Tattler Review

Last week, a box arrived for me - four boxes of Tattler Reusable Canning Lids from Berkey Water Filter Canada. I actually asked them if I could test and review the lids and they agreed. I am receiving no money for this post, just four boxes of Tattler Reusable Canning Lids.

And then life got in the way - imagine that, as I'm packing to move! - and I didn't get to use them immediately. They simply sat on my counter, looking all innocent and normal.

And then, even after I tried them, Blogger wouldn't play nice with Firefox and I couldn't upload pictures.

So finally, here is my first try at using Tattler lids!

Boil water, then turn it off. The instructions on the box say "Scald lids and rubber rings. Leave in water until ready to use." I did what I always do - I brought water and a splash of vinegar to a boil, turned it off, added the lids and let it sit while filling my jars.

Yes, my little frying pan lives on the stovetop.

"Fill jars as indicated per canning instructions for that food type."

I meant to can ground beef and it just didn't happen. So I grabbed some fresh goat's milk and canned that.

 This is the little box that holds 12 lids and rings. That white cloth is a piece of diaper flannelette that works well for wiping rims. I dip it in the vinegar water used to scald the lids.


Six jars, filled and ready to add lids.


"Wipe top of jar after filling. Place lid and rubber ring combination on jar."

Here is where I ran into trouble. I use a little magnet lifter to get my metal lids. That does not work with either the lids or the rubber rings. Using my big long tongs was much more awkward. However, it was effortless except for that one point.

If you drop a rubber ring into the jar, though, you'll have to re-sterilize it. *innocent look*

 Not hard. Really. But it would be nicer if there were a tiny bit of metal inside the lids so that my magnetic lifter would work!

 Oh, seed packets, you are not canning jars. You are beautiful seed packets. You do not belong in this post.

Six canning jars ready for the canner. One of them, however, felt odd when I added the ring and I probably should have taken in apart, resterilized and started again. But I didn't.

See how ratty my dishcloths are? It's terrible, I know. But see my pretty sealed jars? If you look closely at the time stamp, you'll see that I didn't even wait until the jars had completely cooled. That's bad canning - wait until they're completely cool before removing the rings and washing the jars.

Five beautiful, nicely sealed jars of goat's milk ready to use in coffee or cooking. The seals hold as well as the disposable lids. Even with me breaking rules and being over-anxious, they sealed. The only exception was definitely user error.

Tattlers are always more expensive, about 4-5 times as expensive as disposables. However, disposables *should* only be used once while Tattlers are, according to the box "indefinitely reusable".

While I didn't take a picture, the lid and rubber ring washed without issue and went back into their box. Especially if you have both wide mouth and regular, you'll want to develop a system for storing them without damaging the rubber. The box does not give instructions for storage.

I will be trying the lids out with other stuff, too, probably ground beef, so stay tuned.

For us, moving out to a very rural homestead, the Tattlers make perfect sense. Even canning lids add up in the garbage, and we have to haul our garbage an hour to the dump. For anyone concerned with BPA in their canning lids, these make sense, too. And, of course, even city dwellers can be concerned about the garbage they generate. :) Now that there is a Canadian supplier of these, I can't see any reason at all why NOT to get them. Buying a case makes the price about $8.75 per dozen for regular, with no shipping cost, which I find quite reasonable. I plan to have a case of these on hand before canning season next year, but I'll wait until we move to order them.

Go on - check out Berkey Water Filter Canada. They have Berkey Water Filters, of course, and quite a few other prepper-friendly items. If you buy anything, tell them Canadian Doomer sent you.

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