Glass containers for leftovers
Many have touched recently on health and ecological reasons to store leftovers in glass rather than plastic. Also to freeze liquids in glass.
There are lots of nice, and fairly expensive, products out there. And you can find nice jars in some thrift stores. But I had an aha moment today when I came on a display of canning jars and discovered they now sell sturdy, screw-on lids for the wide-mouth (wide-mouth equals straight-sided) jars. As most of you know the straight-sided jars come in sizes from 1/2 pint to 1 quart.
I got a dozen pint jars (with bands and canning lids as usual) and also eight plastic lids for about $12. If you like this idea, get moving because canning jars are in most stores only during the summer.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
6 Comments:
Ooop! I should read more carefully and post more slowly! The lids I am crowing about are sturdy plastic, like you would find on a mayo jar but stronger and wide-mouth size.
Blue Iris at 1:28PM on 06/30/08
people need to be careful about freezing liquids in glass containers... the bottle/container can crack or explode depending on the contents... as I believe liquid expands when frozen. The lesson - never leave a bottle of wine, beer or soda in the freezer for a long time... the cleanup afterwards is not nice.
MadelynRodriguez at 1:31PM on 06/30/08
I prefer glass to plastic and for years have been using it for storing and freezing. When freezing liquids, just remember to leave enough room for expansion (you don't want an explosion!). Also, I never buy glass containers, rather, I re-use them from the many products I do buy. Lots of proucts come in mason jars (i.e. Sara Beth preserves, salsa).
SavtaShayna at 1:33PM on 06/30/08
Madelyn: you are absolutely right. One has to leave plenty of "head room". When I freeze chicken stock the frozen broth rises up like a little volcano one would see in a Japanese print. It is quite amazing how high it can get! I usually leave an inch and a half of head room at least.
SvataShayna: yes, let's recycle all we can. I just seem to have run out of jars. Too many care packages sent home with my daugher and her family. And, I feel safer freezing in real canning jars because their blurbs say they are manufactured to be used for freezing.
Blue Iris at 2:13PM on 06/30/08
@SavtaShayna ....... I can't believe I haven't thought to recycle glass condiment/etc jars yet. d'oh!- how smart are you!?? Thanks for the tip; I (apparently) frequently miss very smart, very obvious ideas :P
joyyy at 2:37PM on 06/30/08
Another tip when freezing in glass jars - make sure they don't 'bump' into each other in the freezer - I had one crack that way. Other than that, yes, if you leave enough head room they are the best containers for freezing....you don't have to worry about the tops popping off like plastic containers sometimes do.
mepolo at 9:59AM on 07/03/08