First up… Happy Fathers Day….

Second, nothing wrong with refrigerator pickles. I use Alton Brown’s recipe from the Food Network. Long-term unless you have another refrigerator, you might run out of room. If you are not hot bathing, I don’t see why you couldn’t use Peanut butter jars, as long as the hot brine is not too hot.

Good Luck…

P.S. After making pickles for awhile, I also started making relish.

@JimMarconnet sorry to hear things are going poorly. I started canning a few years back while I was unemployed simply to save the money. I was confused at first, and thought it was a lot of work when I could buys things for as little as $2.00 a jar, etc.

However, the more I canned the easier it became. Also I have learned with high vinegar items like pickles / sliced jalapenos / relishes it can be really simply and you can avoid the hot bath all together.

Long story short After Hot Bathing for over a year, I meet someone in their 70’s and she told me a few tips. She stated, back in the day all they did was put the jars in a 200f degree oven for 10 minutes to sterilize, fill the jars, and then pour the hot brine on top. Next fit the jars with warm tops, hand tighten the lids and leave alone for a few hours and the jars would seal on their own. Sure enough, I tried my next batch this way and it worked great. I don’t hot bath items with high vinegar content anymore.

My only investment was two dozen pint jars a few years back and now a new set of lids every season for less than $3. In exchange, I get more jalapenos, pickles, and relishes then I know what to do with.

If you like pickled Jalapenos, I am happy to share my recipe with you.

Just my two cents, but I don’t use any of the “old-school” canning methods. If I’m going to invest my time & money in canning I want to make sure that the food is safe and that I’ve done everything I can to prevent spoilage. There are a number of people (my family included) who used to just put hot jam/pickles into hot jars and leave on the counter to seal. Most survived, but people also used to get sick & die back in the day for no apparent reason: they don’t have descendants left to tell the tale. It’s also important to remember that they also probably had much cooler cellars to stash their jars in over the winter (compared to modern heated houses). Food in Jars has a number of good canning 101 articles including “Why You Shouldn’t Can Like Your Grandmother Did”.

If you can’t find the equipment to water bath can your high acid foods (you don’t need a pressure canner for pickles, jams, and tomatoes (with added citric acid or lemon juice)) then stick with refrigerator pickles & freezer jam: they are very tasty, but you may run out of fridge/freezer space. I myself only reuse # 2, 4, and 5 plastics, though I prefer to use glass for food storage. You can also start small, and probably use a stock pot you already own with canning rings as a rack, rather than purchasing a preserving kettle.