I am all for recycling, but if I can reuse something, I figure it is even better.
Such is the case with all the numerous jars I find myself using throughout the week…jam jars, jars ofmarinara, jarred olives, pickle jars and the like.
A few years ago a mom’s group I attend put out the call: “save all your spaghetti sauce jars for a Christmas project.” For months in the fall, the ladies of the group were saving jars to use for assembling soup jar mixes as Christmas presents. I had a few leftover, clean jars and I started brainstorming ideas to use them. My parents actually use leftover jam jars to store bulks dried fruit—apricots, raisins, cranberries and the like. But I came up with a new chef-y idea for the leftover jars: mixing and storing sauces, marinades and other liquids.
Often times when a recipe calls for making a sauce, dressing or marinade, it involves rigorous stirring or whisking to fully incorporate the liquids. I have found that using a jar with a tightly fastened lid is far more effective in mixing such liquids than a bowl and a whisk. What’s more is that once the liquid is mixed, if you do not need to use all of it at once, you can then easily store the liquid in the refrigerator for future use; just a few fresh shakes and the sauce or dressing is ready to go.
Here is a salad dressing, made in a jar that used to hold oysters (it has been run through the dishwasher!):
Lastly, reusing jars makes spills much less likely and makes transporting the liquid, whether for delivering a meal to a family or to take to a potluck or picnic, a spill-free adventure.
This week’s Tuesday’s Tip: don’t toss easy-to-clean and reusable glass lidded jars. They are great for making, storing and transporting your liquid recipe items.
SPC