Side by Side Comparison of: Back to Basics vs Columbian Home

We decided to can applesauce and this kit was crucial to our sucess

Again I highly recommend these additions to anyone's canning supplys

Very handy. I just wish the lid lifter had a stronger magnet.

If you are new to canning you really need to get this. It has the basic things that you need when strarting out. Now that I can more I have more gadgets, but these are still the most handy. You will accumulate things that you will use over the years as you can but these will still be exactly what you need. This arrived on time and was packaged neatly

Good set for home canning on a small basis. We haven't had to use it yet but come harvest time this year I know we will

....then you must have these items. These items are essential for all home-canners. Without them a canner can't even get started. Perfect gift for those who enjoy canning or for those just starting a household.

I purchased this as a gift for a family member who has recently started canning. He is extremely happy with it. He loves the rack, which makes taking jars out of the water bath easy. It is also very large so he can do bigger batches. It's heavy duty and quality made. I expect it will last many years with proper care.

This was my first time making real jam - actually sterilizing the jars and then processing them after. I was originally going to use a large pot to process the jars and tongs to remove them once they were don't. I'm so glad I decided to buy this canner instead! It even comes with canning instructions.The rack to lower and lift the jars worked perfectly. It was a tad to big for the amount of jam I was making but over all, this made my jamming process a lot easier. I've only used it once, but it seems made of a lightweight yet sturdy material.

This has proved to be a very useful purchase. We initially bought it just for water baths, but it's a great size for making large batches of stocks, soups and stews! It takes up quite a lot of room on our stove and overlaps the next burner, so that it's unusable. But that's hardly a complaint. In fact, we are thinking we may need a 2nd one very soon!

I like this because it is large enough to make my stock in, as well as using it for my canning. I've already made pickles. It was really great to get the insert to lift the jars in and out of the hot water. And my pickles turned out great. I haven't made them in a very long time. This is a great deal.

Brand new to canning but used this my first batches of 3 jams for Christmas gifts. Turned out great. Seems like it cost me a fortune to get bottles and the canning kit and then the fruit, etc. but now that I have all, I will be making a lot of jam. I made fresh peanut butter in my Vitamix so gave both in matching bottles with tags. Cute and very liked. Still getting calls about the banana jam. Great pot. Perfect and did not break my wallet.

After attempting to make jam without a waterbath canner, I ordered this item directly. It's just like the one my mom used when I was a kid, and I look forward to many years of happy canning. The quality is better than the others I've looked at lately in the stores, and the price on AZ was far less. Made in the USA is a great perk, and something I look for when purchasing, so I was glad to see my faith in American made products was met with a quality item.

Purchased this as a gift for a budding home canner (daughter-in-law). Perfect for a beginner, but not as well-made as my similar tools which are many years older. Will do the job, though. I included a couple of "how to" and "recipe" books, so she should be good to go.

Kit was very useful when I decided to take advantage of this season's strawberry crop and make some jam. Doubtless I'll use it for canning tomatoes and other fruits as the summer goes on.Only quibble was that the magnet in the can lifter rod fell out of the end, but I used some superglue and put it back in, and it stayed after that. I didn't actually need it to grab on to the lids anyway, as the tongs worked fine.

This kit provided two key items that you may not normally have in your kitchen, the funnel and the jar lifter. We ordered and used this kit this past weekend to can 6 quarts of fresh tomatoes. The tongs came in handy (but who doesnt already have kitchen tongs?) for pulling tomatoes out of boiling water. The funnel was great and made it very easy to put the tomatoes into the quart jars. I also used it to help pour the boiling water into the jars during one of the last steps before sealing the jars. If you look closely the funnel extends into the jar by about 1/2 inch which is also the perfect fill line to use during this step.The jar lifter was the next piece that was invaluable as we loaded the jars into the water and then again to remove them to cool. The rubber grips the jars and makes the moving around of the boiling hot glass jars much easier and safer.For a basic kit it was worth the small amount of money to help make canning easier.

Accessories I this Back to Basics canning kit are all extremely helpful during the process of canning. We used each piece while canning tomatoes, green beans and salsa. The funnel fit nicely with both small and large mouth jars to prevent spillage. The jar grippers work very well for transferring jars. The only thing that I see could be improved is strength of the magnet on the lid lifter. It didn't grip the lids as easily as I've seen others do.

I usually don't buy kits, as you're paying extra for things you don't always use. I found this not to be the case with this kit, as I do a lot of canning, and I do use all the tools. It is nice to have it all at once, rather than buying each piece separately.Even though it's plastic, it does stand up to the test, as I have been canning for many years, and found it to be just as good as any of the other pieces that you can buy separately.The only reason I did not give it five stars, is because I also bought a kit that came with a stirrer stick, that is great for removing bubbles in the jar, and this kit does not include that piece.

The Back to Basics 5-piece home canning kit is actually quite decent given the price, though it's clearly not a high quality kit. Everything is functional, which is ultimately all I'm really looking for whenever I buy anything for the kitchen. That being said, there are a few issues I've had that I think are worth mentioning.Magnetic lid lifter: This thing consists of just two pieces glued together: a short plastic handle and a magnet. The handle functions surprisingly well in terms of keeping your fingers sufficiently far enough away from the hot water to prevent scalding. The magnet, however, is painfully weak, and trying to fish a lid out of the water with it is a bit tedious.Jar lifter: It's just two bits of bent, heavy metal hinged so you can grasp and pick up hot jars filled with food goodness. In that regard, they work very well. That being said, the handles are made from low-quality black plastic, and aren't meant for heavy use. The functional, jar-grabbing ends are dipped in rubber to improve the grip around the neck of the jars. Unfortunately, said rubber apparently isn't meant for use in hot water, and started disintegrating upon the first use. They're not melting; they're cracking and flaking apart, leaving slivers of red rubber floating in the water bath. Of all the tools in this kit, the jar lifter is the only one that we've replaced.Canning funnel: It works well, and I have no complaints.Kitchen tongs: What can I say? They're tongs. They function well for tasks that require tongs. Unfortunately, my wife and I have yet to actually need tongs for anything canning-related, and we already have better quality tongs for tong-tasks. So these are just taking up space in a drawer.Jar wrench: I suppose it works well. I wouldn't really know, though, since we've never needed them. Jar lid rings don't require excessive torque to go on, and we're not going to pull out a special tool just to get them off again, either. So the jar wrench is keeping the tongs company in the drawer.

Very big and will not fit on one burner on my electric stove. Also, left a brown mark on white top after boiling so hot for so long. But it has a great price and got the job done.

I would give 5 stars except for the fact that the rack has some rust in the edges after one use. I'm sure after a while, I'll have to replace it. Don't want rust all over my jar lids. Otherwise, this is great! The pot keeps even heat and boils nicely. For the good price, I highly recommend!

Does the trick for canning quart, pint and half-pint jars. The rack it comes with is pretty flimsy and started to rust almost immediately but I only use it to keep the jars off the bottom of the pot so it's not really a problem. It's also useful for those rare times I'm cooking a dozen ears of corn, or steaming lobsters. I'd buy it again.

This is a great addition to my kitchen. I love to cook and bake. This is the same canner my grandmother and aunts use, and it's clear why: it's extremely good at that job. Upon receiving it, I immediately rinsed it out and got started canning the applesauce I had just made. The pot is sturdy and well-made (although only single-layer metal), and the rack is stable and sturdy as well. It's huge and holds a lot of water. I only put six 8 oz. cans in it, but it could've easily held nine or ten. Overall, the canner worked exactly as intended.Pros: cheap, does its job, large, sturdy.Cons: takes a long time to heat water (because it's so big), probably wouldn't be good for much other than canning/boiling water (since it's single-layer metal and not as good at distributing heat).

I'm very new to canning so don't have much to compare to but this seemed like a reasonably good set. I've used it a couple times and seems to work well. Takes a very long time to heat up the water to a boil but it is a very large capacity! It would be nice if the rack had more structure to it to hold the jars in place (they can fall over fairly easily while you're trying to move them) but that might prohibit jars of different sizes.Overall, good quality and functional set.

Nice size. lightweight -- just what I expected. I had a similar-sized steamer canner for the past 10+ years that I have been limping along with. I didn't relish the idea of waiting for water to boil (instead of using steam) but it wasn't a big deal at all. Plus, it just seems a lot safer. I did return my first one because the enamel was chipped on the bottom. The replacement has some imperfections in the coating, but I think it will be fine (at least I hope so)

This is a good set of starter-tools for canners. The funnel handle broke first but is still usable. The magnet detached from the lid-lifter second and the rubberized coating on the jar-lifter split, thirdly. I never use the tongs or the jar-sealer as they're impractical for use during preparing the jars for canning. I've used the tongs for other things but they're not efficient for grabbing and turning foodstuffs during cooking. The ergonomics are lacking. Overall, useable. Would I buy them again? No.

Not a bad set for someone like me who doesn't do a whole lot of canning, but you can tell it is very cheaply made. The jar lifter handles have popped off the frame several times, the magnet doesn't hold very well, the hinge on the tongs is rather loose, and the jar wrench bent to a point that it couldn't get a grip on the jar lids anymore. None of these issues are a big deal to me given how often I use it; the handles pop back in easy enough, the magnet will usually grab by the third attempt, I have other tongs already, and the jar wrench can be bent back into shape easily enough.If you do a lot of canning, I'd recommend looking for something better, but for light use, these serve their purpose well enough.

Everything in this kit does what it is supposed to do except the lid-lifter. Not a huge deal since I can use the tongs for the same purpose if necessary. I just don't enjoy purchasing a useless item. The magnet just isn't strong enough.

The package arrived intact with no obvious defect. For the most part, the tools in the kit are decent, but the funnel is definitely not usable. The plastic on the funnel has dime sized bubbles in it. One of the bubbles caused the outer layer of plastic to break off. It's flimsy and not to be trusted to be usable. I'd send it back, but for the price and the amount of items that came with it, separately they'd cost me more. I have never canned before and intend to start this Spring, so I want to make sure I have what I need. I will be shopping for a stainless steel funnel for sure.

Okay, when I started canning, I looked everywhere and compared prices all over the place. My primary mode of transportation is typically my feet, so Amazon was a natural choice. I looked at all the kits and settled on the cheapest one (typical me). In this case, as with most, you get what you pay for and the kit is cheap and cheaply made. The jar lifter's rubber is starting to peel off and the the funnel (which is the only other tool I use) is very flimsy and has a tendency to just slide right out of the jar. no worries , though. they do the trick and that is all I need.... if I had it to do over again, I would probably just buy the funnel and jar lifter separately.

Everything in the kit works fine EXCEPT the jar lifter. The very first batch of jam that I took out of the hot water bath canner had red crumbly 'stuff' sticking to the glass on the side of the jar. On closer inspection I realized it was a waxy substance which happened to be coming from the now split and crumbling coating on the jar end of the jar lifter. Thank goodness I have an old one with good, thick rubber on it and could use that. I threw the one that came with this kit into the garage drawer to possibly be re-purposed for something else.

I used the water bath canner and once i was done, I washed/put away. I used it again a few days later and noticed rust on the rack edges and on the pot itself. I have soft water that is also filtered so I am very disappointed that its rusting and makes me question the material. Other than that, it does the job.

I guess I shouldn't have expected too much at this price point. The canning rack rusted the very first time I used it. The pot seems fine though.

Good starter kit but took forever to boil on my electric stover. I assume the units that cost more have a sturdier bottom that conducts heat better. If you just can a few things a year this will work just fine.

Can't use this on my glass cook top so I have to use the burner on my grill outside to can...great pot though, big and heats quickly...

No where in the description of this item did it say it could not be used on glasstop stoves. So I can't use it.However, the quality seems to be decent for being a cheap canner, and the rack inside seems pretty durable, not thin cheap metal where it bends. Seems decently thick and sturdy. Wish I could have used it! I ended up having to buy a Presto aluminum pressure canning pot!

Good product, but there was a flaw in the porcelain coating on the inside. This will affect the life of the product. I, personally, don't feel it's worth the time and trouble of returning the item. But, when it gives out, I'll replace it with something different.

The kit did not come complete. It was missing the magnetic lid piece. I am in the process of exchanging/requesting the missing piece but I will update this comment further depending on the outcome. So far I give this product a terrible rating just because I don't know how you miss putting a part into the kit. It's a pretty simple job and there aren't that many parts.

The magnet came off within the first 60 seconds of using it. Otherwise the jar tongs worked well.

I bought this kit to start canning. I went apple picking and wanted to make some canned apple sauce. As a first time canner, the only tools worth using in this kit were the tongs and the magnets. That is it. I feel like the kit comes with other tools that I will never use and just keep in my junk drawer. Not worth the money!

I would recommend looking into purchasing a different set of canning tools. The plastic cover on the jar lifter melted on the first use. Very disappointing. I only used it to lift about 20 hot canning jars.The funnel is for narrow mouth jars. Not reaay a problem, but it wasn't listed in the description.The tongs seem ok. I haven't gotten to use the rest of the tools.In summary: look for a higher quality jar lifter.

The only items in this kit that work well are the funnel and the jar lifter. The magnetized lid lifter is worthless. The magnet is not strong enough to pull a lid out of water. I found a telescoping magnet stick at a hardware store that works much better. I don't care for the tong design. And the jar wrench... who uses a jar wrench? The rings should not be that tight.

I bought this set in December 2010 and have used it less than 10 times. The coating on the jar lifter is already splitting and flaking off. All I have used it for is to lift jars in and out of my canner-just normal canning use, no prolonged submersion in boiling water.Review edited 1/6/12:I contacted the manufacturer about this and they replaced it free. I haven't had much chance to use it since then but the customer service was great.

Product came damaged and with metal slivers and dust inside.

Don't get this if you have a flat cook top. The bottom is ridged. I had to return it as you can risk cracking the top of your stove.

Very thin, not your mothers pot... porcelain chips when pot is easily dented.

I returned this because once it arrived I saw that it was ONLY to be used for hot water bath canning. I wanted it for a stock pot - wasn't going to work for that purpose.

There was a dent in the pot and a couple sharp places where the surface was not smooth on the edge of the lid and pot. If I am not careful when washing/handling it I could cut myself on it. Also the package was bent when delivered, as have been all packages I have gotten from Amazon.

The granite ware pot that I purchased is great. The rack is very questionable. After one batch of canning the coating on the rack is all bubbled up and peeling off, Not sure if it is safe to use again, not sure what chemical is spayed on it. I tried to email seller but it is the only item I have purchased from amazon that there is no options to leave feedback for seller. Not sure how to return one piece of a product. The pot is a great size.

Por excuse all cheap missing parts and magnet in the lid lifter fell out from being so poorly made

I should have read the reviews before purchasing this set. Not impressed at all with the flimsy plastic of the funnel, and the magnetic lid lifter is missing the magnet, making the utensil useless.

Funnel is great! It would be hard to mess that one up!Lid tightener- never used it. You are only supposed to go fingertip tight. Totally useless.Lid lifter- magnet fell out. Bought a new one at Wally World. Way better construction.TTongs- I have a better set in my drawer already. Unimpressed.Jar lifter- This thing is worthless. The handle grips slip off of the wire handle, thus causing you to drop a GLASS jar full of SCALDING water. Terrible design. Progressive makes a MUCH better jar lifter. Don't waste your money on this kit!!!

I purchased this set for mainly canning peppers and salsa. The jar lifter came apart during my first batch of peppers nearly causing me to drop a jar of hot liquid and peppers on the floor. The magnet in the lid lifter came out during use as well resulting in the magnet dropping in the hot water sterilizing the lids. I eventually used the tongs to remove the lids. I'm going to be purchasing the ball jar lifter, seems to be constructed better.

On the positive side the funnel is great just not 12 dollar great. This stuff is made like cheap junk you would buy at the dollar store don't plan on it lasting I would not recommend it.The magnet lid pick up tool is not strong enough to pick up the lids and god forbid you use it in hot water,the glue for the magnet fails and will fall out, You can get the same cheap kit at Wally World for 8 bucks under a different name and blue in color, but at least if it breaks you can take it back and get a new one.

The magnet in the magnet wand is not strong enough to pick up lids out of the boiling water, nor is the glue strong enough to stand the heat as the magnet fell out of the wand into the boiling water almost immediately. The pair of tongs came out of the box crooked, not lining up, than promptly broke a part upon use.Worth it to spend a few more bucks, trust me.

Could not use on glass top stove,had to return.

I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, given the price, but the quality of this product just isn't there. My pot came very well-packaged in a cardboard box with inserts, but the bottom of the pan was caved in about 1/2" deep at the worst spot, and what's worse, the nature of the damage means that the pot sits cockeyed on a medium-sized burner. I'm not surprised about this at all though, because the steel is so thin they needed to corrugate the bottom to put some stiffness into it. I'd guess that the steel is probably around a 26-28 ga (almost like thick paper), not including the enamel.Oh, and the lid doesn't sit flat on the pot. I guess I could use this on a campfire as a steam generator? I wish it would be worth my while to return this crappy thing.

This had a dent in the bottom and the enamel was coming apart on the inside. I had to send it back.

I have only used this canner a few times, and have been careful to empty/clean it gently when finished, but it already has a small rusty spot that appears to extend through the whole bottom of the pot. I fear it will leak before too long, and would have expected much better quality.

Loved this canner at first. I bought it because it was slightly taller than my older one so it didn't boil over when I was processing quart jars. I can quite a bit but I expected the life of the pot to be longer than 2 years. Just this evening I filled it up and there was a small hole in the bottom edge...it leaks and is totally worthless. I have seen this happen in much older pots but not one that was this new. BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. Also, had to purchase a stainless steel rack after a month as the one included had rusted.

Avoid low price such as this. The rack inside the pot corroded within the first week. I now use clean towels in the bottom of pot to keep jars from breaking. The heavy duty bright green carrier by Ball Canning is good but doesn't fit but 5 small jars at a time.