Mason jars and lids are great for canning but that’s not all! They are my go to solution for short term food storage and daily use drinkware. If you are new to discovering all of the toxins we are exposed to on a daily basis, then you may not yet know that plastic for food storage is unhealthy! Even worse is if food should happen to be heated within plastic where the plastic leeches chemicals in the food your are about to eat. The most commonly referenced is BPA. But there are others such as phthalates and PFAS (aka forever chemicals). All of these things cause damage to our bodies, prevent natural development in children.
Good news time…with a little planning you can remove them from your home and keep your family safe. Check out this article from Notre Dame News, summarizing the publishing of study on this topic, https://rusticwisdom.com/ndnewsplastic.
That being said, do I have plastic storage in my home? Yes, I do. Every home and family are different. Needs and resources dictate how we make choices. I have plastic lunch containers, but food is never heated in them. While it is not toxin free, we use them sparingly so I keep them around. Do what works for your family. Some of the items I recommend in this article will be plastic, so there is that, too.
Let’s start there.
Jarware Accessories
The above picture shows a Jarware lid. Jarware manufactures accessories to be used in combination with any brand of mason glassware. This particular lid is used on my half gallon mason jars which usually contain raw milk, homemade coconut milk, etc. Because this is only in contact with the beverage as it is poured, there is limited exposure and that works well for me. Jarware has a whole line of accessories to make mason jars functional in new ways and I love it! As a minimalist leaning girl, multifunctional items bring me joy! I also have a stainless steel sieve and lid combo for making kefir, cold brew and loose leaf tea. It stays in regular use. Check out some of their awesome stuff here, https://www.jarware.com/. They can also be found on Amazon.
Glass Jars
Now, for jars. I will repurpose any glass and lid combo that comes across my kitchen counter such as peanut butter containers. I particularly love that I collect a varying arrangement of sizes serving varying purposes. However, sometimes you need some larger glassware than those circumstances will provide you with and that means purchasing what you need. I buy half gallon sized jars from Azure Standard. Their pricing varies based on supply but I have bought a 6 pack for under $15. You can check their canning jars and pricing here, https://rusticwisdom.com/azurejars. I’ve been so impressed with the quality of their jars and lids for the price. Azure Standard also offers more food options packaged in glass and plastic. Whenever, I have the option, I will choose to buy food options packaged in glass to limit toxin exposure for my family.
Azure Standard has a very unique business model, I will need to explain that further in a separate post.
Reduce, Reuse & Repeat
Again, use what you have before you resort to buying. First, this helps conserve your family’s financial resources. Secondly, this is a very real way to live a more sustainable life in regards to our environment. There is no reason for that peanut butter jar to be sent to a landfill when it can be repurposed. The picture below shows a repurposed jar for homemade Italian salad dressing. It’s all baby steps but it all makes a difference. Do what you can, where you are, right? Rinse and Repeat.
*This is not medical/health advice.
