replacing entire collections would cost a lot.
So they go busy! Their petitions and complaints went a long way.
You can read about it in the Wall Street Journal.
Their plea was met with action. You can read about it in CBC News Canada: Home Canners Claim Victory Over Gem Jars.
The American-based Bernardin company continued toc produce a tin, 78mm lid for another year.
And back on Canadian soil, the president of Canadian Home Canning Inc, set up and put lids back into steady and regular production. You can get that story in The Western Producer.
In 2022, ForJars began selling 78mm lids for Gem and Jewel jars online. A year later, they had sold more than 100,000 jars.
Moral of the story? Canadians aren't going to let go of their Gem jars anytime soon.
We have access to tin lids. And you can still find glass lids around, if you know what to look for!
Sourcing Rubber Rings and Metal Bands for Glass Lids
As a home canner, I was thrilled with my discovery! I've always loved history, antiques and stories of overcoming. These Gem jars had it all.
But my elation was short lived.
I suddenly realized that while I had glass jars with matching lids, I still didn't have a rubber seal. Lids were no good without a seal.
Lo and behold, I discovered that Canadian Home Hardware stores still carry Gem or 78mm rubber seals. They're called Fruit Jar Rings.
These rubber seals were a deep orange red, and were also reusable.
I was at the thrift store every week after that, gathering Gem jars, glass canning lids and buying the thick metal screw bands whenever I found them.
Using the old metal screw bands intended for the glass lids was nice. And I have quite a collection built today. But I also discovered you can use the bands that are meant for tin lids as well.
You might have fiddle with them a bit, but most of the time it does work!
How to Use Glass Canning Lids
Canning with thick, glass lids and a rubber seal is a bit different than using a flimsy, tin lid.
And it's important to thoroughly check your Gem jars and glass lids before preserving with them, so you don't lose good food to a cracked jar or chipped lid.
If you want to form a collection of your own, I have two more parts to this series that you should read!
Part 2: I teach you all about inspecting and collecting glass canning lids and jars for canning.
Part 3: Learn everything you need to know about Canning with Glass Lids.
Hi! I recently came into a giant collection of jars with glass lids but sadly some of the jars don’t seem to fit the lids or the rings. Anything labeled Mason seems to be where I’m running into problems. I’m wondering if you know which lids fit those mason jars specifically or how I can figure it out? If I can hunt them down I will:)
There are two "normal" mouth sizes when it comes to canning jars. Jars with wide mouths measure 86 mm in diameter. Small mouth (also called standard) jars measures 70 mm across the rim. Lids come in both sizes. It could be that you have a mix of wide mouth and small mouth jars (and the same with lids). I'd try measuring them and go from there!
Hello there, I love canning. I have used the reusable tattler lids with success. I buy the metal lids when on sale.
Recently, I was gifted several Harvest glass lids with rubber seals. Unfortunately I have no idea how yo use. Can you advise?
Thanks
Annette
Hi there!
I'm not familiar with harvest glass lids, so I quickly google searched them. They have the same design as Gem lids, so from here you would need to do the following.
1. Try fitting a glass lid with a rubber seal from your Tattler collection.
2. Set the lid and rubber seal on a jar and see if your metal canning bands are tall enough to securely hold the lid/rubber seal down.
3. Check out my next article in the series on how to inspect glass canning lids:https://atraditionallife.com/canning-with-vintage-jars-part-2-collecting-inspecting-preparing/
4. Read my next article on how to start canning with glass lids (techniques will be the same): https://atraditionallife.com/glass-canning-lid-waterbath/
Hope that helps! And feel free to ask me any more questions you might have. 🙂
Autumn
I REALLY wish I had known all this when I started canning a couple of years ago. I purchased a large number of GEM sized jars (quarts and pints) second hand, and just stored the glass lids in bags, not knowing what else to do with them since everything I read online (and in the Bernardin cookbook I bought) convinced me that I would kill my family if I used these lids to preserve food. They had just stopped making the GEM sized metal snap lids at that time and everyone was scrambling to buy whatever they could find. I willingly let myself get ripped off buying a dozen boxes of these lids from a seller on eBay who was clearly taking advantage of people's desperation.
It was only when I learned that the USDA approved the Tattler three piece lids for home canning that the red flags flew up for me. "Wait a minute," I thought, "WHY is the plastic version of what's sitting in my basement safe to use while my glass version ISN'T?" Well, of course it's because the USDA only tests products available in the U.S., which is why they haven't approve the European Weck jars, either.
I'll use the lids I bought online, but I absolutely regret not trusting my gut and just using the glass lids with rubber rings in the first place. (Expensive) lesson learned!
So sorry it happened this way for you! I think the glass lids are perfectly safe to use, especially when you properly test for a seal. There's no reason why not, so I hope you'll make use of them yet. 🙂 Happy canning!
It seems we can re-use the snap lids, too, by using a Tattler brand gasket in our standard and wide mouth sized jars, and treating those used metal lids like we do the glass lids on the GEM size jars. Then the Tattler gasket can be re-used again and again, like the Viceroy gaskets with the glass lids.
Rose Red Homestead did a YouTube video about it, and it's very interesting. Here's the link if anyone is interested in trying it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFZwIPp5pNQ
Thanks so much for responding, Autumn, and happy canning to you, too!
Late to the party (as usual)! But I just want to point out to anyone who is thinking of trying the Gem lids to be cautious - I have hundreds of them that I use with single-use lids (I usually buy them end-of-season for $1CDN a box), but they have BY FAR the highest failure rate of all my many jars. I think it's a combination of the screw band being threaded too wide and being difficult to interface properly at times and the fact that these are old jars and build with more weight and thicker glass, effecting the heat penetration.
As a rule, I will add 5 minutes of processing time of a load of Gem jars to ensure good heating, and of course follow good practicing of putting hot product in hot jars when the recipe calls for it.
I do love these jars and use them for all types of canning, including pressure canning. They were my grandmother's and I recall her using them growing up - I much prefer them over the wide mouth 80mm. But you do need to be cautious with them because they do tend to not be reliable and pose some unique challenges.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us! I suspect the difficulty you experience with sealing has to do with the fact that older Gem jars were designed to be used with glass lids and a thick rubber seal that was quite forgiving!
I write about collecting these glass lids and rubber seals here: https://atraditionallife.com/canning-with-vintage-jars-part-2-collecting-inspecting-preparing/
And directions on how to use them with Gem jars can be found here:https://atraditionallife.com/glass-canning-lid-waterbath/
You cannot use the metal lids with the wide bands. they were designed to be used ONLY with the glass lids, However, there are smaller rings that do fit the flat metal lids, and they will fit the glass lids in a pinch, just not screw down as far. I'm hoping to find some glass lids, as I also have hundreds of those Gem jars (handed down) and use them constantly all year long.
That's right! The old metal bands are too deep for the thin tin lids!
I want wide mouth glass lids that fit ball jars. Do the gem work
Unfortunstely Gem lids dont fit wide mouth Ball jars. Gem lids are 78mm while wide mouth jars need 86mm lids. Hope that helps clarify!
Thank you so much for this article! I was fortunate enough to have a Canadian step-grandmother who taught me how to use Crown / Corona jars. She of course was canning in Crown jars right into the 70s and 80s. And when I needed a lot of jars 5 years ago as DH and I went from being empty nesters who had given away at least 10 dozen canning jars when the kids moved overseas -- to being a family of 10, within a month -- a dear friend gave me her grandma's Crown jars. I did find good instructions on the Healthy Canning website to refresh my memory, but it's such a joy to read about your personal story. I've been delighting in using the aptly named Corona brand lids (I have a few), the official lid of 2020.
That's amazing! There's nothing like having someone older pass on their knowledge to you!
Thanks for this post!! Most sites want you to run screaming from old lids, thanks for your common sense, much appreciated.
I do follow tested procedures when it comes to canning. But I'm not a stickler, and NOT canning with glass lids just because a seal might let go here or there just isn't reason enough to avoid them. Not when they offer me so many other goods things! 🙂
Hi. A bit of an older thread but hoping this still gets to you.
I’ve seen people recommend to not pressure can in these jars, I would like to. Do you have any experience or water bath only?
Secondary: any advice on where to find replacement rings for a decent price?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Tanya!
I have pressure canned with the Gem glass lids, and the only thing I'd recommend is to add a bit more headspace when filling the jars. With these glass lids, you have not one, but TWO places where food can get stuck. I haven't had as good a deal rate with them. And the rubber seals for 78mm lids? You can find them via HomeHardware and sometimes, Canadian Tire. If you have standard or wide mouth glass lids, you can get rings at tattler.com
Thank you Autumn.
I pressure can with mine - both the quart jars and the short pint jars as well. just make sure your jars are squeaky clean, rubber rings and lids are hot. I also add 5 minutes to my times, but I process meat and vegies in my jars. If you have used the tattler lids, they work very similiarly.
I live in Calgary and was able to purchase a box of 200 glass lids from a group of mennonite ladies in Lacrete, Alberta for 2.00. I took them all and the rubber rings. They are still available at Canadian Tire. I use them for everything!
I love this! And it's good to know about Canadian tire. I've only sourced them at HomeHardware.
Oh Wow! I'll have to keep my eye out for these! I just bought enough Tattler lids for the jars I have currently. I just started canning this summer, so it's no where near some people's collection out there. So, it might be a good time for me to start a gem jar/lid collection! Very exciting! Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
Good for you! And welcome to the canning world! I still haven't used the Tattle lids, but I do aim to try, one day. I've fallen in love with these glass Gems and can't find enough to satisfy my craze over them. Jar hunting is slightly addicting! So happy to have shared something you've found helpful!
Hi Autumn, thanks for this! I have been using Tattler lids for years but am going to look into these.
I've never actually used the tattler lids, but I sure am in love with this glass alternative! Glad you enjoyed the post and I hope a doorway into something new has been opened for you!
Cheers!
Autumn
Hello Anna!
The rubber rings ARE reusable and will last for (at the least) several years. I cover that in more detail in my second and third blog post on how to collect and then water-bath can with these lovely old jars! If you only click the link at the bottom of this post it will connect you to the second blog post.
I live in Canada now and was interested in this for some time now. Thank you for doing the research. However, this rings are not reusable, or? If not, then what is the real adventure of it?
Yes, the rings are reusable. After about 5-6 years, they do start cracking a bit around the outer edges due to the extreme heat (especially if you use them for pressure canning) and eventually will need to be replaced.