For the Love of Canning Jars (+ Weck Jar Giveaway)

524 Comments
uses for canning jars

Canning jars are everywhere in my home. There are jars in the fridge and freezer, and populating the cupboards and shelves in my kitchen. Many are bursting with dried goods of all sorts and others are filled with assorted and sundry floating in acidic and syrupy liquids — an apothecary of deliciousness. There are other jars still; in my office, basement, and even in the garden. I use jars to hold my surplus of self-saved seed, and others to house crafting and home repair supplies. There are jars in the bathroom stuffed with handmade epsom salts, cotton balls, and Q-tips. Jars are used to transport road trip meals and others affixed with water-tight plastic lids make it possible for us to bring our own home brewed cappuccinos to go.

I have amassed a whole lot of them to be sure. I bought my first jars as a teenager. Back then you could get a vintage blue glass Ball jar for practically pennies. They cost a small fortune now, but there are still deals to be found. I find the occasional Le Parfait swing top jar at the local thrift shops, and last year, I bought an entire box of gorgeous, vintage wire gasket half-sized jars with star-shaped lids at a yard sale for just a few dollars. They now sit on a shelf underneath my kitchen island, where I can quickly reach for them when I need a little of my favourite dried herbs: various mints, lemon balm, and bee balm petals for tea; oregano, tarragon, sage, thyme, lavender, rose petals, rosemary, and marjoram. I store the herbs as whole as possible and crush them right before using. This preserves their flavour much longer.

The other day Margaret Roach of A Way to Garden had me on her radio program and we chatted at length about our mutual love of the perfect canning jar. Head on over to Margaret’s where you can listen to the show and discover even more uses for canning jars ala Margaret.

Below are just a few of my favourite uses. I’d love to hear some of yours in the comments (p.s Commenting enters you for a chance to win a gift certificate that you can put towards your choice of fabulous Weck Jars).

jar_pickledtomatoes
Currant tomatoes pickled with tarragon and lemon peel. I make this at the end of every season. If you like the combination of tarragon and lemon, try this simple herbed vinegar to sprinkle on salads and veg. Add a few sprigs fresh tarragon and strips of lemon peel to a clean jar filled with warm (not boiling) vinegar. Strain out the solids after about a week or so.

The Nearly Limitless Uses for Canning Jars

Weck Jar Giveaway

THERE ARE 2 WAYS TO WIN a $25 gift certificate from Kaufmann Mercantile to put towards the Weck canning jars of your choice — one on my website, and one on Margaret’s A Way to Garden. Be sure to comment in both places to double your chances.

All you have to do to enter is answer this question in the comments box below:

What do you use canning jars for, and are you preserving anything in them — frozen, dried, or “canned” — this harvest season?

No answer, or feeling shy? That’s fine; just say “Count me in” or something similar, and we will. Two winners — one on each of our websites — will be chosen at random after entries close at midnight on Tuesday, August 20, 2013. Remember to click over and repeat your comment on Margaret’s site, too. Good luck to all.

UPDATE: The contest is ended and winners have been chosen using a random number generator and contacted by email. On YouGrowGirl.com the winner is Sheryl.

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Disclosure: This giveaway was sponsored by YouGrowGirl.com and AWaytoGarden.com. We love Weck Jars and know you will too.

Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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524 thoughts on “For the Love of Canning Jars (+ Weck Jar Giveaway)”

  2. I love you picture of jam at the top, because that is my favorite thing to use canning jars for. Love homemade jam!

  3. We don’t preserve food yet, it’s too expensive to buy bulk and our farmer’s markets doesn’t sell “seconds.” So most of our jars are used to store dried goods like beans, rice, spices (with some used paper bags wrapped around the outside), and flour. Our pantry is so much easier to organize and sort through now. Smaller jars from jams are sometimes turned upside down to create a mini greenhouse.

  4. My herb garden is overflowing with more chives and parsley than I know what to do with. I’ll be freezing a bunch in jars this weekend now! Thanks for the great idea!

  5. We buy raw milk from a farm and it comes in large pickle size jars, so we slim off the cream and store it in a jar and then pour the milk into half gallon and quart size canning jars! My fridge is full of jars with all sorts of sauces, milks, yogurt and veggies! I only wish I had more access to cold storage for all of my ferments.

  8. I use the jars to make salads on the go for lunch at work (dressing on the bottom, lettuce on top… keeps it from getting soggy!). Also I have loads of pantry staples in canning jars, as well as old jars from various food items :)

  9. Funnnn!! This year I’m fermenting 1/2 gallon of homemade kimchi and am loving it! I got so carried away that I actually made a gallon of the stuff, but the first 1/2 gallon is long gone. Gayla, cannot wait to go back and read all your uses for these amazing jars. My dad was the canning king, putting up mega quarts of tomatoes of all kinds until his very last summer at 80 years old. Love him, love those memories. Love these Weck jars. Thanks.

  11. I moved down to Brasil to find out canning jars (and large freezers, for that matter) don’t exist! I’m coming back up to the USA and desperately want to get my hands on some Weck jars, this would be perfect!

  12. We were inundated with peaches this year. Our white peach tree (early bearer) was not so generous. But our yellow peach (which was actually much later to the party, than usual) “blessed” us with so many peaches, I was actually having nightmares about finding MORE on the tree (No Joke!).

    I will be experimenting with crock-pot peach puree as a base for a BBQ glaze. I suspect that I’ll be filling NUMEROUS canning jars later today!

    And, by the way, I don’t think you can EVER have too many canning jars! So, please, count me in!

    • And on the flip side I am hoping to acquire some peaches this week in order to can and freeze for the winter! Great to hear that your tree did so well.

  15. My son an I made icebox pickles for the first time this year! I only had on mason jar, so we used recycled jars we already had…thanks for the chance to win!

  16. As we speak (type?) I am canning pickled jalapenos and banana peppers in mine. This year I’ve also canned blueberry butter, tomato jam, peaches in light syrup and pickled sweet cherries. There’s something very calming to me about “putting up” some of summer’s bounty for the winter.

  18. Jam! Especially my ghost pepper strawberry jam. So good. My husband is a huge pickle fan, too, so we use them a lot for fridge pickles.

  19. I’m canning everything that sits still long enough! Pressure canning beans, meats to make room in the freezer, water bath canning blueberries, peaches, berries, etc. Storing dehydrated herbs and vegetable chips – like sea salt and cracked pepper zucchini chips. I keep everything in jars! – Including sand from each beach I visit in the old blue ones (made with Michigan beach sand – so very fitting).

  20. I use them to make refrigerator pickles, to store dried herbs from my garden, and to store bulk spices I buy from an Indian store. My husband also appropriated a few to make up shellac…obviously those are his now, haha.

  24. I use them for hold side dishes and salad dressing in my lunch. And for making pickles! Lots and lots of pickles!

  26. I mostly use canning jars to store dried mushrooms (the wild kind foraged from the woods). They must be completely dry and then I find it better to store the jars in the refrigerator–though freezer would work too.

  29. I used some canning jars as mini greenhouses, but I’ve never tried canning – I would love to try though!

  30. I use mine for making tinctures and infused oils for salves. This year’s wedding season has been great for collecting jars. With all the rustic themed barn weddings I’ve received 4 dozen jars for free this month.

  31. I tend to use them just for storing leftovers, but it’s a goal of mine to learn how to make and stores preserves and other long lasting foods.

  33. just about EvERYThING!
    need to try the squash blossom thing-
    why don’t the regular metal lid/rings work??

  34. Storing leftovers in the fridge, storing stock in the freezer and many other uses. This year I made brandied cherries in my caning jars. I bought the cherries from a farmer when I went to the Okanagan BC.

  35. I just finished up roasted fig preserves and have made grape, blueberry, strawberry and raspberry preserves as well. Next up will be prickly pear jelly. We also make fire hot pepper sauce and a tamer salsa. Jars are super for organizing cabinets and storing dry goods. I love open shelves full of summer’s harvest!

  37. I went a little bonkers with the canning last year, going through over 400 lbs of fruit in cases from BC orchards. I have way less enthusiasm this year (and still plenty in the freezer), so I’m sticking to a few batches of jam. It’s become a tradition for me to hand out jars of jam at Christmas, I think my family would be disappointed if I didn’t :)

  38. Ahhh, canning jars, how I love them! I have a productive rhubarb patch and make a beautiful rose colored juice and store it in quart canning jars in the freezer.
    The fennel fronds go into pesto with pistachios, stored in half pint jars in the freezer and is brought to the fridge as needed through the winter.
    With the abundant flat leaf parsley, I make gremolata (parsley, lemon zest, and garlic) and store it in half pint jars in the freezer and bring to the fridge as needed through the winter.
    The rosemary, thyme, and sage goes into herb salts and of course is stored in jars.

    Rhubarb jam goes in jars, and to make it a beautiful red color, add some red begonia flower petals to the pot. They are edible and give a gorgeous red tone to the jam. That tip is from Charlotte Jewell of Jewell Gardens in Skagway, Alaska.

  40. Where to start? Pasta, tomatoes (lots and lots of them) chili, pickles, peaches, pork and beans, preserved lemons. Seeds, bath salts, ground coffee, tea bags, drink pouches… I too found a Le Parfait jar at a thrift store. I was thrilled. When I was carrying it to the car, the often used grocery bag broke and the jar was shattered. Broke my heart…I would love some weck jars!

  41. Canning jars store my homemade massage lotion for my business! I have one that’s infused with lavender, one with cypress and one with sage.

  42. We’ve put up a lot of pickles this year – several kinds we hadn’t tried before. Peaches and blueberries will make great preserves next week. Would love to have those jars.

  43. I use them for the usual, pickles, jam, and dry pantry storage – but this year my mom made a whole bunch of “to-go cup” lids for her mason jars by drilling a small hole in the center of the metal lid and fitting it with a rubber ring to hold a straw. They are awesome!

  45. Oooh what an exciting giveaway! I’ve always wanted to try Weck canning jars. I love to make dill beans, carrots and fiddleheads. Although I use canning jars for storing all kinds of kitchen supplies and homemade body lotions etc.

  46. This summer I’ve made and canned raspberry sauce & jam, spiced blackberry jam, sweet garlic pickles and applesauce. Plan to make apple butter and some chutneys. Oh, how I NEED and WANT these jars!

  49. I have been using my jars to can (and quickly give away) home made chicken soup. In the past I have canned pear butter using the excess pears from our tree.

  53. I have been making pickles, pickles, pickles! Dill, fermented sour, and an accidental sour/sweet pickle combination that everyone seems to love! I also can peaches, apricots, nectarines, pears, and applesauce. I also really want to try making kimchi once my cabbage comes in.

  54. I use canning jars for canning apple sauce and apple butter.
    I plan to can spaghetti sauce this summer. I canned some whole tomatoes, but they didn’t work out (I don’t feel confident they sealed safely).
    I also hope to find some ripe peaches soon. Last year I noticed local families selling boxes out of their trucks in town!
    My daughter uses small canning jars for storing craft supplies and fancy paperclips.
    When we moved in the shed was full of canning jars filled with nuts and bolts!

  55. I make yogurt and store granola in the quart ones, store ground spices in the 4ozers, can my little fingers off and put up jams, fruit, tomatoes, salsas, chutneys, pickles, etc in the pint and half pint jars, make sauerkraut and kim chi and SANGRIA in the gallon and half gallon jugs.

  57. For once I have gorgeous tomatoes; so I’m canning them up in all sorts of ways from whole, to salsa, to pickled, to sauce.

  60. i use them instead of plastic containers to store all sorts of things:- dried herbs, freezer stuff, salad dressings, bathroom scrubs, and mixtures.

  63. I am my community’s ‘Queen of Jam’ & sell wonderful blends of canned fruit preserves. My neighbours will even return the empty jars for reuse!
    I am going to learn how to can salmon this month!!

  65. I am ashamed to admit I don’t know how to can !
    The few old-fashioned canning jars that fell into my possession are used for brewing iced tea. Occasionally I place some lovely garden flowers in them and the blue glass gives the bouquet a homespun aura.

  66. I feel like I’ve spent a small fortune on canning jars! My favorite is Weck because they look so beautiful with anything in them. I primarily use my canning jars for spice storage and canning, but you can also find them around my house used to store sugar scrubs for the bath, cat treats, buttons and bulk candy for my sweet tooth.

  67. Strawberry jam this spring and once the tomatoes ripen my sisters and I have plans to can pizza sauce! :)

  69. I have used up most of my canning jars already this season. They hold dried tomatoes, rice and other bulk food items, jam and pickles–pickled carrots, beets, cucumbers and beans. I could use a few more! Count me in!

  71. For flowers, for salts, for vinegars, for dry Q-tips, for preserving the harvest. For whatever fits in ’em!

  72. I have no jars, well, no jars that didn’t previously contain salsa, spaghetti, or alfredo sauce. What they contain now are lentils, beans, and rice. Reminds me of the decorative glass pieces my mom used to have in the kitchen when I was growing up.

  73. I use them for canning, storing, and transporting lunch. My canning season does not really get into gear until late summer/early fall (especially looking forward to quince since the season was a bust last year), but I recently infused fennel fronds and blooms in vodka to make my own finocchietto.

  78. I use them for traditional canning and for giving away food items as gifts. I made a huge batch of granola and have been giving it as a gift now to many people :)

  80. I was given lots of 1/2 gallon jars that i use for rice, brown sugar, icing sugar, oatmeal, dried fruits.. Smaller jars are used for spices and homemade dried herbs for teas. We used the smaller mason 4 oz jars to put up some strawberry jam this year..:)

  81. I store dry goods in glass jars. It works especially well for brown sugar, which tends to get hard in the bag.

  82. I’ve been doing 3-bean salad galore, and the pear tree looks full, so canned pears are in my future, about the same time as the quince jelly.

  84. I make jams and jellies mostly (rose hips is my favorite, and I love the idea of foraging:)); once in a while I’d make a tomato sauce like sopressata from the The River Cottage Preserves Handbook. I usually use Ball jars – it would be interesting to try Weck sometime.

  86. I mostly use jars to store dried herbs from the garden, but would like to get into canning if my budget would ever allow it. :D
    Please count me in.

  87. We use canning jars for everything! We can salsa, greenbeans, pickled beets and okra, and lots more. Then we use them for fermenting kombucha, kefir, saurkraut, buttermilk, & yogurt to name a few. Then there’s storage… in the bathroom for q-tips, cottonballs, toothbrushes, dog shampoo, mouthwash, etc… in the livingroom decoration they contain rock collections and shells, in the kitchen we use them for decoration and spices, dry beans and flours, grains, and dried herbs and fruits!
    Jars are great for everything and you can never have enough!!!

  88. As soon as all my tomatoes turn, I will be very busy canning them! I have a few of the blue jars you wrote about…they are so pretty!!!

  89. I use mine for sales and pickled vegetables. Will try drying herbs and the infused salts & sugars this year. My herb garden is doing well so I’ll have plenty to put up. I will try my hand at canning tomato sauce too. My kids love pasts and homemade pizza.
    I also use jars for buttons and fabric scraps. They also make handy containers for embroidery floss.

  90. I bought my first Weck jars earlier this year after reading all the good things you had to say. I love them! So far I’ve been storing dried herbs and seeds in them, as well as pesto.

  91. I made my first ever foray into canning last year with salsa – which was promptly devoured. Canning jars make almost indestructible beverage containers in our house, and provide me the excuse to knit up colourful sleeves to keep our hands cool when we take coffee to go. So far I’ve only used screw top mason jars; I’d love to try the Weck jars.

  93. I always leave a few empty and line them up on my kitchen windowsill to create sparkling art when the sun hits them.

  94. I like to use my jars for drinking iced tea and beer (not at the same time)! But I’m still learning how to can…

  96. jam, jelly, syrup, salsa, pickles, tomato sauce, ketchup, stone fruit, applesauce, stock, beans, dried goods, herbs, vinegars, stuff in the freezer, leftovers, to go teacup, soup, kombucha, ferments, buttons, embroidery thread, pens, marbles, there are very few things that a canning jar is not perfect for!

  97. Just recently I made refrigerator pickles with the lemon cucumbers from the garden. I also made a batch of ketchup – not from homegrown tomatoes, unfortunately, but it came out stunningly well just the same.

    I do small jars of dried herbs and portabellos (we have a patch just off our driveway) every year so we’ll be sure to have them for off-season.

    I make pancake mix and store it in a quart jar in the cupboard so it’s always ready to go.

    I also send jars of herbs and mushrooms and pancake mix and jam if I have any around to a couple of friends who are broke college students clear across the US from me so they can have some homemade/homegrown treats sometimes.

  98. Count me in. I use canning jars to store my sewing notions in … buttons, beads, small spools of thread, misc little bits and pieces. I also use them to make into lanterns … great with a tealight and some flat sided marbles to hang around the deck.

  99. Love canning jars, there are a few boxes in the basement of old skool Gem jars that belonged to my grandparents. I like all jars, especially pint and quart mason jars. These days mostly modern metal disk Bernardin type for preserving, i’ve also started using the Weck ones (they have the coolest asparagus type). Summer must haves: Jams/jellies – strawberry/rhubarb, raspberry, saskatoon, chokecherry and crabapple, some years, apricot and plum as well. Bread and butter pickles, Beet pickles and mandatory Zucchini relish. Also Kimchi that last couple of years. Still on the search for a good chutney recipe.

    Other uses:
    – Storage for dried botanicals for cooking, teas, soapmaking, dyeing, liquers, etc.
    – butterscotch pudding, or Milk Bar liquid cheesecake with graham crunch and garden sour cherry or rhubarb topping – other desserts, salads, beverages/cocktails too.
    – if one is handy, indoor insect relocations (to the outdoors).

    I covet the tallish jars with the ‘quilted’ diamond pattern.

    Cheers,
    jake

  100. I used my jelly jars as emergency wine glasses, when the set I bought last minute for a party had a broken one. And they loved it!
    I’m collecting beets from my CSA, and will pickle them and put them up like I did last year, from my mom’s ‘barely there’ recipe. There’s maybe 20 words on the recipe card, but when she said them out loud to me it DID make a full set of instructions, somehow!

  101. Besides using canning jars for jams and jellies, I use them for storing spices, nuts, pastas, and homemade nut butters. If it needs dry storage it usually ends up in a canning jar.

  103. I use them when I make yogurt, store dried herbs and dried beans, etc in the pantry. And my sister just stole a bunch of my jar stash to use as candle holders for her wedding. :)

  104. We make jams and use them for storage- buttons, ribbons, random nails and screws, pancake mixes, flours, etc. We also use them as our water bottles (and one for the dog). We also plan on canning some tomato sauce this year- I can’t wait! We found some old 1929 Crown jars in our garage last year. I’m not sure if I can use them for anything other than buttons (i.e. food items), but I’d like to find out. Those Weck jars sure are stunning though!

  108. I love using caning jars to make and store gifts for the upcoming holiday seasons. Pepper jelly, pickled dilly beans and even homemade khalua!

  109. Jams, apple/pear sauce, pickles, preserves or all kinds, tomato sauce – I pretty much anything can what I we don’t eat or freeze throughout the times of year we have an abundant garden.
    Other than that, I use jars wherever I can. For Mason jar meals, pre-prepared salads and lettuces, storing dried goods, I use them for cooking and baking (individual cheesecakes, pies or pots de creme for example), I made solar lamps for the garden out of them just the other week, soap dispensers, I use them to grow roots for things on my window sill, I make my yogurt in them, I keep my sour dough starter in one, I use them for sprouting … yep, I’m a little jar obsessed.

    I grew up with Weck jars (in Germany) and for the longest time, those were the only jars I knew for canning :)

  110. So far this year I made some classics: strawberry jam, apricot jam, blueberry jam, sour cherry jam, and sour cherry marmalade with red wine, blackberry jam, and still looking forward to go raspberry picking!
    I also have about 2.5 gallons of sour pickles in the fridge, some cucumber kim chi, and misc refrigerator pickles from cucumbers and snap peas. Oh, yeah, and 2 batches of tkemali – Georgian sauce/salsa with sour plums and fresh herbs.
    Still on the list are red and green salsas, onion jam, tomato sauce, ketchup (your recipe), pickled halapenos, some hot sauce, ajvar, fermented tomatoes and eggplants, and radish kim chi (I’m growing some Korean radishes this year).
    I was gifted 3 cases of Ball jars of various sizes this year as 2 of my friends moved out of state/country, I never had so MANY canning jars ever, so now the goal is to fill each and every one of them with some goodness for winter.
    I might need a second fridge for various fermented pickles :)

  111. I use them to make elderberry jelly, sweet pickles, and bread and butter pickles. I have used them to store dry beans and ribbons for my card making hobby. Thanks for offering this chance to win such beautiful jars.

  112. I love making preserves, relish, caramelized onions, chutney, and all the other delicacies that cost a fortune at specialty stores. Using my fresh produce and a few inexpensive ingredients I can make jars and jars of it to use and give for gifts. My favorite is a knock-off of Harry & David’s pepper onion relish. Delicious!

  113. I use the small jars to hold my collection of loose teas. I even put labels on them and it makes me smile every time I open the cupboard and see them lined up like little soldiers.
    I will be making some Cherry Dills in my larger canning jars this year.
    Thanks for the chance to win.

  114. I have five large canning jars that I use for grains and beans that look very decorative on the kitchen counter. For actual preserved food uses, I use plastic ones for freezer jam. I really want to find some small glass l canning jars to try a slow cooker recipe for dulce de leche.

  115. I use my canning jars for everything … preserving, storing bulk dry goods, storing leftovers, drinking glasses, vases … This year, I feel a little behind with my preserving. The only things I’ve canned is a batch of dilly beans.

  117. I use my canning jars for just about everything. In fact, my teenage daughter asked where the leftover pasta sauce was the other day and I said, “In a jar in the fridge” and she said, “Everything is in a jar in the fridge!” I kinda have a big hate-on for plastic.

  118. This year I’m getting ready for pomegranate jelly. I’ve got pickles, jams, dehydrated food items and herbs looking pretty on my shelves. :)

  121. It was at least 20+ years ago that my husband brought home about 10 ball jars with hinged lids from a small store near the train station on his way home from work. They now contain assorted beans, rice and various grains but when my new freezer arrives this week I will definitely have a list of new uses!

  124. I store dry goods, leftovers, frozen food, everything! I also just made an air freshener mix and put it in a jar with holes in the lid.

  127. My first year of preserving after many years of growing! Plum Jam = syrup and Pickled Edamame = kid success!

  130. Besides pickles and jams and all that, I just love to display collections of things in jars. Buttons and bottle caps to feathers and dried beans. It looks so good too!

  132. Drinking glasses for parties, holding cut flowers, freezing soup, and of course the obvious – canning! This year I made strawberry jam, sour cherry jam, and today on my list is canned tomatoes and applesauce. It will be a busy day!

    I would use canning jars for even more things if I had more of them…

  133. Dilly Beans and pickled hot peppers. Q-tips, baking soda for face exfoliation, dried marigold petals for soap making, kosher salt and on and on and on!! :D

  134. Dilly beans and hot pickled peppers, q-tips, baking soda for face exfoliation, kosher salt, marigold petals for soap making and on and on and on…. :D

  135. I use jars today to protect frozen nuts, the more fragile pastas that I make, and to stock up on the best of all — homegrown organic tomatoes in every form. Can’t get enough. I love Weck and don’t yet have any. Cool.

  138. I use canning jars for so much! Definitely for vases for flowers from my garden, fridge pickles, and storing cereal. My husband I live in a studio apartment and he’s still asleep when I get ready in the morning. Unscrewing the cap of a mason jar is so much quieter than opening a box of cereal!

  141. Oh my, I lust after Weck jars. I own 4 or 5 of them, but on the whole I fall back on the good old Ball and Mason jars I’ve accumulated through the years. I was fortunate to inherit boxes full of jars when an Uncle passed away. No one else wanted them. Imagine that! But I would dearly love to win some Weck, they are so beautiful. I recently saw some great lids for canning jars too. They convert your jars to water bottles. The only problem is the jars don’t fit in my car holders and certainly won’t work on my bicycle!

    • The one I spoke of with Margaret isn’t, but I have a completely different one in my book, Drinking the Summer Garden. Unfortunately, I did months of experimentation with it last summer and have since lost all of my notes so I’m starting over.

  143. We like the convenience of using the wide mouthed jars (in many sizes) with plastic screw on lids – we use them for almost everything.

  144. I’ve got a short Weck jar that I pour off bacon grease into – the lid sits tight and it’s ready and waiting for those times you want to make an extra decadent fried egg.

  147. I use them for everything, even drinking glasses and flower vases. I collect vintage jars too…I can’t resist them. Being in Texas, they’re a must!

  149. I sprout in mine, store dried in mine, can in mine, give gifts in mine…which is why I need more. lol

  151. I have always enjoyed making jams and jellies, but this year I am branching out and canned some pickled beets and will try pickling some other veggies, too!

  153. I thought I used my canning jars for just about everything, but you’ve given me some new ideas. Flower-infused vodka?! Mmmm…

  154. I use jars for food storage and craft storage and also for canning — pickles, lemon balm jelly, fig jam lately!

  155. Canned green beans, peaches, blackberries, and tomatoes so far this year. Moving on to pickles now!

  156. I use canning jars for everything from leftovers to canning (tomatoes, mostly) to displaying my button collections (why label, when the contents can be seen). I start plants in jars even. NO jars get sent to recycling unless they are broken. Jars are our friends :) I have noticed the price increases since being considered craft items. Thank-you for the great give-away and the chance to win!

  157. I use them to make/store/transport my salad dressings, and I use them to bring my morning smoothie to work… my pantry is also full of spices in mason jars… They are great for transporting soup to work as well.

  159. Great list of uses. They are so versatile. I am a teacher and use the wide mouth ones on my desk to hold my office supplies. One for writing utensils, smaller ones for clips and pins and a tiny wide one for paper clips

    Thanks for all the ideas.

  163. We have a vegetable garden. I will be canning tomatoes soon. I hope to make bread and butter pickles this year:)

  164. The oddest thing I’ve done with a canning jar is to use it as a wormery. It was a large Dominion Mason jar, and I cut a circle out of scrap copper mesh to replace the lid, and made a cardboard sleeve to keep out the light. Just added two mating red wigglers and a year later there were worms galore. Fed them apple cores saved from lunch, mostly. Oh, and a fig that had gone mouldy on the tree.

  165. I’ve been trying out jam without pectin this year and I am a convert. I’m hoping to make another batch this weekend. I’ve picked up a few Weck jars this year too and I love them.

  168. i have a farris wheel of boards that i tacked lids on and the fill the jars with nails,bolts,screws,washers etc/ the just screw the jr to the lid its a space savor and works great in my shop

  171. our second refrig is FULL of refrig pickles….. love them — i use the jars
    in many of the similar ways you’ve suggested…. i’d LOVE to try these new jars (well new to me)~~~
    thanks

  173. I don’t know what I would do wo you and margaret to get me through the growing season! Every year I put up new things thanks to both of you. What are you doing w egyptian onions? Count me in, got to run and put some blossoms in jars!

  176. Thanks for doing this giveaway-just in time for back to school and I’m out of jars! They are great for my son’s lunch-virtually indestructible, leakproof, and no plastic:). They’re also great for my oatmeal to go!

  177. I inherited a surplus of green beans from both my mother AND a co-worker in one day, so I put up my first batch of dilly beans! If there is a more perfect food, I don’t know what it is. I also love to use larger jars as beautiful countertop storage for beans, lentils, and rice. Having them displayed like that helps me remember what I have when it comes time for meal planning.

  179. Love to use my jars for just about anything :) favorite canning right now is our heirloom tomatoes (oh so many different ways). My fav use for my jars… Drink cups (added with a fav book makes a fantastic “time out” ) :)
    Would love to try some weck jars … Have thus far only used mason or similar ;)

  180. Canning tomatoes, drinking glasses, storing soup I make and of course, storing dried beans and grains.

  181. We use canning jars for everything – literally. They are our family drinking glasses. I mix and store tea blends. Spice blends. I dehydrate herbs all summer long, make herbal salts and blends for winter and store in canning jars. I use jars in my pantry for storing bulk items such as grains, nuts, and seeds. As for preserving and using canning jars, this year I have made nasturtium vinegar, infused honeys (8 types), sage vinegar, rosemary infused oil, pickled sugar snap peas, lacto fermented pickles, lacto fermented garlic, salsa, pickled jalapenos, peach chutney, currant mostarda, blueberry aigre-doux, cherry soda mix, elderberry liqueur, peach infused whiskey, you name it. The list will go on until November! I have all kinds of jars, but Weck is my favorite (and not often found in local shops).

  183. I layer melon balls of different colors into a Weck Jar and use a jar as a snack. I pour a well-chilled can of lemon lime soda into the jar of melons and drink it after I finish the melon.

  184. Oddly, this is the low growing season for us in Central Florida, but I have been canning pickled jalapeños recently. I’m gearing up for our big growing season, which starts in September, though. That’s when I hope to can a whole lot of things!!

  187. I’m new to canning but made 11 jars of pickles last week! I want to save my beautiful and peppery nasturtiums next so will be reading up on your site to learn how to do it.

    Count me in, please!

  189. I use canning jars, and now Weck in particular, for everything to do with food storage, canning, juicing, harvesting dried beans and dried seasonings, and putting in seeds for next year. They just look beautiful all gathered together and I can visually go to whatever I need/want. If I’m unsure, I label

  190. Hi – Lots of preserves – and I hope to try some fermentation shortly. We made so many jams, etc., last summer that we blew out the pantry! (Funny now but a tragic, epic mess then.) I also put quilting fabric scraps into a big jar just so I can enjoy them on my sewing table : )

  191. I use the small ones to store my spices in a drawer and then I have labels on the tops so it’s easy to find them quickly. I use the larger ones the same way for grains. Wish I had a whole house full of them. It seems they can be used for everything

  197. Besides the canning that I do, I also use my canning jars as drinking glasses and to store about anything and everything.

  198. I use my jars for the unholy use of storing Fluorescent minerals for the kids at school!

    hugs,

    …….. \\’// Jack //’\\

  199. To date I have used mine for frozen jams and herbs but plan to take on canning soon as I have heaps of tomatoes and need to make sauce! So, Count me in!

  205. Please count me in! Thank you so much for offering this gift along with Margaret Roach. I recently discovered that I could buy plastic lids for the weck jars I haven’t given away yet as gifts containing homemade fudge and caramel sauces. I use the jars with the plastic lids to store fruit sauces, preserved lemons, etc. in my ‘fridge now, and I would be very happy to add to the few jars I still have. Thank you for this opportunity!

  207. Ooh! I’ve ALWAYS wanted to try the Weck jars! Count me in!
    I use canning jars for everything—craft storage, as travel containers, for preserving, as drinking vessels, as vases, and my favorite: as outdoor lighting containers. I have used the same set of wide-mouth quart jars as luminaria for 15+ years, and suspect they will endure for many more!

    P.S. Can you please post a pic of your jars with the star shaped lids? I love love LOVE vintage canning jars!

  210. Count me in! I just moved to a new apartment (new job, new state) and don’t have a garden to harvest or storage room for canned goods, BUT I could put these to good use next year when I move.

  212. For making ice coffee overnight on the counter, storing tea bags, flower arrangements for gifts….

  213. I enjoy canning bread and butter pickles using an old family recipe. Have never used Weck jars, would love to try them for this recipe!

  214. Everything you said above! Canning of all sorts, spice mixes, kombucha, yogurt. But most notably, an entire shelf of my fridge is now filled with fermented pickles in jars. Any they’re tasty.

  216. First time canning this year, making peach and blueberry jam for my daughters wedding favors! “LouisiAnna Jam”

  217. Besides the pickles, we make jam…knowing exactly what ingrediants are in it is a GREAT benefit to preserving the harvest!

  218. I’ve recently used some of my mason jars to make homemade vanilla and coffee extracts — they turned out super too!

  221. So far this year I have made 2 kinds of peach jam, cantaloupe vanilla jam, apple butter and 3 batches of cucumber pickles. Next on the list is to find some organic plums for cardamom plum jam

  222. I also use them for a bunch of things, putting food away, herbs and spices, corralling craft supplies, to hold flowers, candles. We use them for drinking iced coffees with the cuppow lids. I use some to bring my lunch to work.
    I just pickled some zucchini for the first time and I’m looking forward to eating them!

  223. I can green beans, pickled beets, salsa. relish, etc. I use them to store dried fruits and tomatoes, dried tea ingredients. I’ve used them as measuring “cups”, liquids containers in the fridge, and mixing jars for marinades and rubs. I’m using them for canned beans and salsa so far this year.

  226. This year we have a plethora of peaches and are canning using the white grape juice method we learned about on Margaret’s website. We also can our own pasta sauce and a lot of jams and jellies.

  227. Love these jars, and I’ve got zucchini coming out of my ears at this point – perfect for relishes and pickles. I give my canned produce and concoctions as holiday gifts, and the Wecks are so pretty!

  228. This year I plan to dehydrate some of my amazing tomato harvest and store them in jars. As a Midwesterner, I’m a big fan of Ball jars, so I would love to “compare and contrast” with some Weck jars.

  230. I love lemon verbena and have a big crop to preserve this year. I’d like to try my Grandma’s bread and butter pickle recipe, and of course there are beans, tomatoes and peaches!

  231. I use canning jars for tomato sauce, dried herbs, drinking glasses, terrariums, dried beans, etc., Haven’t yet used them for freezing.

  233. I’m gathering my canning supplies now, to begin my canning adventure. Currently I use some of my jars for dried food storage, and for leftovers in the fridge or freezer

  234. My latest use is to roll up one half of sheets of paper towels and add baby soap and water to a pickling jar to make baby wipes. Lots of other uses including storage of rice, quinoa and other dried goods in my pantry. Love them.

  235. This season I will be canning tomato sauce and some jams. Unused jars are used for storing pasta, beans, Panko etc.

  236. I use canning jars for tinctures! And dried herbs. And to put up the tomato harvest. Peaches, too. I like the blue ones to use as flower vases. Thanks for the contest!

  238. Our daughter is gluten intolerant. No, really. She was tested and has a doctor’s diagnosis. Her food has to be kept sequestered although the rest of us only eat gluten when there is a huge difference in cost. In addition since meat is so expensive we rarely eat it at home.

    The result is we have a large collection of dried legumes, nuts, the odd flour, and spices. Canning jars make having this collection manageable. Some items actually get frozen or refrigerated but pretty jars like Wecks are left on display on the counter and open shelves.

    Would love to enlarge our container collection!

  239. So many jars in the pantry already (salsa, sweet & spicy pickles, dilly beans, pickled baby beets, seedless wild blackberry jam, grape jelly) and so much more to do (more beans, beets, okra, barbeque sauce, etc.).

  240. I am canning everything I can this year. I am also starting to save herbs in jars. I am also going to start making my own natural products.

  241. I use canning Jars for dried foods and refrigerator storage. I love them. This year I want to start canning. I have the produce lined up. I have Ball’s Blue Book. I need those jars.

  242. We use canning jars for nigh on everything — and I like to have a few spare about the kitchen for iced tea or coffee in the summer, or to tuck some leftovers in to take for lunch. I’m hoping to retrofit some of my half-gallon jars with fermentation locks so I can do some counter-top kraut when the cabbage is ready…

  243. I use canning jars, in many different sizes, for most everything. From cotton balls, qtips, to herbs, grains and home made jellies and fruit preserves. Never used the Weck jars but would sure like to give them a try!

  244. I use them for my jams, dried herbs, buttons, drinking glasses for the patio, storing nuts….so many ways to use these guys.

  245. Herbs, jams, salsas among other things. I love your site!!! I’m glad Margaret introduced me to it. :) I’ll be visiting you often. Thanks

  247. Canning sundried tomatoes, tomatoes , homemade mustard, spaghetti sauce, my special homemade sauces and chutneys, storing herbs from my garden storing pretty much everything

  248. I have made 2 batches of Marissa McClellan’s cantaloupe jam with Vanilla and will make more today. Also making cranberry sauce and canned peaches. I like to make my vinaigrettes in canning jars because they are so much easier to shake up before serving.

  251. I’m learning how to can jam with fresh seasonal fruit infused with herbs and/or tea. I feel this is just the beginning of my canning journey. Thanks!

  254. count me in. thank you i use canning jars for a wide variety of storage but have yet to try these. i just signed up for your newsletter! i LOVE your site, I got here thru a way to garden. I can’t wait to fully explore your posts. no garden plot available this year (live in an apartment complex w/ 8 plots) sadly just a couple of tomatoes & a pepper plant in pots with poor results & my usual balcony wall of morning glory & moon flowers covering my patio giving me a bit of privacy & a prettier view.
    thank you again for the opportunity.

  255. Just moved to SC recently and have not hat the time for canning but I collect the old Ball and Atlas jars. Please count me in.
    Love your emails.

  256. I would love to win these in honor of my Grandmother, who gave each branch of the family a case full of her home made preserves every Christmas!

  258. I am growing several varities of peppers for canning HOT pepper jelly! Weck jars are the perfect vessel for all of my canned creations!

  261. I use jars for just about everything! Right now I’m making vanilla extract in one. My new favorite is using one with a cuppow for drinking. I made a coozie for it out of a shrunken wool sweater that I needle felted decoration on. It’s wonderful for keeping hot drinks warm and containing the “sweat” on cold drinks.

  262. Love canning jars for my sea glass collection, which was accumulated over years living in Vancouver. And also for found marbles.

  265. I use Weck Jars for my Hot Pepper Jelly I give at Christmas. On a daily bases I store my chocolate chips I munch on after dinner. Mial

  266. What don’t I use them for, is the better question! My sourdough starter lives in a wide mouthed pint jar. I store dry goods in them, safely away from moths. I use canning jars to make and store my infused oils, vinegars, and herbal tinctures. The jars marked with measurements of cups and ounces make excellent impromptu measuring cups, especially when I want to add “x” number of quarts of water to a soup I’m making. They hold dried herbs (I especially like the old blue glass for this), or anything I want to be able to see, like my beads for blind pie crust baking. I use the smallest jars to hold homemade salves. And yes, they often hold a cold beverage! We keep a half gallon jar filled with water in the refrigerator in the summer so that we always have cold water to drink, and to make jello! Definitely, count me in!

  268. I’ve put up strawberry fig jam (figs from my orchard) & fresh pineapple jam so far this summer. Tomorrow I am going down to my dirt road neighbor’s house to show her how to put up blueberry/raspberry jam & make some sugar-free strawberry jam. I’m not familiar with Weck canning jars, so would love to give them a try!

  271. The Weck jars you picture are really cool looking- we have some more traditional styles available in the stores near me in Oregon. I’m currently using canning jars to put up tomatoes, beans, pickles, beets, and jams-whew! busy summer = delicious winter + gifts for my family and friends:-)

  273. I use them for canning, and for dry storage, as well as freezing. And for many miscellaneous uses around the house.

  274. Here in the South it seems so appropriate to serve ice tea in canning jars in the summertime.

  275. Can’t live without my preserving jars. Top of the list is jam – raspberry and a ton of apricot this year so far. Used to do pickles and fondly remember over the years making them with my grandmother and mother. A jar sits in the cupboard with sugar and a vanilla pod for special baking recipes, likewise with lavender and sugar! In my studio – many jars with missing lids hold stones, tiny animal parts, moldy mushrooms, colourful striped marbles,buttons and beads, various drawing tools etc. Large jars make wonderful flower vases and feather holders. Oh yes – and those pickled beets – that’s next!

  276. So far this year I have canned bread and butter pickles, pickled beets, strawberry jam and peach jam. I’m waiting for apples to make applesauce, also, I prepare apple pie filling and can it in quart jars. . . .so handy when a quick pie is needed. I also use pint jars to prepare a “cornbread mix”, affix a label with instructions and give as a gift along with another jar of my own “bean soup” mix. Recipients have shown great appreciation! . . . and they often return the jars for refills! I also break down fresh pumpkin and freeze it in jars. Canning jars are invaluable.

  277. I agree! The uses for canning jars are endless. I’d love to try the Weck jars. They are beautiful. I can salsa, green beans, jams and pickles. Thanks!!

  278. I have used canning jars for many things, from apricot jam made from my back yard tree in Southern California to raspberry jam from bushes in Wisconsin (we used small jars of then magenta jam tied round with pink silk ribbons as “favors” at our outdoor wedding reception dinner). But one of their most meaningful uses has occurred this summer, when I have taken to using them as vases to hold the bouquets of flowers from our prairie that I take each week to my elderly stepmother in Hospice. Short of real vases one day, I grabbed a jar on an impromptu basis. It held bergamot, purple and yellow coneflowers, black eyed susans and early goldenrod perfectly — and it didn’t fall over in the car. But beyond that, is the unforgettably tender sight of my stepmother’s frail hand, touching the petals gently and marveling at their beauty, the whole scene alight with sun reflected though the water of an ordinary canning jar. It is from moments like this our lives are made. Canning jars are now my vase of choice.

  279. Ant Di says:
    August 15, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    Your comment is awaiting moderation.

    I store many dry goods in canning jars. Besides keep them dry and bug free, they look neat in my kitchen and I can see what I have! Most of my jars are antique, but Weck jars would be a great addition!! Thanks!!!

  281. I have some beautiful ripe apricots that I plan to preserve in jars. I hope to get some dilly beans done before the summer is over too! Love the lines and variety of shapes of the Weck jars.

  282. I use canning jars instead of plastic to store leftovers in the refrigerator and of course, I can stuff in them. My mama used to drink tea out of wide mouth pint jars.

  284. I’ve been making pickles recently, since cukes have been on sale at the farmer’s market. I’d like to try to make pickled asparagus.

  287. I like to store zests in canning jars, send pickles in my husband’s lunch, jam, nuts. You name it. Count me in.

    • Fig preserves!

      Oops! Mis-typed my email address on my just-sent entry and don’t see how to correct it. This message has the correct spelling of gmail.com in my email addy. Sorry!

  290. I use my Mama’s old canning jars to save my loose change…and sort them by denomination….Pennies, Nickles & Dimes, Quarters. You can’t believe how much money you can save this way. If your bank doesn’t have a coin counter, just roll them in coin wrappers before bringing them in to deposit. I NEVER, EVER use one of those machines where they keep 10% or more. This is a painless and easy way to save up money for something to pamper yourself with.

  291. So far this summer I’ve made blueberry jam, raspberry & blueberry jam. Tomorrow I will start a plum compote. Happily!

  292. We love to can Jelly – we especially like grape jelly from the best grape juice in the world – (otherwise known as juice from the finger lakes grape people who come to our farmer’s market in Brooklyn)

  296. I would love to try weck jars. I have been canning since I was a little girl and helped my mother and grandmother- and that was a good while ago! I cannot imagine winter without shelves full of summer’s bounty.

  297. Years ago my former mother in law introduced me to canning. I love to make jams, relishes, chutney and salsas. To add to my collection of jars I am collecting canning and preserving books.

  300. I’ve already canned several dozen jars of jam and some pickles. And I also used a bunch for a bridal shower I threw. They were used as drinking glasses, flower vases and to hold the sangria I made the night before.

  301. I have never used Weck jars but I can just about everything my family eats…fruits, vegies, pickles, relish, salsa, jams, jellies, soups and meats.

  306. Please count me in, I would love to win a set of the canning jars to start me off on a canning adventure.

  307. I have been canning vegtables,fruit jams and jellies for years. Use jars for dry foods, nuts, snacks as well.
    Also have found a use for them in the sewing room to store buttons, trims etc.

  309. Trying to get my mom into canning. I think these would be the incentive she needs to get her going. Please count me in.

  310. Jars in my house are used for jam, pickles, syrups, sauces, salsa, agridolce, flowers, fermented items and for drinking water ;-) BTW, love your currant tomatoes!

  315. low sugar no pectin jams from home grown peaches, blueberries, rhubarb and blackberries. so delicious and a winter’s worth of pleasure.

  316. I found a bunch of weck jars at Goodwill and love them for storing and displaying all my dried beans & such. Would love more for all the other ideas I’m seeing here! THanks for the chance.

  317. this year it will be pepper jelly, pickles and maybe pesto (although I tend to freeze it, I’d like to try and can it)

  318. I use canning jars for my homemade limoncello and fruit compotes. Ryan’s for the give a way and I hope I win.

  322. As of late I’ve been fermenting tomato seeds in jars. Also been using jars for calendula creams and herb vinegars.

  324. Count me in ! Most recently I tamed some super spicy radishes by pickling with vinegar, salt and garlic. Simple and yummy !

  325. In our house we use canning jars for canning, pickling, storing dried goods, honey and it they makes great noise when our 1.5 year old yells into them!

  326. Pickled beans and canned nectarines. I make jam weekly from a variet of berries stored in freezer. I use the jars to store rice, quinoa, lentils, coffee beans and so much more!

  330. I was taught canning by my mother, who canned everything, and used to enter jars in the county fair when I was in 4-H. This year I have made tons of strawberry, raspberry, even Juneberry jam, dill pickles (canned ones for the winter after all our Refrigerator Pickles are done–THANK YOU MARGARET!!!) Everything that would normally go in a plastic bag is put in glass. Leftovers, Lunch, dried goods– all of it.Count me in!

  332. I make my herbal infusions in half-gal jars and my tinctures in qt and pint jars. Oh, and to store my homemade ghee. The tinctures look lovely sitting on my kitchen counter.

  334. I use them for refrigerator storage and storing my sour dough starter as well as canning tomato juice and green beans.

  337. We use vintage jars for food storage, and regular ones for jam and canning. This year we found enough wild thimbleberries to try making jam from them. I also use canning jars for making yoghurt and sour cream.

  338. Last year I did dill pickles and peaches for the fridge. I would like more jars for freezing herbs and for dry seeds,etc. I am getting away from plastic and would like to have Weck glass jars for any food stuffs. Thanks for consideration.

  340. Canning, storing dry good, storing leftovers, storing seeds, huge ones in the freezer full of frozen bananas to blend into banana ‘ice cream’… Like you, I have them all over the house!

  346. Right now for freezing, pickling, and dry nuts and beans.
    But I’d like to expand into homemade yogurts and vinegars!

  348. I use canning jars for preserving (pickles, jams, relishes, tomatoes). I did a batch of heirloom tomatoes at the end of the 2011 season, partly due to one of your books emphasizing that they would taste much better than the commercially available variety. I had so many tomatoes in 2011 that I actually didn’t go through them and only discovered them this winter when I ran out of 2012’s tomatoes preserved in sauce and salsa form. They were fantastic as a substitute for fresh tomatoes in a quick sauce, or even on tacos. If my tomatoes ever ripen this year, I’ll be preserving some tomatoes in their own juice for sure!

    I also have old canning jars (the ones with the zinc rings and blue, aqua and clear glass displayed on top of the kitchen cabinets. They’ve been passed down and used by multiple generations of my family and I love the connection with the past.

  350. I recently learned how to make jams and jellies, and now I am a canning fool! Tomorrow I’m going to make Blueberry Jam and Santa Rosa Plum Jam. I’m obsessed with canning and would love a beautiful set of Weck jars to fuel my passion.

  351. Please count me in. This is my third year for canning. I do a little more canning each year. Also use the jars for dry storage. Thanks.

  353. Love canning jars for keeping dehydrated veggies and herbs. Also use them for anything I can water bath can.

  354. My freezer jars are used for salsa and applesauce, and the old blue jars for buttons and small notions.

  357. Love to give gifts in canning jars, such as rosemary and lemon thyme. Also the usual canning pickled peppers and chunky apples in the fall (right round the corner).

  358. Alas, because of a cross-country move, I did not have a garden this summer. However, my canning jars (before they were packed) received much use storing homemade condiments.

  360. I use my jars for canning preserves; just made wild blackberry and rhubarb jam. Next will be salsa, and/or chutney. Otherwise I use them for, my coffee, my wine, my water, dried herbs, salad dressing, wine, flowers, refrigerator oatmeal breakfasts, soup, wine. You get the picture! Mason jars are where it’s at!

  361. My first year with a Community Garden plot, and we’ve just starting canning our crop! 14 jars so far of assorted dills & bread & butter pickles, and tomorrow we’re trying our hand at curried cauliflower; next week, zucchini relish!

  362. Canning is the past present and future! Love your web site! A garden is a victory in so many ways!!

  365. I use canning jars for homemade chicken broth, stewed chicken (when the girls get too old to lay) raspberry leather, dried zucchini, locavore chutney, tomato juice, grape juice, pickles, jams, dilly beans, spaghetti sauce, salsa, and anything else I am canning that year. I freeze soups and freezer jam. I also keep in canning jars all my dry foods; nuts, legumes, raisins, etc. I also keep my Pomona calcium water and pectin powder in Weck jars as well as the metal clips for canning with Weck jars. They can also be found in my bathroom cabinet with cotton swabs, nail clippers, barrettes, etc. I use them anywhere I want to feel good when I look at mundane objects.

  366. Canning jars are one of the most used items in my kitchen from preserving to storing. They’re great for sending soup for a friend on the mend with sliced veggies and a spoonful of miso paste ready for hot water and a stir.

  367. Storing almost everything! Homemade quick refrigerator pickles, spices, dried herbs, quick chia jams, etc. Count me in!

  369. We store a big batch of hummingbird food in our largest jar so we can keep our little visitors happy and hydrated for all their antics. This is a fun post to read. Good luck to everyone.

  370. Pickled vegetable slaw, pickles and storing nuts…..love the look shapes and style of Weck jars….they make me happy everythime I open my cupboard or my refrigerator !

  371. I use canning jars for almost everything, from leftovers to storing dried herbs, friuts, and tomatoes. Any food that comes in plastic goes into the jars.

  372. Other than using jars for everything. . .I use a few for dying wool and other fibers and store yarn in them to keep the moths away. They look great on the shelf filled with colourful handspun fibers!

  373. Hi Gayla
    I will try some of your herb vinegars this year. I love to store sauces and ajms as well as beans,grains, pastas and odds and ends!
    thanks
    E

  374. I haven’t used weck jars yet, but interested for sure. I usually can zucchini relish, tomatoes, salsa, and today I’m making refrigerator pickles.

  381. I love Weck Jars and have many uses. One of my favorite places to store my Almond flour, flax and chia seeds.
    I have my jars ready to make pickles in near future!

  383. I haven’t canned anything… yet. I’d love to preserve some figs this year – our tree produces so many that some invariably go bad before we can gobble them up.

  387. I’m just learning to can, but I’ve been storing everything from dried beans and rice to leftovers for a while.

  388. I haven’t canned anything in YEARS (!) – but after stumbling across your website, I will have to unbury my jars and make refrigerator pickles!!

  392. This year have canned strawberry rhubarb jam. Use them for all kinds of food stuffs. I especially prize some huge ones I got at a tag sale for grain storage and keeping ginger or rhubarb syrups for homemade sodas.

  393. I love them for salad in a jar using all the great things from my garden. Also for my Gardeners Hand Scrub and lots more things.

  394. So far I have canned jam, corn, pickles, beets and beans. I am now getting ready to can some apple pie in a jar! I have come a long way since freezer jam (just last year!) and I’m always learning more as I go. My next big adventure will be canning meats…just need a pressure canner :)

  395. Count me in :) I always have a canning jar of salad dressing in my fridge. I’ve always used the classic Ball jars for my fall preserving, but have been wanting to try out Weck. Thanks for the chance!

  397. We love them not only for canning jams, pickles,and tomatoes but also for storing coffee,flour sugar,etc. Good for storing just about anything!

  400. I hate all of the poly bags that have about 2/3 cup of rice or beans left in them. I pour the rice and beans into the jars for easy storage and I can see what is in the cabinet since those poly bags seem to get lost. The cabinets look a lot neater.

  401. I use canning jars for EVERYTHING. All of our dried staple foods, lots of different lacto-fermented veggies, homemade hot sauces, jams, herbal vinegars and tinctures, and my collection of herbs, flowers and fir tips for tea. I try not to ever store food in plastic, and tossed out all the tupperwares last year, so mason and the french-style jars are my go-to receptacle. The fact that they can stack also makes storage a lot easier!

  402. I hope to can my favourite chutney with green tomatoes and ripe apples from the first canning book I ever had, Putting It Up With Honey, by Susan Geiskopf. I haven’t had it in decades. So good!

  403. My current canning adventure is making lemon curd. It is so yummy. I put the jars in a water bath for 20 minutes(at sea level), BUT I still store the unopened, sealed jars in the refrigerator. I do the water bath because the lemon curd only lasts a week after opening a jar, and as much as we love it, we won’t eat 5 pints in a week.

  404. I have been busy canning…blueberry jam, blueberry sauce, rhubarb sauce, tomatoe sauce and more to come as the garden continues to produce!!! I also store my dried herbs, rice & beans in mason jars :)

  405. Well, funny enough, I used my canning jars today to make ketchup and canned tomatoes, using your recipes! So delicious and relatively easy. Thanks!

  406. I have been very busy canning.I use my canning jars to make homemade jam,pickles,stewed tomatoes,beans, and I’m going to try potatoes.

  407. I use canning jars for my Pear Chutney. The chutney accompanies Cabbage Dahl, rice, and a dab of yogurt for a totally satisfying meal. Since my stock of Pear Chutney is almost diminished, I’m hoping this is a banner year for my friend’s pear tree!

  408. use the jars in lieu of martini shakers for making mixed drinks, just move the lid off-centre and it strains perfectly or you can simply drink straight from the jar.

  409. I use canning jar for damson plum preserves, and I have also made damson gin and damson vodka in the jars. This season, I have not made any preserves; too busy planting a new yard with fruit trees and berry bushes, and then maintaining them while they got established — but I hope this will only mean a fair harvest in seasons to come!

    Canning jars are also great for making cold-brewed coffee (1/3 c coffee grounds to 2 cups water; steep 12-16 hours, and add water & ice to make iced coffee as strong as you like it)

  410. Waiting for my peaches to pop in their jars right now…I also use them for making tissue paper candle lanterns for solstice with my kids.

  412. Yes, please! I would LOVE some of these beauty canning jars :) I do have a bit of a collection, but none are that functional or nicely designed.

    Love your blog, great pics and it reminds me of growing food when I loved in Ontario.

    Now I live on Vancouver ISland and grow food year round in my garden. It is starting to become a California growing climate here!!

  413. I just bought a book on canning recipes. So I will be experimenting with all sorts of canning projects. My grandparents gave me all of their hand me down canning supplies so that I can carry on one of their favorite past times. I plan on starting with homemade apple sauce and a spicy tomato soup.

  414. Hi Gayla,
    The number of ideas here from this subject is wonderful. I use my jars, that I love to pick up at used stuff sales, for gifts. Lately I’ve been layering ing. for soups and treats like cookies or brownies that look cool, have the recipe attached and the receiver only has to add liquids, eggs or meat to complete a dinner or dessert.
    Thanks for all the info. Time to get busy!

  415. I make a coffee concentrate and keep it for the week in my canning jar as well as a batch of lavender vanilla simple syrup for mixing up some drinks.

  416. I love canning jars! I use them for canning chutneys and jams and also use them to storage nuts, flours, seeds, etc. in the pantry, fridge or freezer. They are so robust and versatile!

  421. I have never used jars like that before. I bet they last better, the rings wouldn’t rust. Also, you don’t have to waste lids! Thanks for the great ideas!

  422. I am currently in the middle of a canning frenzy…not only have I just learned of this great new process…I am now obessed with canning. Our family of four must now eat about 60 jars of various jam… I have canned everything I get my little hands on. I had at one time used my jars for spices and pasta’s…but now scour thrift stores and yard sales for the jars.

  424. I use canning jars for making chutneys, jams and jellies in addition to flavored salts! I love the beauty and practicality of canning jars!

  425. Mainly use canning jars for stuff like pickled-things, homemade condiments and dressings, but my favorite use is for leftover soup. I love that they I can put a jar in my lunch bag and I don’t have to worry about it spilling on the commute in!

  426. Women after my own heart – I too have a canning jar fetishI Collecting, admiring and using my jars – new and old. Just purchased a case of 4 oz jars. Very cute and already put to good use with pesto and spinach & carrot seeds that I am priming. We’ve been using Weck bottle jars on our nightstands for years.

  428. I love Weck jars – I’ve been a fan since I lived in germany and found that they are perfect for on-the-go snacks. Now, I use them to store all my bulk barn purchases! No more ugly clear bags.

  429. Smokra – smoked okra pickles. I’m a bartender, and I love using these treats in bloody marys.

    Squash blossoms is a great idea – I have a cushaw growing in my yard (a New Orleans native squash) that’s got a ton of male blooms, and I need a way to keep them.

    Meyer lemon preserves – my tree put out about 12 lemons, and I sure do want to keep them. The word “preserves” has never meant so much to me, until I figured out how much effort those little golden nuggets take to coax into being!

    Bananas foster jam with rum – I have a wild banana tree, with tons of fruit on it.

    Passionflower honey – same, a wild passie, but with edible fruits that I’d hate to see go to waste.

    Thanks for sparking some great ideas for my canning season!

  431. Canning tomatoes, storing almost all dry goods, freezing bone broths, drinking, leftovers, making big batches of tea, fermenting veggies, making yogurt, raw milk storage, I am sure to come up with more uses in the future :)

  432. oh man, I like to use them for everything: canning, fridge pickling, storing odds and ends, holding single servings of cold brew coffee for iced coffee, carrying leftovers. I use them a LOT more now that I bought reusable lids, too — not sure how I lasted so long without them.

  433. I use canning jars for so many things. I like to store anything dried in them. And I can anything I can grow or find.

    Storing fresh, edible flowers? Never thought of that. Thanks!

    Linda

  434. Went to a function sponsored by Knox Heritage last night. The theme was “Dog Days of Summer” … A charity function in which we brought a dog…outside, in a fabulous outdoor setting, with dog biscuit themed table settings…and canning jars for water glasses!

  439. I love making salad dressing in a jar, just shake it up and even use them to freeze chicken stock (just freeze with the lid off, leaving plenty of head space and then put the lid on the next day).

  440. I use canning jars for jams, syrups, canning veg, storing dried herbs and teas, storing herbal seasoning salts and for gifting all of the above:)

  441. This year has been a bit crazy with a move to a different state, so the only canning has been some strawberry-rhubarb jam (with a hint of clove!). This fall we hopefully can can the over-abundance of veggies and make lots of pickles, chutneys, and many more jams!

  442. I love canning jars! I have all shapes, ages, and sizes and use them for tons of stuff (sometimes even canning) but lately I’ve really been loving my half-gallon mason jars. Every week I buy 2 one-gallon jars of raw Jersey milk from some friends down the road, and transferring them to half gallon jars (after skimming off the cream!) makes pouring, etc. so much easier. The half gallon jars are also the the perfect size for making fresh mint sun tea. Thanks for the giveaway and please count me in – I’ve been lusting after some Weck jars for years. :)

  443. I’ll be canning some tomatillo salsa later today. We use canning jars to store all kinds of things – from beans to blackberry cordial.

  444. Yummy refrigerator pickles. This year, I’m adding Sweet Heat peppers to kick it up a notch. Wouldn’t all that green ‘n red look terrific shining through those pretty Weck jars? :)

  446. Drinking water! And just made our first-ever batch of fridge pickles. Can’t believe we waited so long. I loved getting a squatty decorative jar with Shea butter as a gift when I was pregnant. They really are good for everything. Great giveaway! Thanks!

  448. I no longer have a big garden, but have made chive blossom vinegar in canning jars this spring. Last week my CSA had peaches so I made ginger peach jam.

  449. Aaaahhh, canning jars, how I love thee, let me count the ways. I love putting colored water in the jars and add daffodils in a pretty sunny spot in the dining room, freezer jams, pasta sauce, tomato sauce, dill and sweet pickles, my salsa recipe, I store my balsamic vinaigrette in them for my week of garden salads and veggies. They hold bugs and pebbles and sand for my grandkids and buttons for me. I love vintage buttons almost as much as I love canning jars. A good friend uses them as drinking and wine glasses!
    P.S. The Weck jars are beautiful!

  450. Canning jars are great fro carrying smoothies to work, or tea that I didn’t get to drink yet. Some soup in a jar that I will need to warm in the microwave as that is the only thing allowed to heat things. canning jars are so versatile and useful.

  455. For some reason, I am still a bit scared of the whole canning thing, but I do love canning jars. I have some old blue ones that I use as soap dispensers with lids I purchased on Etsy. Almost all my dry goods are stored in jars, making my pantry mouse-proof.

  459. I’m using my large jars for storing dried basil, oregano and sage from my garden and I’m teaching an injured friend (she broke her leg) how to make spicy dill pickles on Wednesday.

  461. Jam, pickles, syrups, soup, sauces, salad dressing etc. I also use them in my bathroom for holding Qtips, cotton balls, soaps, bandages, disposable razors, and new toothbrushes in the large ones. I use small ones for seeds and small sewing items like pins. We use them for pencils and pens, and I was thinking about screwing them onto one of my light fixtures when the glass shades break! I also use a large jar as a blender pitcher. The jar mouth is the same size as the base of the pitcher, so when my blender pitcher broke I screwed on a large mason jar and now it’s like one of those magic bullet blenders!

  462. We grew Sour Mexican Gherkins this year and are experimenting with different versions of pickling them. So tiny and delicious.

  463. My jars get used for all sorts of things – preserving foods (I’ve made roasted salsa and dill pickles this week), transporting drinks to work, storing change, making homemade red wine vinegar, holding my collection of knitting needles, etc., etc.

  464. Lots of jam; + for storing various spices, etc in my pantry; + for a container to mix and shake home made salad dressings

  470. I use them for all kinds of things! Though mostly food related: pickles, relish, canned berry jams and peaches, fermenting and then storing sauerkrauts and kimchi, dried herbs and flowers (like chamomile and calendula) from the garden, saving seeds, and herbal remedies like salves and infused vinegars. Where I live we have a communal kitchen and we store all our herbs and spices in 250mL jars, laid on their sides on a couple of shelves, with the name written in black Sharpie on masking tape stuck to the (outward facing) bottom of the jar. It’s a perfect system for cooking for groups of up to 20 or more.

  471. So far this year canned tomatos, chow chow, pickled beets, dill pickles, squash pickles, fig jam, blueberry butter & pickled okra, and haven’t finished yet. I store just about everything in canning jars. One of the most eco frendly items you can use. Love them!

  473. I boiling water bath and pressure can in my jars. I use tiny Weck jars to can tiny amounts of jam to give as gifts. I also freeze things in jars and store dry items. I drink out of them too! And use them as flower vases… And…

  476. I use canning jars to save herbs from my garden, for homemade jams and to hold my butterscotch sauce and toffee when I give them for gifts. My kitchen cupboards are filled with larger canning jars that hold cereals, rice, pasta, etc.

  477. Love using canning jars to pack my lunch. This week, quinoa with honey-sesame tempeh and carrot slaw.

  478. Just made peach jam last night and more peaches coming so would love some Weck jars!
    Count me in, thanks.

  480. This year we dried strawberries in our new dehydrator – I think next year we will have to do 3x as many because as hard as I try to resist the level of strawberries in the pantry keep getting lower and lower…

  481. canned strawberry jam and apple butter so far, salsa and peach butter still to come. Storing some raspberry syrup in one. Use them as water glasses too.

  483. Flowers are stored-scarlet runner, calendula, nasturtium and borage. They also look so pretty in the fridge.

  485. Besides jarring food we use them as drinking glasses and as a cute way to hold pens, pencils and sharpies on the desk :)

  486. In addition to canning, I use jars to transport my leftovers to work and also to infuse alcohol (most recently, hot pepper vodka).

  487. Jams,currently peach & spiced tomato. I also use them them to store dry good like beans, rice & nuts. I love glass containers!

  488. I use canning jars for so many things – nuts, quick pickles, dried beans, seeds, canned tomatoes, pickles, etc, etc. Thanks for the contest opportunity! OH – how could I forget to list jams, preserves & chutneys!

  489. I have used canning jars as decorations and gift packaging, but this year I want to try to actually CAN with them! Hopefully making some jam…

  490. You have some really great ideas and recipes that I need to try! So far I have used my jars to can peaches, figs and refrigerator pickles!

  491. I use jars for fermenting kombucha, kefir, etc. I want to start canning veggies, like pickled okra, sauerkraut,etc. sometime soon…

  494. I have used canning jars for Strawberry jam and applesauce. This year we are preserving tomatoes and making pickles. Other uses have included storing dried tomatoes and using them as candles on our camping trips. I have always admired the design of the Weck’s jar and would love this opportunity to win one.

  495. it’s almost easier to say what I DON’T use canning jars for.
    Store all the herbs I grow (dill, coriander, thyme, sage, savory) in my oldest glass canning jars with the glass lids.
    Jams include gingered peach, blueberry, golden raspberry and cherry.
    Lots of chutneys.
    Bread and butter pickles and onions.
    Dilly beans, beets,
    Oh, also roasted corn. I don’t put a lid on that jar because it doesn’t last long!

  496. I use Weck jars for freezing dill, freezing seeds and preserving farofa, a condiment for Brazilian feijoada.

  497. I use can jars for our wild raspberries and strawberries we pick to make jams and I also use them for storing nuts,maple syrup form our backyard and buttons(for my crafting).Next year,I plan on storing tomatoes.

  498. **great for storing bulk bought pasta and legumes
    ** i salted down some lemons as an experiment
    * pickled garlic
    *feta cheese in olive oil (add some spices to enhance both the cheese and the oil)if you throw in some kalamatie olives, it colors your cheese for a different look on a plate

  500. I use canning jars to hold dry goods like noodles as well as dried lavender flowers, nails, screws and bits and bobs, tea lights and safety pins.

  501. I have just finished two batches of Concord grape jelly, and still have peaches, figs, apples, etc. to can. I am thinking of making juices this year, since there is so much abundance! I have never heard of weck jars, and would LOVE to try them! Thanks for the chance!

  503. I use canning jars to make strong overnight infusions of nutrient rich dried herbs like nettle, oatstraw, red raspberry leaves, and linden flower. They taste really nice most of the time (save for odd batches) and are a better source of minerals than almost anything else. I have no idea how I’d make them without a good canning jar. Especially since I can strain them into a second jar and carry them off with me!

  506. Hope this isn’t a duplicate – I don’t think my first comment went thru
    Have used Ball Jars, would love to try a Weck

  508. We raised 6 kids using canning jars as our drinking glasses. They line up nicely in the cabinet and are really hard to break! Now, besides leftovers, we use them to put up our 5 pepper jelly for Christmas presents. Everyone loves it!

  510. I’ve never heard of Currant Tomatoes! They look lovely in your photo. I have a big crop of Sungold Cherry tomatoes this year and hope to freeze some for later. Weck jars look perfect for this!

  511. I will be canning and freezing vegetables grown in my backyard for the first time ever… I love these canning jars!

  512. I have always freezed or dried everything. This year will be my first for canning. I have used canning jars for soup and chili in the freezer once but some ended up breaking :-(
    I wonder if jars can get too old???

  513. Contest is supposed to close August 30 – today is the 25th, but the Update says the contest is closed. I really want/need those Weck jars! Please tell me that the notice was posted by mistake!

  514. I’m also fond of collecting jars before especially the colored ones because they can be of great use for preserving food or other homemade products. It also makes things organized at home.

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