Many canning jars have this name on them. Large glass jars have many uses today, including canning.
One use for large glass jars, other than canning, is to store drinking water. This is used in offices with a special container. When turned upside down water can be dispersed, usually by pushing a small button, into a cup or container. These units are usually insulated which makes it possible for the employees to have cool, clean water whenever desired. Some laboratories also use them to store specimens.
The principle use of large glass jars in today’s world is for home canning. These jars allow a person preserve a large amount of fruit or vegetables for use later in the year. This has proved a great savings in grocery purchases as well as providing nutritious and tasty food for one’s family.
The current method of sealing large glass jars is by rings and lids. There are two ways this is done. One is to place the food in the jar, put on the lid and ring and process in a pressure cooker. This cooks the food, seals the lid and sterilizes everything.
The other way large glass jars are used is in the open kettle method. When this is done the food, such as peaches, is brought to a boil and placed in a hot jar, which has been sterilized in boiling water. The lids and rings, which have also been sterilized, are then placed on the jar and twisted on tightly. As the jar cools, the seal is completed. This method can only be used with certain foods, others must be canned with a pressure cooker.
For many years the most popular form of sealing large glass jars was by a screw-on zinc cap. A metal wire which forced a glass lid to seal was another popular method used. Today’s rings and lids consist of a very light metal and are easily used.
The use of large glass containers for transporting things such as bulk cooking oil and other products has largely been discontinued with the development of plastic. Large glass jars had a tendency to break in transit while plastic does not. In addition, with large glass jars being round and plastic containers square they were able to ship more in less space.
