Bernardin Jars

Bernardin is the largest supplier for canning jars for the Canadian home canning market.

The jars are made in the States under the Newell company umbrella, and shipped up to Canada.

Bernardin jars are sold in boxes of 12. The boxes are cardboard trays, with the jars sealed into the tray by a covering of tough plastic.

The jars are denominated in metric sizes which Bernardin usually expresses in ml, but which can equally be thought of in more user-friendly, less-clinical terms such as ½ litres, ¼ litres, etc.

In Canada, you can buy Bernardin jars at stores such as Canadian Tire and Home Hardware, often year-round, depending on the store location.

Note that there’s also specialty green vintage and purple vintage Bernardin jars.

Bernardin’s core, work-horse jars also have slightly squared-off sides, which reduces wasted storage space on pantry shelves.

These jars also both have three plain sides on them, which makes labelling the jars just that much easier.

Bernardin’s decorative line of jars

• Jars in this line have decorations on all sides;
• There is an oval blank spot for jar labels to be affixed to;
• Come with initial set of 12 decorative lids and 12 labels for first round of usage;
• Cost about 50% more than other jars in the Bernardin line of corresponding size.

Bernardin’s “workhorse” jars

• These two jars, in 1 litre and ½ litre sizes, are Bernardin’s workhorse jars;
• They can very quickly accommodate piles of food on the counter waiting to be canned;
• They are the least expensive in Bernardin’s line-up, and comparing price to capacity, are the best value in Bernardin’s line;
• Come with initial set of 12 regular lids for first round of usage;
• They are the everyday jars that will do all the heavy lifting in a canner’s larder;
• They are sold in red boxes.

Bernardin Regular Mouth Jars

• Bernardin’s regular-mouth jars take a 70 mm (2 3⁄4 in) lid;
• They come in descending sizes of: 1 litre, ½ litre, ¼ litre and 125 ml. [1 quart, 1 pint, ½ pint and ½ cup]

• Bernardin’s regular-mouth jars take a 86 mm (3 3⁄8 in) lid;
• They come in descending sizes of: 2 US quarts (1.9 litre), 1 litre, ½ litre, and ¼ litre. [2 quarts, 1 quart, 1 pint, and ½ pint]

Bernardin 2 US quart jar (wide mouth)

• Wide mouth;
• For canning purposes, it’s only for apple or grape juice. Aside from those two items, there are no safe canning processing times for anything else in this size of jar ^[1]Penn State University Extension. Canning With Half Gallon Jars. Accessed September 2016. ;
• Come with set of 12 lids;
• Great for shelf storage of dried goods such as beans, rice, flours, etc or refrigerated storage;
• Though this size is advertised in metric as being 1.9 litres, it is actually a US size jar of 2 US quarts; it wasn’t converted to metric likely because it’s not supported anymore by the USDA for actual canning other than those two juices mentioned above and so the market wouldn’t be overly broad for it.

 Bernardin 1 litre jars (regular mouth)

• Regular mouth;
• Comes with initial set of 12 regular lids for first round of usage;
• This is the real heavy lifter in Bernardin’s line-up; these jars can eat up a load of food to be canned like nobody’s business;
• The most economical Bernardin jar to use for canning in terms of its cost compared to how much it can hold;
• It has squarish sides, for more efficient storage on shelves to reduce waste space between jars;
• You can fit 7 of these jars in a 16 quart or 23 quart Presto pressure canner;
• You need an extremely tall pot, such as the 23 quart Presto pressure canner, to water bath food product in these jars;
• The size is also its downside: many people prefer a small size for convenience, and many preserves just don’t come with recommended processing times for jars this big;
• Great for things like soups, etc that will be poured out of the jar;
• Perhaps best for pressure canning plain veg, soups or meats, and for large batches of pickled things like onions, beets, or pickles, where tested pickling recipes supply processing times for this size.

Bernardin 1 litre jars (wide mouth)

• Wide mouth;
• Comes with initial set of 12 decorative lids and 12 labels for first round of usage;
• Great for things like beets, potatoes;
• You can fit 7 of these jars in a 16 quart or 23 quart Presto pressure canner;
• You need an extremely tall pot, such as the 23 quart Presto pressure canner, to water bath food product in these jars;
• More expensive because it falls within Bernardin’s decorative line.

Bernardin ¾ litre jars (wide mouth)

See separate page on Bernardin ¾ litre wide-mouth jars.

Bernardin ½ litre jars (regular mouth)

• Regular mouth;
• Comes with initial set of 12 regular lids for first round of usage;
• Bernardin says this jar is the top selling home canning jar in Canada;
• You can fit 9 of these jars in a 16 quart or 23 quart Presto pressure canner;
• You can water bath them in either Presto model;
• If you stack them, with a rack in between, you can fit 18 in the 23 quart Presto pressure canner for pressure canning (stacking is not recommended for water bath);
• Quite economical;
• Particularly great for things like soups, etc that will be poured out of the jar.

½ litre jars (wide mouth)

• Wide mouth;
• Comes with initial set of 12 decorative lids and 12 labels for first round of usage;
• Great for things like dill pickles, beets, etc, easy to pack into the jar;
• More expensive because it falls within Bernardin’s decorative line.

¼ litre (250 ml / 1 cup) wide-mouth jars (aka “salmon” jars)

• Wide mouth;
• Comes with initial set of 12 wide-mouth lids, 12 wide-mouth canning rings and 12 labels for first round of usage;
• Very solid and stable “½ pint” jars;
• Unique shape makes it very appealing for gifts.

¼ litre (250 ml / 1 cup) regular-mouth jars

• Regular mouth;
• Comes with initial set of 12 decorative lids and 12 labels for first round of usage;
• Very popular for jams and condiments;
• More expensive because it falls within Bernardin’s decorative line.

In 2018, Bernardin introduced a smooth-sided version of these, with a new logo on it.

Previously, there was no logo on the jar, and the sides were decorated with relief fruit designs.

Bernardin jam jars

• Regular mouth;
• Holds 250 ml / 1 cup;
• Comes 4 in a pack;
• Very popular for jams;
• Makes a nice jam pot for both storage and serving at the table;
• More expensive because it falls within Bernardin’s decorative line;
• These are actually Ball jars packaged in a Bernardin box. Thus the jars hold the irregular 236 ml size (translated from 8 US oz) rather than a rounded 250 ml metric size.

125 ml (½ cup) jelly jars

• Regular mouth;
• Comes with initial set of 12 decorative lids and 12 labels for first round of usage;
• Hold small quantities of specialties such as jellies, hot sauces, etc;
• Makes great sampler sizes to see if someone likes something first before giving them larger sizes.