anotherkindofdrew blog

This season has been full of canning and jarring.

Pan and I have made and “put up” everything from Apple Butter and Blueberry Jam to snap beans, butterbeans, and homemade salsa. None of it would be possible though without the good ‘ol mason jar!

A mason jar is nothing more than a glass jar used in canning to preserve food. They were invented and patented by John L. Mason in 1858. They are also called Ball jars, after Ball Corp., a popular and early manufacturer of the jars; fruit jars because they are often used to store fruit; or generically glass canning jars. The Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company began manufacturing the fruit jars in 1884 in Buffalo, New York. While largely supplanted by other methods for commercial mass-production, they are still commonly used in home canning.

In modern usage, the terms often refer specifically to jars featuring a two-piece cover: An inner, flat, metal or glass lid, covered by a screw-on ring. The ring holds the lid in place during the canning process, which creates a partial vacuum, sealing the lid until opened. The lids are sold separately so that the jars and rings can be reused.
Mason jars are made of soda-lime glass, and come in a variety of sizes including pint, quart, half-gallon, and cup sizes, as well as in wide-mouth and regular mouth shapes.

It is important to also note that Ball and Kerr are both made entirely in the USA and are currently based in Muncie, Indiana. The plant was moved there after a destructive fire in the Buffalo plant before the turn of the century (20th, that is).

The most common US brands of Mason jars are Ball and Kerr, both brand names now part of the Jarden corporation.

DID YOU KNOW: The safety pin of hand grenades would be pulled and the grenades would be placed in glass Ball Mason jars which would hold back the safety lever. The safety lever would release upon the shattering of the jar and the grenade would detonate. This particular Improvised Explosive Device was popular with chopper crews in Vietnam, who would use them as improvised anti-personnel cluster bombs during raids. They were easy to dump out of the flight door over a target, and the thick Ball Mason glass was resistant to premature shattering in the air.

AND NOW FOR THE GIVE-AWAY: That’s right, anotherkindofdrew.com is having its first give-away. All you have to do is answer the question, “What is your favorite way to use the Ball jar?” It can be a beloved recipe, or some sort of craft project, or even as a button collector. Whatever the case, you have 4 chances to have your name put into the ‘ball jar’ for a chance to win. You can

1. Answer the question in a comment here
2. Comment on Facebook under the appropriate status update
3. Tweet about the give-away (to shamelessly drive traffic my way)
4. Blog about the give-away

If you choose one of the last 3 options, just email with the appropriate link.

HERE’S WHAT YOU WIN: The winner (chosen by random.org) will receive a copy of the 100th Anniversary Edition Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving packed with over 500 tried and true recipes and step-by-step instructions, in the mail.

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Top image: Ball Jar Museum courtesy and ©Brandy Shaul 2006

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 10:28 am and is filed under Give Away, In The Kitchen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.