Save money and buy lids in case lots. You will never run out and they don't go bad. I do see Mrs. Wages offer two sizes of pickle mixes. A smaller one that makes m aybe 1-2 quarts, and the larger pouch that makes 5-7 quarts.

May have to look into the case lot on lids. I stocked up early on the regulars, around here $.99 dozen. Wide mouths are running $2.49 dozen. I don't get it.

Yeah I do by case lots of lids Ken but we just happened to note the price increase in lids while scouting out jar prices for the year. Wonder what the Golden Harvest items are going to increase in price this year. Soon be time to start hitting the yard sales.

Dave

The Golden Harvest lids are now $1.25 per dozen at Big Lots. I bought 36 dozen so far. Last years price was $.99 I haven't seen Golden Harvest wide lids though. Standard pints and quarts jars are about $1. less than Ball.

My Walmart's new stash of BBB's is the same old one with the cheese cake and blueberries on the cover. What's going on here? They ran out of books last fall.

Big Lots near here, as no GH jars or lids last year at all. I asked many times and the staff have no idea why. Suspect that the go by sale popularity and if the stock sits there too long they don't bother carrying it again. I got a big bunch of boxes of lids cheap in January for only 75 cents a box for Ball lids. Case of 60 boxes of lids on eBay- $80 right now

What does the cover of the new BBB look like? I see only the BBB with a picture of raspberries on top of a cheesecake looking tart with ruffled edges on the crust. Thats all that seems to be shown on web searches, and most sites are sold out. Suspect its still an older version.

Dave, where did you see/find the BBB?

Cream

Dave mentioned seeing it at Walmart at the end of his post

Ken, My latest BBB has a raspberry topped cheesecake on the cover, not blueberries. I just e-mailed Ball to inquire of any changes in canning procedures in the latest book.
They'll get back to me with a response. So they say.
The new e-mail is www.freshpreserving.com

The raspberries are what I said, not blueberries (shirley, you said blueberries, not me), and the raspberries are sitting on top of a cheesecake of some kind as I mentioned before. It appears it is still the older version which is a few years old now. I did see another Ball book selling for about $18 amd it hd a very different cover, but I dont think its the Blue Book, but the other expanded version which is also older.

Ken, I know I said blueberries in my first response and corrected it after I read your post. I took a second look at the book cover and corrected it.
I was correcting myself, not you. You had it right. Oh My Goodness Gracious.

Well, actually it appears to be blackberries atop lemon curd, based on the recipe on the inside back cover. Apparently it's highlighting Ball's Blackberry Liqueur Sauce (page 81).

I was at Walmart this morning but while canning supplies are in, there are no copies of the BBB. For some reason, Walmart here never carries it. I'll have to check when I go to the farmers' market to see if they have the anniversary edition.

Word is the newest edition has more information and recipes for beginning canners and a few more "gourmet" specialties.

I've linked to a press release about Ball's anniversary year and the new BBB Dave mentioned.

By the way, there's also a new revised edition of Linda Ziedrich's "Joy of Pickling" and in addition, she has just published a new collection of preserves, "The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Sweet Preserves." If it's half as good as her first book, I'll be satisfied.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Ball Celebrates 125th Anniversary

The new is all peaches on the cover (as described above)

- It's "peachy". Peach cobbler, peach preserves, and canned peaches on the front cover. It is the 100th Anniversary Edition 1909-2009. -

And has the big round 100th anniversary seal in the lower right corner. Got it at Walmart. According to one Ball PR release:

A newly commissioned Ball Blue Book(R) Guide to Preserving will include new recipes that make it easy for beginner canners to get started, while also stretching the gourmet repertoire for experienced canners. Two thousand nine marks the 100th year of the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. The book will be available for the suggested retail price of $5.49.

Don't know why some of them would have one edition while others have the old one unless they had stockpiled the cheesecake one in the warehouse or something.

Seed and plant collections/selections are lousy at Walmart this year and when I asked why they just shrugged and said "it's what 'they' sent us". I suspect it may be the same with the BBB. I'll take a pic of it and post it.

Here is one pic of it but it isn't very good. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Dave

Here you go.

{{gwi:885274}}

And the new Mrs. Wages.

{{gwi:885275}}

Dave

Dave, It must depend on the area you live. After shopping several feed and seed stores, I finally found my Super sugar snap and Mammoth melting snow pea seeds at Walmart near me. The same store which ran out of BBB's last year and now are stocked with the same old Blackberry cheesecake BBB's. Go figure.

Clever. I see Ball is highlighting the pricey new platinum Elite jar on their cover.

Carol

Good catch, Carol. I hadn't noticed the lid.

Shirley, likely you are right about location. Wow! Arkansas at the forefront of something! Who'd a thunk it? :^)

Dave

I'm glad you mentioned this anniversary copy, Dave. I had no idea this was in the works. I'm going to be sure to snag one. Surprisingly, here finding copies of the BBB (any edition) can be challenging. Canning supplies are sold in lots of stores - just not the BBB.

Carol

Yeah, they do look like blackberries come to think of it. Nice to know what to look for with that photo you provided. Thanks Dave. Sorry Shirley, I wasn't intending on offending you, it was that I saw blueberries mentioned and my name in the same sentence. All of the web sites I saw had no picture like the one shown here, only the older book cover with the blackberries. I'll keep looking. I don't waste my time at Walmart as all the local ones are small and lack a lot of things the Super Walmarts have. Here, they don't sell the riding mowers, but the Super Walmart in Salem NH has them. Its about 60 miles away and I only go there if I have to travel that distance.

Hmm.......

Dave said:
Don't know why some of them would have one edition while others have the old one unless they had stockpiled the cheesecake one in the warehouse or something.

I'll bet Ball made the retailers a "great deal" on the older version.
I'm a thinkin' they're more concerned about selling off the books than if consumers really have the latest version.

Thoughts??

Deanna

I looked at Walmart last weekend and the BBB was the one from last year...lots of canning supplies but the old book..darn!

Just thought I'd pass on that Kitchen Krafts is now offering the new edition if you want one.

Dave

southernstates.com also has it

Here is a link that might be useful: New BBB

Just ordered it.

Fortunately canning supplies haven't gone up where I live - yet! Wally World has a larger section devoted to canning supplies this year. I already bought several dozen new jars. We doubled the size of our veggie garden this spring. I haven't seen the new BBB anywhere so will order it online.

Got mine today. Nice big book with lots of print. Unlike some that have 2-3 inch margins inside and a single recipe fills 3 or more pages. Lots of reading here, but no time to do it.

Found mine yesterday at Walmart and it was the last one..good thing I wasn't a day late.

I asked the lady stocking the canning shelves at WalMart if they had the book. I don't think she had ever heard of a BBB even though that was her department. Said to look in the book department (I already had).

On a whim I stopped by Ace Hardware on the way home, and even though their canning section is tiny, they had one 100th Anniv. Edition left. Yea!!!

I just bought the new BBB at Ace Hdwe. They had the old one as well....both the same price $7.49, but I was there so... I just went ahead and got it. I did find a round cooling rack for $1.99 that I can use for small quantities of food. I tried the dish towel thing last year and it was less than satisfactory so I guess all in all it was worth the trip and I had another stop nearby. Of course with an overnight 10 cents a gallon increase in gas prices it pays to make the trips count.
jude

I bought my new copy a couple of weeks ago at my local True Value Hardware store but I haven't had time to look at it yet.

The price of canning supplies has gone up a little, but I noticed that the local meijer's (about 30 miles away) has a huge display of canning items, although no BBB. Apparently stuff is selling like crazy and I got a coupon in the Sunday paper for $2 off a case of Ball jars too, I've never seen a coupon for canning supplies before.

Annie