What are Kerr canning jars?

Answer 1

Kerr is a brand of "Mason Jar" for home canning - licensed for manufacture by the same company that currently does the Ball brand jars. I have seen few differences in the basic style and sizes available with the notable exception of Kerr carrying a round wide mouth half pint (8 oz., only a couple of inches tall), while Ball has a square 'elite collection' version the same size. All use a two piece lid (a lid, and a 'ring' to hold it in place during processing), and both offer glass jars designed to be used for traditional high pressure/high temperature canning through 'freezer canning'. "Mason Jar" is a style of jar; while there are a handful of companies marketing them, selection can be driven by purpose (wide mouth or regular mouth), personal experience with each brand name (e.g., a slightly higher incidence of material flaws in one brand that prevent successful seals or re-use), and cost - to include shipping.

Answer 2

Napoleon Bonaparte started the world towards the modern preservation of foods when he posted a reward to the person who could preserve food for his army. His army was constantly traveling and food was a problem. He offered the reward in 1795 and in 1810, Nicholas Appert introduced a method of preserving food using heat-processing in glass jars. The jars were sealed with wax.

By the time of the U.S. Civil War glass food preservation jars with metal clamps and replaceable rubber rings had been invented.

In 1858, John Mason invented a glass container with a screw-on thread molded into its top, and a lid with a rubber seal. Wire-clamped were in use until 1964.

In the late 1800s, William Charles Ball and his brothers got into the food preservation jar business.

In 1903, Alexander Kerr invented the wide-mouth canning jar (the Ball company copied this design). The modern 2-piece canning lid was invented by Kerr in 1915.

Answer 3

They used to be made in Sand Springs Oklahoma