The Best Mason Jars for Preserving Your Food
Introduction
I must say I am quite a fan of mason jars, so when the question “What are the best mason jars available on the market?” came to my mind, I excitedly started gathering information together with personal experience to write this article in the hope that it may help you find the suitable jars.
Like choosing clothes or cosmetics, choosing mason jars should be based on your purpose, favorite style, and financial condition. I am going to specify each good-to-buy jar’s feature as much as possible for your references.
There is a wide range of products available on the market today, and below I have reviewed 5 of the very best options.
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**Below, you will find more detailed reviews, but you can also click the links above to see current prices and read customer reviews on Amazon.
What is a mason jar?
Precisely, according to Collins Dictionary, a mason jar is simply a jar made from glass with a screw-on lid, which is normally used to preserve food. However, I bet not many of you know the reason the jar is called Mason jar. It is named after its inventor, John Landis Mason.
It is originally used in canning food to preserve food in the family. Nowadays, people also call mason jars as fruit jars, Ball jars, and glass canning jars.
How to choose the best Mason jar
Material
Mason jars can be either made of glass or metal. However, glass mason jars are much more common than its counterpart since they enable you to do canning again and again, whereas metal ones are good to use for once time only.
Besides, glass is always known as the best material for food preserving purpose thanks to its healthier features.
Size
Nowadays, Mason jars producers serve you with a variety of sizes. Regular sizes are 4oz, 8oz, 12oz, 16oz, 32oz, and 64oz.
Decide which food you want to deal with the jar, and its purpose will help you choose the right size. For example, if you want to buy some jars to place some candy to give as a thank-you present for your party, then just need small jars. For canning large size food, the obviously bigger jar is a must.
Color
I am personally attracted to colorful Mason jars: blue, green, red, purple, pink, yellow, etc. When I ferment nice color food like tomatoes, cucumber, strawberry, purple onion, or purple cabbage, I prefer buying white transparent jars to keep the food colors to be seen themselves.
You might also find thick color mason jars which are suitable for decorating or DIY projects.
Lid’s style and material
Sometimes Mason jars do not come with the lids, so make sure to read the product description before making a buying decision. You probably will not use the lid for decorating or serving drinks.
There are lids made of metal, glass, plastic, silicon, or even wood. I am for metal lids because they work great in canning food. In case, you are looking for best Mason jars to store dried food, jars with glass lid are recommended.
Various lid styles are at your choice. How to choose a lid should be taken into account also. Most of the jar lids are “screw-on” ones including 1-piece and 2-piece lids; some others even have straw holes, coin slots, pumps, or recaps.
Suggested ways to use mason jars in your kitchen and more
Above we complement and mention a lot about Mason jar functions, so I mean to sort all common uses below for someone who may not familiar with Mason jars.
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Keep leftover food in the refrigerator
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Store homemade smoothies and yogurt
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Take away water or drink to office or workout club
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Take away meal for a picnic trip
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Flower vase
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Ferment vegetables
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Pickle
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Store spice, dry pantry staples
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Dehydrate seasonal products
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Do canning
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Serve drink in style
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Make attractive gifts
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Decorate solar light, candleholder, lantern, party décor, etc.
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Keep each section of your house organized from kitchen pantry, learning corner, make-up desk to bathroom and hardware closet
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Create sourdough starter
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Container for homemade essential oil, cosmetics
Of course, the list is not efficient enough, so feel free to share what you do with your Mason jar collection to help others know about their new functions.
Product Reviews – The Best Mason Jar
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1. Ball Wide Mouth Elite Collection Quart Jars
I am first impressed by its blue color which makes it more functional than just canned food, but also useful for numerously decorative ideas, such as making solar light, flower vase, or homemade candle.
As a canning jar, this Ball Elite Collection works great for preserving vegetables, sauces, mustard, vinegar, jam, etc. As mentioned earlier, Ball is a very reliable brand in canning jars. Thus, you do not need to worry about these jars’ quality.
With this jar collection, stored food is good up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator, one year in the freezer, and one year if fresh preserve.
New brushed silver design on the cap make the jars look best in your kitchen and also. Besides, this wide mouth jar is easy to clean. Some other similar jars in different colors and sets that you might want to make some comparison to get the right one for yourself.
Pros
- Able to store anything, regardless of the size of the food or items
- Easy to clean
- Nice appearance
- Great for DIY projects, organizing the pantry, storing fresh food, serving smoothies, etc.
Cons
- Turn the inside good into blue
- Not as good as other Ball jars in term of the glass body jar
- May explode when storing in the freezer for long
2. Bormioli Rocco Fido Clear Jar
Bormioli Rocco Group is a famous glassware producer from Italy, working in the industry since 1825. The company has a huge passion for glassmaking and time-honored craftsmanship. Their products have a good taste of design, function, and material. Check out the below video for better understanding of the brand.
What I like from this jar is its bail-and-trigger top which not only helps you store and ferment food in style but also make the structure of the jar extremely stable. This cap is tight enough to prevent the outside air from coming in, but loose enough to release CO2 out when fermenting vegetables.
These Fido jars are served in 3 different sizes: 33.75oz, 2 liter or 4 liters. The producer guarantees the jar is lead-free and safe for the dishwasher. Thus, although it is quite expensive, this jar is one among the best Mason jar list.
Pros
- Large capacity
- Safe in dishwasher
- Perfect for vegetable fermentation
- Nice trigger lid
- Durable glass jar and metal part
Cons
- Pretty costly
- Possibly tricky when open and close with the cap
3. Ball Mason 12oz Quilted Jelly Jars with Lids and Bands
If you are seeking to buy an affordable but great product, this set of 12 quilted jelly jars could be an answer. Thanks to the Quilted crystal design, more than just a canning jar, it has added values as serving, decorating, and gift giving.
In term of canning, the most important part you need you care about is the lid. This one has a new-brushed silver design on the outside lid, coming with the band which guarantees your stored food quality will be as you expect.
The ball is a reliable brand, so the glass quality does not matter to mind. However, the only disadvantage I have found so far is the lid rusts easily. Hence, I recommend you clean the jar carefully after using.
Once you use the jar for freezing or microwave, you shouldn’t use it to do canning food because the sealing function is then already changed.
Pros
- Multi-purpose jars: canning, serving, creative décor, and gift giving
- Great price
- Ideal for fresh preserving recipes: jams, jellies, sauces, or mustard
- Right size for homemade yogurt, smoothies, ice-cream, etc.
- Usable every day with everything
Cons
- The lid rusts quite easily.
4. 1.5 oz Hexagon Jars
This 24 Piece Set Mini Glass Favor Jars is designed for spices, honey, jelly, jam and more. With the airtight, screw-on, safety button lid, this cute little jar will not let you down in canning. They are food-grade and leak-proof.
The closure is 1.25 inches, specific dimensions are 1.75 x 2 inches, and can store 1.5 oz of liquid. The body is made of durable glass and even guaranteed unbreakable by the manufacturer. If it ever breaks, you can claim for a brand new jar.
For those you are about to host a wedding, baby shower, birthday party, or similar types of party, these adorable mini set jar is also indispensable to store little things that make incredible thank-you gifts for your guests.
I love to put handmade oil and cosmetics in it. I feel more motivated when taking care of skin with my collection of DIY cream in these hexagon jars. Sometimes, I use it to organize accessories like rubber hair bands, small earrings also. In short, the design works in a dozen of purposes.
Pros
- Value for money
- Perfect to be thank you gifts for baby showers, wedding, birthday party
- Strong glass
- Great size for jelly, homemade cosmetics, honey, jam, and spices
- Safe in freezer
- Food-grade and leak-proof
Cons
- The lid rusts quite easily.
5. Bormioli Rocco Fido Square Jar with Blue Lid
This set of 4 Bormioli Rocco Fido Square Jar with Blue Lid is a wonderful choice for a sourdough starter. When establishing starters, the lid and bail should be close, but no need to use the rubber ring. When cultivating a new starter, however, the glass lid should be left open, and covered with a cloth, or you can flip the glass lid on.
The jar is made from thick glass, so a bit heavy, but it may last forever with this material. The blue lid comes with airtight, stainless steel clamp. Thus, it is worry-free for pickling and fermenting garden vegetables.
Canning is fine as long as it doesn’t require a hot water bath. The closure is pressure seal; it is technically not as tight as normal screw-on mason jars. You can consider this type for storing dry food like coffee, tea, stews. They would be attractive enough to place on your top counter.
One important notice is that the safe part for the dishwasher is only the glass part and the lid itself, not including the metal part and gasket.
Pros
- Made from strong, resistant glass
- Lead and BPA free
- Nice design with square glass jar, blue lid, and airtight stainless steel clamp
- Work wonderfully for sourdough starter, pickling and fermenting
Cons
- A bit high price
- Heavy and big
- Quite tricky when open with just your finger
- Not totally dishwasher safe
Choosing the Best Mason Jars for Preserving Your Food
Bases on results from a lot of studies, glassware is much superior for use in the kitchen than plastic containers. Start replace as many as possible plastic items in your kitchen by glass mason jars.
I am sure my article today can help you find best mason jars for your usage. In term of quality, price, function, and style, these are the most favorite ones in the market.
Start planting indoors, enjoy the happiness of eating your products, and use Mason jars to pickle them, which is surely a true medication. Please leave your comment below for any further questions related to Mason jars; we are pleased to hear from you.
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James G. Craig
James G. Craig is a gardening enthusiast who splits his spare time between growing vegetables, preening his flower gardens, and blogging about his experiences at the Gardener Corner.
