½ to 1 inch (1 to 2.5 cm) for larger jars, depending on the type of food. Leave sufficient head space for the food to expand: ½ inch (1 cm) for freezer jams in 125 or 250 ml size jars. Accessed June 2017 at Īs for freezer jar headspace, Bernardin further advises: This can cause jars that are not appropriate for freezing to break.” Freezing with BERNARDIN® Mason Jars. When freezing, food expands upward and does not take the shape of its container. Neither Ball or Bernardin support freezing in shouldered-jars. They are prone to shattering in the freezer because the expanding frozen contents press up against the shoulders.Īll mason jars that have straight sides and no shoulders may be used for successful freezing. Accessed March 2015 at Freezing in mason jars With the wide mouth jars the fruit rises up to the top sometimes leaving you with an inch or two of liquid on the bottom of the jar, which while it does not affect the fruit, it does not look quite right.” Corbett, Nina. While I prefer the look of wide-mouth jars, canned fruits or tomatoes fare better in the regular jars as the small opening helps keep the fruit submerged. The shoulders help to push food down below the liquid level in the jar so it will look better longer in storage.

Regular, shouldered jars are easier to pour from, and are often cheaper. They are also easier to clean when emptied: this can particularly matter if you have canned meat. Straight-side jars can be easier to pack. Mason jars either have shoulders, or are straight-sided. Note that mouth size does not affect the processing time for either water bath processing, steam canning or pressure canning. You can use whatever mouth size you want for a recipe. Note that width of the mouth of the jar is independent of the volume of the jar: there is no correlation. Often, there is a up to a 50% cost premium for wide-mouth jars, so that can be a factor that overrides the above two considerations. The shoulders can help to push foods down under the canning liquids. They are also fine for relishes, chutneys, etc. Regular mouth jars (usually with the shoulders, narrower mouth) are better for things you want to pour out, like soup or chili. Wide mouth jars are great for things like dill pickles, whole beets, chicken breasts, pear halves, etc, as it is easier to pack the food in nicely. You have the choice of regular mouth (70 mm / 2 3⁄4 in) and wide-mouth (86 mm / 3 3⁄8 in.) jars, Ed: In Canada, there’s a legacy third middle size of jar mouth as well, of 78 mm, called “Gem.” University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Jars that hold 24 ounces (one and one-half pints) will need to be processed using quart jar times.” Andress, Elizabeth L. Processing times have not been developed for many foods in half-pint, 12-ounce or 24-ounce (one and one-half pint jars.) If the recipe does not specify processing in one of these jars, process half-pint and 12-ounce jars for the same time as pints. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says:

When you use a smaller jar, process for the same processing time as for the suggested jar size, unless a separate processing time for the smaller jar is given. Jam and jelly season is here! Blog posting 1 July 2016. You may always use a smaller sized jar, but it is not recommended to use a larger jar.” Treiber, Lisa. The reason is that larger jars usually requires a longer processing time for proper heat penetration to the food in the centre of the jar, and thus would require a longer tested and verified processing time to ensure quality and food safety. You can use smaller jars than a tested recipe calls for, but not larger. When can you change the canning jar size that a tested recipe calls for?

5 2 litre (US half-gallon /2 quart jars).1 When can you change the canning jar size that a tested recipe calls for?.

8 oz canning jars