Over the past few months
I have been using Mason jars more and more to store foods, but not in the way that you think. Mason jars are not just for canning anymore.
First of all, I love the look of mason jars, whether they be new, vintage, clear or blue, I love them all. I have some for display, but most I use to store everything from dry goods to salsa, apple butter and more recently, greens and herbs. I get them at flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores and
use the Tattler reusable lids and rings to seal them. Although I must say, it's getting harder to find them used now that more people are utilizing mason jars for storage themselves.
It all started in December when I got a new Foodsaver Freshsaver Handheld Vacuum Sealer. I'm so tired of throwing away lunch meat, cheese, and fresh fruits and vegetables, so I thought this new device would really help our small household out. I've owned one of the original Foodsaver bag sealers for years, but the bags can be costly, so I reserve them for things I freeze. The new handheld unit uses resealable Ziploc bags, so it is perfect for every day use.
Anyway, the old Foodsaver unit has adapters for sealing mason jars, but I had never used it for that, just with the Foodsaver containers. I happened to catch a picture on Pinterest a while back of someone using theirs to store salad items in a mason jar to make it easy for her to have a salad everyday and then it dawned on me. Why can't I use this technique to store all my perishable food items in the fridge, whether it be leftovers or produce?
You see, air is the worst thing for most perishable food and is what speeds spoilage when storing food in your refrigerator. Leftovers in the fridge should be eaten within three days, but if they are stored with all the excess air removed, they could last up to a week in the fridge. I guess you would have to experiment, because some foods will spoil faster no matter what, plus, it all depends on if they have been kept at the proper temperature from the beginning.
I've been experimenting with greens for the most part since we have been using them in smoothies for breakfast. So far, spinach, kale and Swiss chard have lasted
over a week in a sealed mason jar. I also have romaine lettuce cut up and ready for salad, stored in mason jars. They have not turned brown or mushy in the week they have been stored. A fresh pineapple has also been in a jar. Peeled and cut up in it's own juice, there is still some left and it's been almost two weeks now, and still smells and tastes fresh.
Now, you need to be careful because some foods loose some of their nutritional value the longer they are stored. I'm not sure if the lack of air will help reduce this or if greens are affected by that statistic. But I suppose fresh food is better than processed food any day, so what the hay.
My success with greens has been so good, I am starting to experiment with herbs now. I love cilantro, but can never seem to use up the bunch before it starts to get slimy. I've stored it in bags with paper towels and I've bought cilantro with the roots and stored them inside a glass of water in the fridge, and nothing seems to extend their life, so tonight I washed dried and stored the leaves of a bunch of cilantro in a mason jar, sucking the air out of it with the Foodsaver.
Here's how to store all greens and herbs. First wash and dry them, if necessary. It's important to remove as much of the excess moisture as possible. This is where a salad spinner comes in handy, but I don't have one of those so I do one of two things. I either put the greens inside a clean flour sack dish towel and spin them around above my head (simulating the salad spinner), or I just press them with paper towels. I've been putting a clean dry paper towel in the bottom of each jar and then putting in the greens. I tear or cut up the greens first so they fit in the jar better. You can add another paper towel to the top of the jar if you are worried about if you were able to dry them off all the way.
Once the jar is full, place a Tattler rubber ring and plastic lid on top of the jar (or just a regular metal canning lid if that is what you have) and then suck the air out of the jar using the FoodSaver jar attachment. They make one for wide mouth and standard jars and run about $10 each. I believe they work with most of the large sized Foodsaver models. At this point you can label the jars and store them or you can put on a metal ring. Some people say the rings help keep the jars from losing their seal, but I haven't had this problem. If the rim of the jar is clean and dry, you shouldn't have a problem with them sealing.
This method of storing foods does NOT take the place of pressure canning, so either refrigerate or freeze the jars depending on what you are storing and for how long. Yes, you can freeze mason jars, though I haven't done it since I just have a small freezer on top of the fridge. If you are freezing a liquid, leave some room at the top for expansion.
I also store all my seeds and powders for our smoothies in the jars as well. From chia seeds to flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. I plan on rearranging the shelves in the fridge to help accomodate more jars and will be dedicating a cabinet space to jars as well.
I'd love to hear what all you store in your mason jars so we can spread the love and save some cash.
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