I’ve been eyeballing these for quite some time.  When I mentioned them to my sweet husband, he was not as sure about them as I was, and the price definitely threw him.  His question to me was, “Are they really worth it?”  So, I contacted Tattler regarding their product, relaying my sweet husband’s doubts, and asked if there was any way I could sample them.  They responded to my email fairly quickly with a “Yes!”  They would send me a sample of their product to try.  And this is what I received! 

 

I was extremely happy since I had only expected maybe a couple of them! So, I did what all canners do – I put them to work immediately! Since I was in the middle of canning tomatoes & banana peppers, that’s what I used them on.  Tattler lids are a little different than your regular metal canning lids, but they have a couple of big benefits that make them worth their money.  Not only are they reusable again & again, but they are BPA free!   The lids are made in 2 parts, you have the lid itself, and then you have the rubber seals that you use, both reusable numerous times. 

Here’s what I did when I used my Tattler Lids:

After my jars were full, I carefully wiped the rims of each one with a slightly damp rag to clean them of any food particles, then dried the rims.  I took 1 lid & 1 seal of the hot water, assembled, them, and then centered it on my jar, holding it in place while I screwed the metal band in place. Now, this step is extremely important!  Unlike your regular metal seals, the Tattler Lids have to be able to vent while processing, so only tighten to fingertip tightness, then turn back 1/4 of an INCH! So, just barely turn back.  Again, this allows the product to vent while processing. 

Once all 7 quarts were sealed, I placed them in my water bath canner & processed for 40 minutes.

Once their time was up, I carefully removed each jar, placing them on a towel, and tightened each band down tightly, which allows the Tattler Lids to seal properly. 

I only had 1 causality, but am unsure if it was because I had the band too tight, or if there was a weak spot in my jar.  However, I did remove the Tattler Lid from the jar, washed both pieces carefully, reheated, & reused it on my next batch of tomatoes, being careful to turn the seal over for even wear as per the instructions.  

I followed the same procedure with the Tattler Lids on my banana peppers as I did with the tomatoes.   I allowed my jars to cool completely overnight before removing the metal rings. 

Here they are, all cooled, wiped off, & ready to be stored until ready to open:

Here’s a close up of the lid, sealed on my tomatoes  and banana peppers:

So, my overall opinion of the Tattler Lids?  I LOVE THEM!  I do miss the tell-tell “ping” that the metal lids make, but I am NOT going to miss the ever-increasing cost of buying  new ones each year, or the fact that they are not making them as well as they used to.  I’ve been a big Ball supporter for many years, but lately, the jars and lids just do not work as well as they used to.  Even friends of mine who use the same lids are saying they have had more failures in the last 2 canning seasons than they’ve had in many years combined. And the fact that it’s hard to find a new set of jars in the store without damaged metal rims, is also a problem.  When did the rims become so easily damaged? 

So, now I’ll be saving up my “egg money” to buy more of these wonderful reusable canning lids.  But, in the mean time, Tattler is happily allowing me to do a giveaway of 2 dozen of these wonderful lids!  A dozen each of the wide mouth & regular mouth lids!  Would like to win some of these for yourself?  Well, here’s your chance.   I’ve decided to time this around my birthday, which is next Tuesday.  So, between now and next Thursday (Sept. 20th) , get entered to win.  Just follow the instructions using the Rafflecopter box below.  Winner will be announced next Friday!

         

a Rafflecopter giveaway