I love Golden Harvest Jars. I have been using them for well over 10 years. I have never had a failure with them. So, go ahead and use them without fear. If you follow directions for prepping jars and proper canning methods, you will not have a problem. Some folks heat jars in the oven. This is not recommended. They do it anyway. Golden Harvest jars are made for canning so go ahead and use them.

The Golden Harvest jars ARE the low price point of Ball, Bernardin, Kerr, Etc. They are now all owned and manufactured by the same company. The only complaint I have with them is that they screw the rings right onto the flat lids and then cryovac or heat seal the whole package together. I usually remove the flats, put them in a baggie, and write a date on them. Wait 2-3 weeks, process as usual and you should get a normal seal. As far as breakage goes, I haven't ever had an issue with that, they seem just as strong as the 30-40 year old jars I'm sill using.

Golden Harvest quarts are slightly larger than the Kerr jars at our local Walmart. It is an issue in some canners because seven Golden Harvest jars don't fit in some pressure canners.

I have been buying the Kerr because I assume they will also go to the larger quarts.

Zeuspaul

Same here - used GH jars as well as the lids and bands for years with no more problems with them than with any other brand. Easily have 100+ of them. You can use them with confidence.

Dave

These are made by Ball and are considered the 'generic' equivalent. Keep in mind that both Ball and GH jars are not quarts (32 ounces) anymore, and neither are the pints. Instead the are in the metric system.

I think I answered my own question. I removed a jar from a package and it looked like it had been formed with a truck tire. The glass was full of pits and pimples and seemed really thin when tapped. Back they go! I think the new packaging is on purpose. They know you'll have to throw away the seals and use new ones. They could still put the lids in a separate box on top and then shrink wrap. The French make a jar called Facile, a modern design, that has an ingenious "rubber" seal. You just cut the tab and it depressurizes the jar. The Italians make the traditional, very pretty, Quatro Stagione. Both are expensive but very high quality. Instead of making price point junk, maybe Ball/Kerr/Mason should launch an innovative, quality line. I wonder if any of todays CEO's have have seen that scene in Executive Suite, where William Holden takes the table and smashes it to bits, punctuating his speech about quality and pride?

Sorry to hear your experience with GH was a negative one. Perhaps you just got a bad case.

The rubber seal gaskets and other types of lids are no longer approved for use here and many of us prefer not to have to pay for the fancy jars.

Jardin/Ball has tried fancier lines in the past but they don't sell well enough to justify them - even their new line of Platinum jars/lids are limited sellers because of the price.

Dave

European jars have their points, though that ingenious seal is just the same-old same-old in canning.

I have used European jars, but on this side of the water they are principally for "boutique" canning. People who can in hundreds or five hundreds aren't doing it in Quatre Stagione jars.

If I got a case of defective jars I'd return them, but that can happen with any brand or product.

Carol

None of my hundreds of GH jars in pints or quarts have any bubbles or other flaws. It may have been that one or more slipped past the inspection point. The same 'open' packaging is also found on the Ball jars, unless they are very old and have the full height carboard boxes with the cardboard dividers inside. Mason was a description for a shape of a jar. Rarely do you see Kerr, as they are gobbled up by Ball as well as GH. Then you have Jarden which is the owner of all these brands and many other products and appliances.

Checking all my new GH jars... I found them all fine! Those I used so far did fine in the PC and the WBer. No breaks during processing.

What I have had problems with due to the new packaging (no longer in boxes) is the lids. I've learned to inspect every lid carefully before use. Several have been creased or otherwise damaged and could result in seal failures. That seems a problem with Ball, Kerr and Golden Harvest equally.

Carol

My new Golden Harvest jars have more *pits and pimples* than my new Kerr jars. The Kerr jars also weigh about a quarter ounce more than the Golden Harvest jars. The Kerr jars are slightly smaller quarts than the Golden Harvest quarts so the difference in weight is relatively more than a quarter ounce. The Kerr jars do seem to have an edge in quality.

My Atlas jars (from Classico) have them both beat. The Atlas quarts are 16 ounces vs 14 ounces for the Golden Harvest. That's about 15 percent more glass. The Atlas jars look like a better jar.

IMO the Atlas jars rank 1 followed by Kerr with Golden Harvest bringing up the rear. I don't have any Ball jars.

Zeuspaul

Both Ball and GH jars are now in the metric system. Older ones were true ounces of 16 and 32 for quarts. Even for that, if I try to fill a fully sided cardboard box with 12 of the GH, they are very tight in here. Even my canner will not accept 7 quarts anymore as they are not really quarts.

Hello Everyone,

Today was my first experience using Golden Harvest jars and I must report that the experience did not instill confidence in me.

I made two batches of Red Pepper & Garlic jelly (one of the recipes that calls for inverting and righting the jars when cool enough to handle to evenly distribute contents).

After processing the jars for 10 minutes in a BWB they came out and all made the nice snap sound shortly afterwards. After they cooled enough to handle I did the inverting thing and placed the jars back on the table. A few seconds later two more "re-snaps"? Twenty minutes later, repeated the process and again another re-snap. Another twenty minutes later repeated again and distinctly heard a hiss from one jar.

I have never experienced this with Bernardin (Canadian version of Ball) jars. I canÂt see it being economical changing the composition of the snap lids or the discount jars so I assume my seal issue is due to the thinner GH jars.

I will be returning my unused jars tomorrow.

Now a question if I may. I need to reprocess the jelly with Bernardin lids to feel confident in the seal. Can I just change the lids and do another 0 minute BWB or do I just refrigerate the six questionable jars?

Thanks,

Bill

Sorry, type-o in my post...

I canÂt see it being economical changing the composition of the snap lids or the discount jars

should be

I canÂt see it being economical changing the composition of the snap lids ON the discount jars

Bill

Sorry Bill but it was the inverting that quickly after processing that caused your problem not the GH jars.

Don't know the recipe you are referring to as recipes that call for inversion are very few and far between down here, but inverting most anything that soon after processing is not only not recommended, it is almost guaranteed to break the seal regardless of the jars used.

Dave

Hi Dave,

The recipe i'm using is in the same category as the famous Habanero Gold. The jars sat for about 45 minutes before inverting. I have probably made 150 jars (friends and friends of friends beat down my door for it LOL) of jelly recipes to date using Bernardin jars and have never experienced seals breaking.

Maybe the contents were still too warm but my confidence in the safety of the GH jar seal is now very low (at least for this group of recipes).

I'm a cautious guy so once in doubt, I don't question my instincts. Having my jellies kill someone would almost be as bad as having one kill me!!! LOL LOL

Bill

With the amount of sugar, the vinegar and the high-acid apricots, the odds of that pepper jelly killing anyone, even unsealed, must be miniscule.

The problem is there's no way to be certain whether the cause was the jars (which I think is the least likely), a defective batch of lids or "human error" of some sort. Just because the jars are the obvious variable doesn't mean they're the culprit. Given your experience with HG Jelly, I'd look to the lids first.

Of course, inverting jars will cause some lids to "pop" but generally they re-seal.

Nevertheless, if you're not happy with Golden Harvest jars, you should return them and go with what works for you.

Carol

Thank you very much for responding carol!

Actually, itÂs the Red Pepper & Garlic jelly I was making. It is from the same source as the Hab Gold and Zesty Red Onion.

So, can I try replacing the lids and doing a BWB for 10 minutes? Would this be safe? Sorry, IÂm in uncharted territory. When I reprocessed in the past it was due to pectin not setting. Just re-boild, added more pectin and canned in fresh jars. This jelly is 95% set.

Bill

Sorry, I missed that. I do have the Bernardin book with those recipes. I still don't think there's a lot of risk with any of Bob Rouleau's jellies.

However, re-processing is definitely the preferable option. In this case it will be a bit of a pain. Remove the jelly from all the jars and bring back to a boil.

In the meantime, prep jars and lids as per usual. Fill jars and proceed as you normally would. You're probably going to get sick of tilting those jars; twice for the same jelly is tiresome but it will resolve any safety concerns.

Carol

Carol,

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my posts.

Although I implicitly trust your suggestions and advice, I think IÂll just put the jars in the fridge. IÂm growing weary of GH jars and inconsistent pectin results. I know, IÂm a wimp a true Harvester would preserver LOL

Cheers,

Bill

I totally understand. I wouldn't re-do the batch either. It's small enough to go conveniently into the refrigerator and if you give one away, just remind recipients to refrigerate.

Carol

If this thread is still actively being read, I have a side question. I live in a small town. In our local grocery store, they are still selling jars in cardboard boxes. So, how old would these boxes be? When was the switch made to metric?
Just curious.

I haven't had to buy jars for years, so I hadn't realized a difference in packaging. Thanks Sue

Oh, my gosh. I have no idea how many years, but if you need jars and can still get them in boxes, grab them.

Carol

Big Lots just restocked Golden Harvest and all the jars are in boxes. The lids are already on the jars though. They do not shrink wrap the package like Ball does.

Roughly about 10-12 years ago. My local, very old, True Value still had a partial warehouse of the full sided Ball boxes. I believe by now they are mostly down to that half height box with shrinkwrap, which was also about the same time they went metric. If you tried to fill a Golden harvest full height box with a mix of Ball and GH, it can get very tight in there. The attached lids are for a twofold reason. First less cardboard needed, and they help keep the jars insides cleaner. I have never seen a failure after using the attached lids, as I place them in simmering water, which will soften the impressed groove and it will go back to the original shape again. Gotta check my Big Lots again, as they had nothing up until last week. Here, Christmas Tree Shops were selling GH quart jars, but with the half height box and they didn't have the plastic shrink wrap applied. I think it was removed as they were selling them as individuals at .89 each.

I haven't had any trouble with the lid sealant with the newer shrink-wrapped packaging. What I've noticed is in some instances the lid itself is creased or the rim is bent. That's a lid that can't be retrieved for canning. As those jars are stacked on pallets, there's bound to be some shipping damage, more than there was when they were boxed.

Carol

Yes, I too have seen a few dented rings. but not severe enough not to use them though as its mostly on the very edge of the bend where it has the threads below.

I have a Golden Harvest quart fruit jar that must have gotten turned a little wrong and on the outside where GOLDEN HARVEST, is printed, only GOLDEN HA is on there. Would this be a collectors item? or is it normal for this to happen. Does anyone know? Ramona Trubey

I have been canning for over 40 years and I have NEVER had any problems with my jars not sealing. This year has been a whole new experience for me. I purchased 15 cases of Golden Harvest jars and lids as everyone seems to forget to return their empty ones to me. Out of those cases only one set of lids held their seal.

Having working in a glass manufacturing factory for 26 years in Canada,as a maintenance mechanic,who was responsible to make sure all equipment worked properly, I can honestly say its the capping machines that are causing all the problems. I have found in these new cases, 2-3 lids all under the same cap,and double lids and caps on the same jar. Also the lids and caps are being put onto the jars too soon as the jars are still hot from being made in the first place. The lids then seal to the hot jars and forms a ridge in the rubber. This renders the lids useless when you go to use them.The capping machines are also using too much pressure to apply the lids and caps. I had to go out and buy all new Bernardin lids separately and reprocess pickles and peaches. Sadly tomatoes can't be reprocessed.

As for mentioned as to where I worked, we were the last Canadian glass plant that could manufacture 4 different kinds of glass at the same time,before being bought out and ultimately closed. We made all the whiskey,beer, baby food,ketchup, and canning and pickle jars for all the big name companies as well as all the tableware and amber coloured bottles. Its not the lack of dividers in the cases or the shrink wrapping of them. That is strictly a cost saving deal. Its strictly a lack of quality control checks and then having all bad pallets of containers redone properly. Part of the mechanics job was to check on all the equipment regularly and adjust the equipment to make sure these things don't happen. Also the quality control people were required to sample check all products on an hourly basis and the report any issues to the mechanics etc. Cheri Mac

I canned tomatoes and several other vegies now for the third year , but first time for tomatoes. I used golden harvest ,stupidly saving a dollar or so per box.

I bought the half liter/half quart ones and did the same as other times when I had used bernardin jars, I put 6 of my jars in my canner of boiling water and filled them with the whole tomatoes I had dipped in boiling water then cold ,and removed skin and cores. I set them all the way into the boiling water all the way down (I lowered the wire thing) No sooner had I cleaned up a little then noticed the tomatoes floating loose on the surface. The bottom of two jar had broken jars had broken off.

This is the same way I made plum jam, canned beets and piclkels .

The only difference is other times I used Bernardin jars not the cheaper ones .

I have one case of jars I'm going to return and pay the extra few cents and get bernardin ones ..

" I put 6 of my jars in my canner of boiling water and filled them with the whole tomatoes I had dipped in boiling water then cold ,and removed skin and cores. I set them all the way into the boiling water all the way down (I lowered the wire thing)."

If I understand your methodology as described - putting jars into the canner of boiling water BEFORE filling them with cool or cold tomatoes - then that and not the jars was the cause of your thermal shock breakage.

Why would you have the water in your canner already boiling and why would you put empty jars down into the boiling water and fill them while sitting in boiling water?

As for Golden Harvest jars, I have used dozens and dozens of them over the years with no problems. The few times I have had thermal breakage of ANY brand jar it was because I screwed up, rushed things, or didn't check the jars well first to note the crack.

Dave

Why are the sealers put on the jars ,they should be separate .I am canning with jour 250m jars and they do not seal. I have bought new sealers lids I don't think I well buy them again.I bought 3 dozens of the 250m jars. NOT AGAIN waste of time redoing the jars over again...... Debbie P not a happy customer

I have never had a problem with the GH quarts. However, in my experience it has been he most common breakage jar for pints from over tightening the band.