Jars - from who & how much?

[Toffeesmum]

Hi All, I appreciate you are not able to tell me exactly from whom you source your jars/containers from and I am still very interested in the thread from last year about the well-known supermarket Value lemon curd at 22p per jar.

Is this 'legal' to reuse these jars? Once cleaned and sterilised?

What is a 'ball-park' acceptable price to pay for new jars. lids, labels etc?

Last year, my first crop was for own-use, but this year maybe different, so just planning ahead.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Rich0909]

Local beekeeping supplies place - "Glass jars 1 lb with gold lids (box of 72 jars) £24.00", 33p each. Hardly worth the bother of emptying out the lemon curd, cleaning and removing old labels, unless you really really like lemon curd....

Rich

 

[BeeJayBee]

Value lemon curd at 22p per jar

That might have been my suggestion because it's what I've done in the past if I've run out of jars for jams and chutneys for home use. I've never sold jam or chutney, and don't plan to.

I wouldn't ever re-use those supermarket jars for honey because honey can easily be tainted. I will re-use my own honey jars to store honey used at home, but always use new honey jars for gifts or sale.

 

[Erichalfbee]

C Wynne Jones are good value.
As for throwing good food away, even supermarket lemon curd, I think that is quite thoughtless.

 

[Toffeesmum]

Ah ha. Okay thanks for suggestions. Wasn't planning to throw curd away... Makes an interesting homemade wine!!!

 

[Davelin]

Would not even contemplate recycling jars to put honey in.

Definitely can't do it if you plan to sell it.

 

[Mrs Webmuppet]

Thanks for this thread .......it was a question I had been thinking of posting. I noticed Wynne Jones have 1 litre honey buckets, has anyone used these?

I was thinking of getting a couple of these to fill with honey for my Dad (it would save a few jars) He has a honey habit that makes Winnie the Pooh look like an amateur! (And part of the reason we now have bees)

 

[itma]

Always ask your association first.
Most offer bulk-buy prices to members for small orders. Dover offers 72x1lb for £18, as one example.
--- And if they don't, they should. Raise the subject, and again at the AGM.

If buying jars being usually sold other than for honey, do beware that it may take an odd quantity of honey (rather than jam) to fill them nicely.


There was some correspondence in (IIRC) BBKA News last year regarding jar recycling. The conclusion was that for a glass jar that looked utterly indistinguishable from new there was most unlikely to be any problem - HOWEVER brand new lids should always always (that is always) be used.

 

[alldigging]

Am sort of tempted to go for the lemon curd jars for my jam (doesn't get sold - just for personal use officer!) as the strawberry crop has been excellent again and the blackcurrants are about ready to be picked.

It's either that or make blackcurrant wine with them all.

I have been given loads of jars for jam but have used them all.

Interesting to hear you can make wine from the lemon curd. I've made wine from apple sauce that was in jars (A bargain at 10p a jar, bought just for the jars)

 

[alldigging]

Thanks for this thread .......it was a question I had been thinking of posting. I noticed Wynne Jones have 1 litre honey buckets, has anyone used these?

I was thinking of getting a couple of these to fill with honey for my Dad (it would save a few jars) He has a honey habit that makes Winnie the Pooh look like an amateur! (And part of the reason we now have bees)

My FIL is the same. We have done some special labels for him for father's day this year.
1L jars would go down a treat with him.

 

[jd101k2000]

Would not even contemplate recycling jars to put honey in.

Definitely can't do it if you plan to sell it.

My understanding is that you can recycle jars for sale... but not lids.

Do ensure that you wash out jars really well.
(For home use) put some honey in a jar that had been holding coffee beans and smelt vaguely of coffee. Once the honey was in it really intensified the smell of the coffee!

 

[BeeJayBee]

Ah ha. Okay thanks for suggestions. Wasn't planning to throw curd away... Makes an interesting homemade wine!!!

I threw it away because it was too disgusting to eat. I'm not convinced it had ever been near a lemon, but even so I'd be interested in the recipe for the wine.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

unless you really really like lemon curd....

Rich

That's v funny!

C Wynne Jones are good value.
As for throwing good food away, even supermarket lemon curd, I think that is quite thoughtless.

Erica: completely agree. Our poor planet.

BUTTTTT. Looking at the ingredients (below), I cannot think of a solid reason not to feed it to the bees in Autumn if they'll take it, with a bit of Thymol.


Glucose-Fructose Syrup,Sugar ,Water ,Vegetable Oil ,Maize Starch ,Dried Egg ,Gelling Agent (Pectin) ,Citric Acid ,Lemon Oil (0.2%) ,Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate) ,Colours (Beta-Carotene, Curcumin) ,Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid)

 

[pre1mjr]

A solid reason could be the solids in it. Might the starch cause dysentery later in the winter? And the Internet says that pectin is toxic to honey bees. Perhaps worth feeding to just one hive as a trial to begin with.

 

[Edwardking]

Fructose syrup - bad for bees, and humans!

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

A solid reason could be the solids in it. Might the starch cause dysentery later in the winter? And the Internet says that pectin is toxic to honey bees. Perhaps worth feeding to just one hive as a trial to begin with.

Yup: pectin kills it. Fructose is OK. And come to think of it, it will have been heated and is acid, so HMF. Forget I spoke.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

My understanding is that you can recycle jars for sale... but not lids.

Really? Wasn't my understanding but quite prepared to be told otherwise

 

[itma]

Really? Wasn't my understanding but quite prepared to be told otherwise

As per my earlier post …

There was some correspondence in (IIRC) BBKA News last year regarding jar recycling. The conclusion was that for a glass jar that looked utterly indistinguishable from new there was most unlikely to be any problem - HOWEVER brand new lids should always always (that is always) be used.

 

[cjhart2]

At our last food hygiene inspection for the jam and chutneys , it was a big NO NO from the inspector if we used recycled jars . As far as he was concerned , if it was being being sold to the general public it had to be a new jar and new lid .

 

[beehive1234]

Wine making,........ can't get a better book than C JJ Berry's First Steps in Wine making. Bramble tip is great. Will tell you how to make wine from vertually any fruit or tree or plant basically.
You can't re use jars because we live in a capitalistic country. Think about all those people who need jobs and companies that need orders. Even if it is the local council recycling the glass. They need the money to pay the pensions.