The Humble Mason Jar

Years ago glass jars were precious. Companies packaged their products in glass jars that could be saved and reused for canning. The threads of the jars were made to accommodate standard size canning jar lids and rings. Many women purchased products because the jars could be reused. I have a few of these old jars that my grandmothers saved, like the old French's Mustard jar pictured below. Sadly this is no longer the case with plastic being the predominate container for goods.

Several years ago, when I learned about BPA and other chemicals leaching from plastic containers, I rid my kitchen of all things plastic and purchased a few glass storage containers. Then it dawned on me that I could simply use all of the mason jars that I had in the basement. Mason jars are very inexpensive, generally you can find them for less than $1 each, depending on the size. Half gallon jars are usually around $1.50 each. They are also very common at garage sales or auctions and often can be purchase for pennies each. Ask around, you may even be able to find friends and family that will give you some for free. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a home where my mother and both of my grandmothers canned. As a result I have a nice collection of canning jars that have been passed down to me. I have also added to my collection by buying new ones in a wide variety of sizes. Every time I pull out one of my grandmother's jars I wonder how many different things that jar has been used for over the years.

If you didn't grow up in a home that preserved food by canning, you may not know how versatile mason jars can be. They come in a wide range of sizes and shapes, but there are only two standard sized lids, regular and wide mouth. If you're using mason jars for things besides canning, I'd recommend sticking to wide mouth jars, then you only need to keep one size of lid around. They're also easier to clean and the wide neck makes them usable for freezing. Wide mouth jars also stack much better than the narrow ones. When it come to lids, you can purchase two piece canning lids that consist of a flat sealing lid and a threaded ring that holds it on, or you can purchase plastic or metal one piece lids. If you can, save your used flat lids in a separate box and you can reuse them in the freezer (not for canning again though). Of course, your jars don't have to be mason jars, you can save any glass jar to reuse, but mason jars are handy because you'll never have to worry about losing the lid.

Mason jars really come in handy for all sorts of things and can replace a lot of other kitchen items. When you live in a small home, any item that can be used for more than one purpose is a wonderful thing. Wide mouth pint and quart jars are perfect for leftovers. I also use pint and half pint wide mouth jars for freezing soups, stock, fruit, vegetables, pesto and other items. If you look on the jar you'll see a freeze line. I won't go into the details of freezing in glass jars here, you can read this post at Chiot's Run with photos and a detailed description. We even get our milk from a local farm in half gallon mason jars, the jars are washed and returned to the farm each week.

Mason jars also make great dry goods storage. I buy many of my grains, beans, flour and sugar in bulk and store them in quart or half gallon mason jars. Smaller quantity items, like bulk spices and teas, are stored in smaller jars. I use a quart sized mason jar as my tea pot, a rubber band and a piece of cheesecloth over the top strain out the looseleaf tea. Half gallon jars make great pitchers for lemonade, iced tea and other drinks and they take up less space in the fridge. Half pint mason jars are perfect for transporting homemade yogurt, pudding, or snacks when you're on the road. You can use mason jars for baking as well; single serving cakes, brownies and custard bake up beautifully in wide mouth half pint mason jars. I've been to a few homes where mason jars are used instead of drinking glasses.

Of course mason jars aren't just for the kitchen. Use them in your bathroom for keeping toothbrushes, cotton balls and other things contained. In your craft room they can be used for buttons and other supplies. Keep a jar on your dresser and fill it with spare change. Screws, nails and other garage items can be organized in various jars as well. There really are no boundaries to where you can use mason jars. They're tough as nails and can take a beating. Whenever I'm taking food with me while traveling I always use mason jars! I have some jars that are probably twice as old as I am and they're still going strong. My grandmother's used them, my mom used them and now I'm using them.

Our grandmother's knew the value of a good glass jar and I'm happy that I've discovered this as well. I love knowing that I'm creating less waste by using containers that can be reused for decades. I also like that I can maximize the space in my kitchen because I no longer have to have pitchers, teapots, ramekins and storage containers. Add to all these reasons the very reasonable price of a mason jar and I wonder how they ever fell out of fashion.

Do you use mason jars in your home? Have you discovered any great uses for them not listed above?

• Articles
• Videos
• Photos
• Your Day with Susy
• In the Garden
• Seen In / Seen On
• Company News
• Press Releases
• Facebook
• Friends of Ethel

• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• All