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setonmom Forum Pro
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Posted: Oct 23 2015 at 11:16am | IP Logged
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I recently started saving glass jars ( from peanut butter, tomato sauce etc) and using them for storing leftovers. I used to use Ziploc bags. I'm noticing advantages to the glass jars:
1. they look so much prettier in the refrigerator
2. easy to see what is stored, so less waste
3. food looks more appetizing in the jars than in bags, so the leftovers actually get eaten
4. uses more vertical space in the fridge, versus horizontal, fridge stays neater
5 they're free! I'm just reusing jars I would have put out for recycling
interested in others experience! thanks
setonmom
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SeaStar Forum Moderator
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Posted: Oct 23 2015 at 11:37am | IP Logged
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Great idea! Sometimes I feel like my kitchen is being overtaken with Zip Loc bags. I reuse them, and there are always at least a couple out drying.
I agree that glass is way hipper and makes more sense.
__________________ Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006 Location: Oregon
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Posted: Oct 23 2015 at 11:40am | IP Logged
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My problem is the storage in between uses.
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Erica Sanchez Forum All-Star
Joined: March 05 2005 Location: California
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Posted: Oct 24 2015 at 6:31pm | IP Logged
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That's my problem as well, Jodie, along with keeping matching lids but I keep saving them. There is something just satisfying about glass. My great aunt sent us home from the farm (in Michigan) with preserves in the sweetest jars. We treasure them. Jars are great for grabbing and using as vases for parties as well. I am partial to the mason jars, but any interesting shape or extra large ones are kept. I've also been freezing broth in them which mostly works very well. I've only had a few break.
__________________ Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: Oct 26 2015 at 9:00am | IP Logged
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At this point I just save Mason-type jars and recycle most of the rest. The lids are interchangeable, which helps -- I don't have to hunt through my lid drawer (yes, I have a lid drawer!) for the right one for a given jar, because a basic Mason lid will fit pretty much any Mason-type jar. That helps cut down on my jar clutter, though my cabinets still look like some relic of the Great Depression. My grandparents saved jars until the day they died . . .
We also use Mason jars as drinking glasses and keep them all in the "glass" cupboard, which goes a long way toward solving the storage problem. All other glassware breaks . . . the Mason jars keep going. So we drink out of them, but when I need to store something in the fridge, I grab one, grab a lid from the lid drawer (conveniently located right below the glass cabinet), and we're good.
I wish I were brave enough to freeze things in them, too, but I'm not.
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006 Location: Oregon
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Posted: Oct 26 2015 at 9:49am | IP Logged
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Some 16 oz peanut butter jars lids will fit regular mouth mason jars.. nice at times to have a single piece screw on lid for them without it costing extra.
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: Oct 26 2015 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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I have found that coconut-oil jar lids (Spectrum, but also the Aldi brand) fit Mason jars. The raw honey I buy also comes in a Mason-style jar with a one-piece lid. I have saved those like crazy. So most of my "Mason" lids at this point are actually one-piece, which is nice.
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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organiclilac Forum All-Star
Joined: March 30 2006 Location: Illinois
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Posted: Oct 26 2015 at 11:56am | IP Logged
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These are nice if you use mason jars frequently:
reCAP lids
__________________ Tracy, wife to Shawn, mama to Samuel (4/01) and Joseph (11/11), and Thomas (2/15)
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3ringcircus Forum Pro
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Posted: Oct 26 2015 at 11:54pm | IP Logged
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I have been using more glass jars recently. Not so much for leftovers, but for broth and random dry-goods storage. Our raw honey comes in Mason jars too (regular lid, though). That's been how my collection grows.
__________________ Christine
Mom to my circus of boys: G-1/06, D-1/04, S-4/10
Started HS in Fall'12
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: Oct 27 2015 at 11:09am | IP Logged
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What I really, really want for dry-good storage are some very large (as in at least a gallon) vacuum-seal glass jars, the kind with the hinged lids and rubber seals. We have small ones that we keep coffee in, but these are my dream storage for flour, beans, etc.
I do keep some dry goods in Mason jars, but find that they really aren't large enough to be useful for me.
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
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Posted: Oct 27 2015 at 11:55am | IP Logged
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You can get half gallon mason jars. I use gallon glass jars (like from pickles and such) as my canisters.. they don't have the hinged lids and seal but they're still nice.
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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3ringcircus Forum Pro
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Posted: Oct 27 2015 at 8:30pm | IP Logged
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I just got some canned peaches from Costco that are in glass jars. Was thinking about this thread. It almost made it worth the extra cost per ounce!
__________________ Christine
Mom to my circus of boys: G-1/06, D-1/04, S-4/10
Started HS in Fall'12
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: Oct 28 2015 at 7:39am | IP Logged
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I'm glad I'm not the only person who often buys things based on the kind of jar they come in.
:)
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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JodieLyn Forum Moderator
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Posted: Oct 28 2015 at 11:55am | IP Logged
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Sally some of my glass gallon jars.. I bought because it was cheaper to buy the food item in it than the jars alone.. goofy.
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
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Posted: Oct 30 2015 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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We got our gallon jars by asking at restaurants and deli counters that use lots of pickles and peppers and such. They often have a bunch of the jars they send to recycling but will save them for you or have a couple on hand if you ask.
I have to say that, while it isn't free like jars, I have really liked this plastic storage set. I love their shape, that they are stackable, and the varied sizes that all use the same sized lid except the largest ones. Very efficient and they work equally well for liquid or solid foods. Plus they are affordable and made in the USA.
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: Nov 16 2015 at 10:17am | IP Logged
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Are they sturdy?
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
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Posted: Nov 16 2015 at 10:36am | IP Logged
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I think so, yes. They are not completely rigid in that if you wanted to push the sides in together or forcefully bend the lid, you could, but I've never had an issue with not being able to get a lid on or the container somehow making me spill something.
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: Nov 16 2015 at 11:54am | IP Logged
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That's good to know. I've also had issues with cheaper plastic storage ware getting cracked in the freezer -- something got put in on top of it too forcefully or something, and the freezing made the plastic so rigid that it cracked instead of "giving."
So when I freeze things, which is pretty often, I tend to go with freezer bags just because they're more flexible and have more give.
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
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Posted: Nov 16 2015 at 12:29pm | IP Logged
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I think the fact that these are not rigid is why they are less prone to the cracking you describe. They are supposed to be specifically for freezing, though I used them for a variety of applications.
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SallyT Forum All-Star
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Posted: Nov 16 2015 at 1:14pm | IP Logged
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Good to know!
Sally
__________________ Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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