Members of my family used to can in mayo jars (boiling water bath, not pressure) but began to notice in more recent years that the mayo jars had become noticeably thinner. That's when they stopped saving them for canning. Every canner, especially one who cans in high-volume, is going to lose a jar occasionally, but I still contend, whether it's commercial jars re-used or standard Ball/Kerr/Bernardin jars, if they are treated with respect, the loss rate is minimal. I do a lot of canning and I honestly don't remember the last time I lost a jar. Certainly I have lost jars, but in thirty years I'm guessing I've lost three through breakage. Ironically, I've never lost a commercial jar or a very old jar (i.e. Atlas Mason or others), only Ball or Kerr, but that may simply be a function of numbers. I'm very comfortable with these commercial jars and particularly for short-term processing would rather use these than toss them out. Definitely I feel it's a more appropriate use than throwing them into a landfill or even recycling. However, mayonnaise now comes in plastic and many companies, like Classico, are now preventing secondary usages by re-designing materials or the neck in such a way that it's impossible. Carol

Sorry but I agree with Linda Lou and with you when you say it is a petri dish for botulism. This is a very risky recipe made up of low-acid ingredients with no added acid and with oil included to help protect the bacteria it may well contain. As you have probably read, with very few exceptions (lab tested recipes) oils of any kind are not allowed in home canning. The oil insulates the bacteria and prevents the heat from killing them. This recipe may be safe to make in a single batch for refrigerator storage for short periods - a few days to a week. But it is not safe for shelf storage. Is it possible the person who gave you the recipe left out some of the ingredients - like lots of vinegar - by mistake? The ingredients you list are similar to some of the various pickled mixed vegetable recipes - like jardiniere - that are safe to make but all of them contain large amounts of vinegar. Dave

I think that using fresh fruit is not a good idea. The fruit contains water and this will go bad; along the same idea of putting fresh garlic in olive oil.

Since you've seen my spice drawer, that is a 24 inch frameless drawer. I have one for spices and one next to it for utensils. Having my spice drawer meant having a utensil crock on the counter for the other utensils. Anyway, that drawer holds about 110 jars and that the round ones. They allow me to get my fingers in between the tops. The narrower top on the Victorian jars should also. Mine are 2.25 inches wide while the Victorian are 2 inches. I don't know the width of your drawer, but you would get more of the Victorian in the same space as mine. That's a lot of spice jars. Have you figured out how many you can fit or how many you need? I know some folks balk at the idea of buying matching jars or having to set them all up, but the ease of use over the years has been well worth it. I also bought a Brother label maker with laminated tape for the tops. It was a good excuse for an upgrade -- and they seem to go on half price sale fairly often. The laminated tape keeps them cleaner than regular labels or paper tape. I've been using these for close to 8 years now and I'll never go back. I know that drawers are tough to give up, but when you think about how much cabinet or pantry space you free up, it's a lot easier. I would stay with a top drawer if at all possible -- the jars are right there at your fingertips when you need them. I was supposed to have a 4 drawer stack where I would up with a 3, so I looked at adding a roll-out tray inside the top of that middle drawer. I haven't done it, but that could be an option for you in terms of getting some of the organization you might like in the deeper drawers.