Price of Great Value pintos beans per 15.5 oz can: 86¢.
Price of 4 pounds of dried pinto beans: $3.76.
Number of pint jars worth of beans you get from a 4 lb bag: 15.
That brings us to 25¢ per jar because I’m reusing lids. I’ll test each jar tomorrow for a proper seal to see if any of the reused lids failed. But they almost never do.
If you have to buy lids or don’t have Tattler reusable kids then it’s going to cost 55¢ per can and after figuring in labor and electricity it’s probably not worth it. But if you are paying ~$1.40 a can for name brand pintos in a can then it’s still worth it.
This will become burritos, refried beans and other things in the future.
Do you have experience with the tattler lids? I’ve been paranoid to reuse lids, which like you said makes the cost potentially not worth it. I guess you are right, though, that reusing the non-reusable lids, worst case scenario just doesnt seal, which is noticeable anyway.
I do. When I had a little money I’d buy a box. I never could afford more than one box at a time because they are a little pricey. I try to only use them on things I know I will rotate through quickly so that I can reuse them as much as possible.
I’ve never had any problems with. I wish I had more of them. I would avoid canning tomato based stuff like chili in them because they will stain. It doesn’t affect their use at all, but if you’re into the aesthetics that’s something you should know.
You have to make sure to use the instructions on the side of the box. They are ever so slightly different than regular canning lids and if you don’t follow those instructions exactly you will not have a good time.
If you decide to buy them, they will pay for themselves if you rotate your stock fast enough. And make sure you know what it is you rotate through. On you the kind of person that uses regular mouth or wide mouth more? I definitely use more wide mouth. So that’s what most of mine are.
It looks like they are a dollar a piece right now, so you only need to use them twice to be worthwhile.
Good tip on the tomato, though, cause I’m definitely the type to buy a case of blemished tomatoes on the cheap from a farm to make a big batch of sauce.
I’ve never canned my own beans, though.
Walmart Mainstays brand is almost half the price for one time lids. But yeah, if it’s remotely possible to get Tattler then you should do it.
A number of years ago we hit up a farmers market at the end of tomato season. “What’s the best deal you can get us on 40 pounds?” “Drip by my farm.” “Ok”
40 pounds of perfection, 20 pounds of over ripe, 10 pounds of green tomatoes. $20.
It took hours but we canned years worth of balsamic tomato soup in one go. I made green pasta sauce and fried green tomatoes. So much goodness for almost nothing per serving. I did have to buy more canning jars on the way home just to accommodate the task. Of course new jars come with new lids. I still find lids from that batch when I’m reusing them.
Balsamic Tomato Soup
Servings: 6 cups (three pint jars if canning recipe scales up very nicely)
3 1/2 lb tomatoes
1 2/3 cups stock (chicken or veg) (see note)
3 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste/puree or 3-4 sun dried tomatoes rehydrated and pureed
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2-3 tbsp sugar
fresh basil (a little or a lot) finely chopped
! This recipe is great for canning.
! Serve with grilled cheese!
! Amount of stock to add will depend on how big the batch is as the bigger batch will allow more time for the tomatoes to juice out. Add just enough to be an inch below the tops of the tomatoes. This could be as much as the 1 2/3 listed for a single batch. It could be as little as zero cups for a 30 pound batch.
if canning:
= fill jars leaving half an inch of head space
= can at 10 lb for 20 min