Customer Reviews

Progressive 5-Piece Canning Kit

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just started canning--after watching my mom and grandma do it all of my life. They have all the gadgets and I was really intimidated at first. However, once I found a water bath canner and a few recipes that looked easy, I set out on my own. My first task: quick mustard pickles. Impatient as I was, I set out canning BEFORE I ordered this set. My mom told me that I really needed a jar lifter above anything else. She was right! I stood staring at the bubbling water trying to think of some way to get the hot jars out of the water without breaking them or burning myself! I finally managed it but it wasn't easy. The funnel would have saved me from making a complete mess of my counter top. The jar wrench (pay attention previous reviewer) is for loosening the rings when they're too snug. I can remember when my mom would forget to take the rings off before storing her canned wonders only to discover a few months later that the rings had rusted. A jar wrench would have really come in handy. The lid magnet will also save you some time and aggravation too. Without it, I was forced to fish for the lids with medal tongs. I later found out that this isn't wise since the medal can scratch the sealant and cause your seal to fail. Chopsticks? They might work sometimes but I found that my lids would stick to the bottom of the pot that I was sterilizing them in. Chopsticks are too cumbersome in my opinion. Finally, the coating will help protect your jars. Using bare metal can weaken your jars, and you don't want that!

For under $10, this set will pay you back many times over. Canning is all about organization and speed. The faster you can get your goodies into the jars and sealed, the better your chances for a successful canning experience. Who wants to spend half the day preparing your harvest only to have to throw half of it away due to spoilage? Sometimes gadgets are a good thing.

One last tip. One of the previous reviewers lamented about the difficulty in finding canning supplies. Amen! The internet seems to be the only way to go unless you have access to old time country stores. Two websites that have helped me tremendousely are canningpantry.com and mrswages.com.

This canning set is a wonderful gift for yourself or any canner that you may know. It contains all of the basic neccessities for canning. I want to emphasize that the magnetic lid grabber is invaluable! It really helps with getting those lids out of the boiling water and not dropping them, as sometimes happens with traditional tongs! I highly recommend this set!

If you are just starting canning here is all you need to handle jars and lids. I wasted hours running around and on the phone.What I needed was not in any! stores.Here was every thing I needed at the click of a mouse.If I had ordered from the manufacturers of the canning jars it would have been weeks,cost more and didn't include the jar opener.

This is a sturdy set of canning equipment that I bought for my mother who has been canning for 40 years. She has never purchased new canning equipment in fear of displacing her loyalty to her original equipment from long ago. She LOVES this new set and calls it essential in making her goodies.

Instead of going from store to store to collect all of these gadgets to help with canning, it is good to have been able to get them in one place! Less expensive too.

Fantastic price for several helpful items, and all in one place. Maybe you could spend your days searching garage sales for a few of the items and beat the price. However, it doesn't get any more convenient than this. If you are debating the "necessity", don't be mislead; buy it. I can see where the other poster is coming from with the handy chop stick tip. To that I just have to say: I could also make a fire with two sticks, but why???

I wish I had had these things last year. The magnetic stick saves much time and unnecessary hot water burns trying to fish lids out of boiling water. Thanks!

If you need to replace your old set of tools for canning, these are great value for the price and an absolute necessity for working with hot jars and foods. I am considering giving them out as Christmas gifts to the "would-be canners" to try out next year.

I got these for my wife for Christmas 2003. She wanted to start canning. She canned a bunch of pinto beans and loved the set. It is a rather low end set but for the price and frequency of use it is worth 5 stars.

The quality is good, if not the best. The jar lifter, for example, is a little less hefty than what I had before and I didn't really need another set of Tongs. However, they get the job done and the price was far less than buying each item individually. I really like the jar opener.