Glass Mason Jars – Not Just For Canning Veggies

Glass Mason Jars Are An Integral Part Of Our Home.

Glass Mason jars, also called a Ball jars, are sealable, molded glass jars invented almost 160 years ago for home canning, preserving food and other important jobs…such as seed preservation and storage.

Volume varieties of Mason jars include cup, pint, quart, and half-gallon.  These jars are sized with regular mouth or wide mouth.  My preference is wide mouth jars since this allows the jars to be filled painlessly with less chance of spilling.

The lid comes in two parts.  It has a flat, round metal disc with a rubber ring on the underside to create a vacuum seal against the glass jar top rim…and, a metal band with screw-on threads.  As air leaves the jar, either through heating and cooling or use of an oxygen absorber, the rubber ring hugs the top of the jar, preventing the air from re-entering the jar.

The Mason Jar Is:

• Heat resistant – because they are designed to can your food so they will spend a lot of time in boiling water.
• Cold resistant – but be careful to only fill them about half full. Freezing will greatly expand the contents and you will break the jar if the contents have no space left while expanding!
• Dishwasher safe – for both the jars and the lids. Be careful where you put the lids because, they may fall to the bottom due to their small size.  It happens to me all the time.
• Microwaveable – but, remember to remove the metal lids first…putting metal in a microwave will cause sparks to fly around like the 4th of July!  My advice is to lay a paper towel over the jar opening to minimize splattering…something I overlook occasionally…until I get a disapproving glance from the kitchen police!

NOTE:  Even though the Mason jar is much more durable than other types of glass containers, an extremely rapid change in temperature can still break it.

The Mason Jar Has a Wide-Ranging Uses!

These jars are indispensable for a lot of canning tasks besides food preservation.  At my house they are also used for: storing sewing supplies, craft ideas, making candles, household organizers, keeping matches dry, and flower vases.

Filled full of dirt, they make a great kitchen herb garden.  I even drilled some small holes into a Mason jar lid to make a powdered sugar shaker!

The Mason Jar in My Tool and Garden Shed!

I use them not only for storing seeds but also for organizing my nuts, bolts, washers, and miscellaneous small parts.  It is easy to nail the lids to the underside of a wood shelf and screw jars filled with parts into the lids where I can quickly find anything I need!  Believe it or not, they are a smart answer as a container for leftover paint, too.

Lastly, these jars make great glasses for drinking lemonade on a hot summer afternoon…sitting in the shade…watching my garden grow.  These jars are so solid that if I drop them, chances are they will not break as easily as normal drink glasses would…unless I drop them directly on a rock-hard surface.

Tell me more about purchasing Mason jars!

I view the Mason jar as the pièce de résistance of organizing, storage, and food preservation.

Everyone should keep a few cases of Mason jars on hand, considering all the amazing uses for this fundamental container!

How do you use your mason jars?  If you don’t use them…why not…since there are so many possibilities?  Talk to me through comments or email: jim@perfect-vegetable-garden.com.

Jim, the Life Long Gardener