• Two packages of Ball Mason Jars on a white background
  • Two jars of canned tomatoes on a wooden table with fresh tomatoes and kitchen items in the background.
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Ball Wide Mouth Half-Gallon 64-Ounce Glass Mason Jars (Set of 12)

Ball Wide Mouth Half-Gallon 64-Ounce Glass Mason Jars (Set of 12)

The Big Mason Jar for Bulk Storage and Brewing

When a pint will not cut it, this is the jar.

The Ball wide mouth half-gallon holds a full 64 ounces, and it is the workhorse for the bigger jobs: brewing kombucha and sun tea, fermenting, holding a sourdough starter with room to rise, and storing bulk dry goods like flour, rice, beans, pasta, and granola. Made in the USA from BPA-free glass, it keeps your food on inert glass rather than plastic, and the tall wide-mouth shape makes it easy to fill, scoop from, and clean. Lined up on a pantry shelf, these big jars turn bulk staples into something you can actually see and reach.

Like the rest of the Ball line, the closure is the classic two-piece metal system, a flat lid that seals against the rim with a screw band, so the lid is metal rather than a plastic snap-top, and your food sits against glass.

True Shift Score: 8.4 / 10

This is our own assessment, not a lab result or a certification.

It scores high as a big, trusted, made-in-USA, BPA-free glass jar that gets bulk dry goods and ferments off plastic and onto glass, with a metal lid rather than a plastic one. It sits just below the all-glass and glass-lid jars on our material-purity scale for honest reasons: the flat lid seals with a thin BPA-free compound that wears and can rust, and the half-gallon size is meant for storage, fermenting, and juice preserving rather than general canning. For large-batch plastic-light storage and brewing, it is an excellent choice.

The Honest Tradeoffs

Two honest points worth knowing.

1. First, the lid: the flat metal lid seals with a thin BPA-free sealing compound at its edge, which wears with repeated tight sealing and is considered single-use for canning, though it is fully reusable for dry and fridge storage, and the metal lids and bands can rust over time. 

2. Second, and specific to this size: half-gallon jars are not recommended for pressure or water-bath canning of most foods, because heat cannot safely penetrate such a large jar, Ball rates them for fresh juice preserving, fermenting, and storage rather than general canning. 

So treat these as big storage and brewing jars rather than canning jars. As large glass, they are also heavy when full and breakable, so they want a stable spot.

How We Evaluate Food Storage

We look at four things, and none is a lab score:

1. Whether the food-contact surface is inert and won't leach

2. Stain, or hold odors, what the lid is actually made of, since that is where plastic hides in most "glass" storage

3. How well it seals and holds up across the fridge, freezer, microwave, and dishwasher, 

4. And how durable it is over years of use. 

The real shift in food storage is getting your food off plastic and onto glass.

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When Something Else Is the Better Fit

  • For canning and everyday smaller batches, the Ball wide mouth pint jars are the canning-rated size.
  • If you want a seal with no coating or liner at all, a glass-lid clamp jar like the Le Parfait or the all-glass Heritage Hill jar avoids it.
  • These Ball half-gallons are the pick when you want big, trusted, made-in-USA jars for bulk storage and brewing.

Browse more in the Microplastic-Free Food Storage collection.

Related Reading and Collections

For keeping fruits and vegetables fresh without plastic, see our produce storage guide, and for the wider picture on PFAS and microplastics across the kitchen, read our non-toxic kitchen guide. To weigh other options, browse the Microplastic-Free Food Storage collection, or step back to the Microplastic-Free Kitchen hub for cookware, cutting boards, and cooking tools. If you would like to work through your whole home step by step, our DIY Healthy Home Guidebooks are a practical place to start.

Common Questions About the Ball Half-Gallon Mason Jars

Can you can in Ball half-gallon mason jars?

Not for most foods. Half-gallon jars are too large for heat to penetrate safely in water-bath or pressure canning, so Ball rates them for fresh juice preserving, fermenting, and storage rather than general home canning. For canning, the pint and quart sizes are the right choice.

Are Ball half-gallon mason jars BPA-free?

Yes. The glass and lids are BPA-free, and your food sits against inert glass while the lid is metal rather than plastic. The flat lid seals with a thin BPA-free compound at its edge against the glass rim.

What are Ball half-gallon jars best for?

The 64-ounce size shines for brewing kombucha and sun tea, fermenting, sourdough starters, and storing bulk dry goods like flour, rice, beans, and pasta. The wide mouth makes filling, scooping, and cleaning easy.

About This Product

This set is fulfilled through Amazon, which handles pricing, availability, and shipping. The True Shift earns a commission on qualifying purchases, and that is what keeps this work independent and reader-supported rather than funded by the brands being reviewed.

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I am Vipul, and I spent years auditing the materials and chemicals that come into our homes. I built this space to provide honest, expert-backed reviews of the products you use every day, with the reasoning shown rather than hidden behind a score. The work stays independent because it is supported directly by readers rather than by the brands being reviewed.If you want to support that work, you get access to ongoing research, deep-dive chemical notes, non-toxic living tips, and new product reviews as they are finished. Find us on Substack and Patreon:

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