Responding to the canning lid shortage, Superb Industries, Inc. partnered with Walnut Creek Foods to begin manufacturing lids. Shipping the first batch in June 2021, the lids are available from a number of retailers in the Holmes/Wayne Counties, Ohio area. By August, they had made a million lids. This is how you respond to consumer needs.
Bob and I stopped at Walnut Creek Foods in Walnut Creek, Ohio when we were doing a bulk food shopping trip to grab some lids to test. We are eager to support local businesses and manufacturers with our $$$, especially when this is a product we use A LOT.
Here is a review of the lids:
1.) Walnut Creek Foods only had one sleeve of the lids on the shelf, but the clerk assured us that they would be getting more in the next day or so. She said they have been very popular among Amish and ‘English’ customers. Availability may be an issue, so get on the Superb Facebook page to ask what stores carry them.
2.) There are 60 lids in this sleeve and the cost is $11.99. That works out to $.20 per lid.
I usually buy lids in bulk and the cost is about $.15/lid (175 lids for $26.45) – so, Superb are a little more expensive, but not too much.
One the left is the sleeve of Superb Lids. One the right is my bulk-sleeve of 175 regular size canning lids.
3.) The Superb lids are thicker and have a substantial feel to them. The company is generous with the blue seal material.
The Superb lid is the bottom one on the right. You can see the thicker edge.
4.) There were no instructions with the lid so I heated the lids in hot water (not boiling) before using them. The sealant became nice and spongy. I liked that a lot.
5.) I was canning grape juice, which requires a water-bath at 212° F. The tops of the jars were wiped with damp paper towel before applying the lids and rings. This batch was 13 pints. There was 1 failure/non-sealing. It was immediately evident when I removed the ring after 24 hours. The lid came off with the ring. The rest were tightly sealed.
We have very hard water. The lids and jars are covered with a white residue which I remove with a vinegar soaked cloth before storage. I use filtered water in canning recipes.
6.) I canned meat next. This requires 10# of pressure for 90 minutes at 241° F in a pressure canner. I cleaned the tops of the jars with a vinegar-moistened paper towel to remove any fat residue, broth, or meat. The batch was 9 quart jars, 3 of them used the Superb rings. (I didn’t have wide mouth Superb lids.) The jars sealed tightly and the lid centers are depressed.
Using vinegar to wipe down jar tops removes fatty residue which interferes with lids sealing. Leave the rings on for 24 hours and test the lid-seal when you remove them. These were firmly sealed to the jar.
Conclusions:
Positives:
· I really, really like the spongy sealant material.
· The weight of the lid is impressive.
· I had good seal percentage, only 1 out of 16 didn’t seal and that easily could be operator error.
· The price is within reason.
· I am always looking for a reason to head to Amish Country to shop.
· Buying local and supporting Ohio communities’ economies.
Negatives:
· Limited retail outlets at this time and no wide mouth lids were available.
· Price is a little higher than my bulk purchased lid-stash.
· No instructions with lids
Superb regular sized canning lids have met my expectations. I would definitely use them again.
The one failure could have been from a bad-prep on my part. I might have missed the jar when I was wiping tops before applying the lids.
Here is a link to Superb’s Facebook page. They respond quickly to questions.
Happy Canning!
Polly
Update - - - - - April 1, 2022 - We were in Ohio Amish Country today and I saw wide mouth Superb canning lids for the first time. Price was a little higher than regular lids.
--------------Also, When opening one of the jars of meat, I found the Superb lid had not sealed at all and the food spoiled. I have not had other failures with Ball canning lids or my bulk purchased lids. /PG
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