All the experts have pretty much agreed that it is safest to store your canning without the canning rings on.
The problem then arises of what to do with all your rings. Every time you buy another new box of jars you get more rings that come with them, and a certain point in time you start suspecting they are breeding during the night.
For most people a few dozen of each size, regular and wide, are all they need to keep because you are only processing so many jars at one time.
Plus you want to keep some spares in case of denting or rusting, and perhaps to put back onto jars that you may gift. And some family members taking home canned goods to lunch in their knapsack may not quite trust a jar of soup without a canning ring on for extra insurance, no matter what you say about how good the seals on your lids are.
In any event, at a certain point you may wish to consider giving the excess away to charity shops where another canner who needs them can pick them up.
Still, you will have several dozen to store. Ideas that people suggest include:
- Storing in large 2 gallon zip loc bags;
- Storing on coat hangers;
- Storing on mounted pedestals.
Whichever way you go, people suggest that it’s best to store regular mouth separately from wide mouth. That makes it easier to grab the correct ring when you need it, and, let’s you see at a glance how many you have.
Nothing makes a racket like canning rings falling all over the place.
Further reading
The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener. Video about “Canning Lids & Ring Storage Ideas.”
Wash your jars of canned goods before storage
What do you call your canning rings
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