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Most everyone knows me for my #strawberriesinajar hack that went viral several times, thanks to Brianna Khayyat (@raisingqueens3 on Instagram). The keys, of course, to making the berries last as long as they do are the washing process (I show that here) and properly storing them in a 1-gallon glass jar. You can use any size of glass mason jars to store your berries, though. I just like to use the gallon size.
10/12/21-Brianna Khayyat posted this image on Facebook that's gone viral several times!
I never imagined that when I started talking about my fridge that the idea of keeping produce longer was such a needed skill all around the world. My friend Suzanne has been trying to get me to teach these skills to others for years. I just didn’t understand at the time that so many people were having issues with food waste.
We switched to glass after a cancer scare in our family. I felt like the only thing I could control, while we waited for test results and went through surgeries, was what products I kept in my house. Plastic food containers had to go. I just didn’t feel comfortable having them anymore, so we made the switch. This proved to be helpful in more ways than just storing our food and making it last longer than it used to.
For a couple of years, I had a house full of littles, who at the time, were too young to tell me what they wanted. You know the age. I always taught littles to eat a rainbow and that snacks came from the fridge. When I showed them a glass jar of refrigerated snacks, like berries and veggies, they were able to point and nod to what they wanted. They could actually see what their options were. It was helpful for everyone.
The Average American Family Throws Out 30-40% of the Produce They Buy
I want to focus on saving you money. Yes, glass containers can improve the aesthetics of your fridge and pantry, but the most important part is that storing food in these vs. in plastic can stretch your grocery budget. I washed my produce with vinegar and water, but still stored them in plastic for the longest time. When I made the switch to glass jars, I realized that I wasn’t needing to run the store as often.
The topic of finances is usually not a fun one to think about for many families, so if I can help ease some tension in that area, I am happy to do it. It’s really all the little choices that add up to big changes, right?
All Jars Great and Small
Gallon Jar (128 oz.):
For years we used pickle jars. If you are going to use pickle jars, the smell doesn’t stick to the glass. It is the lid that holds the smell. My best trick after washing the lids is to put them out in the sun for a couple of days. If you live here in the Seattle area or don’t get sun you might have to wait until summertime for this to work.
In the fridge: I like the gallon-size jars for the 2lb packages of strawberries and grapes from Costco.
Buying produce in bulk from Costco (or Sam’s Club, depending on where you live) is cheaper than buying from a regular grocery store if you have a membership. This is why you hear me talk about Costco so much.
You can also use more of a smaller-sized jar, like 2 of the ½ gallons, 4 quarts etc. It’s all about using what you have. If you have leftover pasta sauce, jam or pickle jars, feel free to use those. I am just sharing what I use and why.
In the pantry, I use glass gallon-size jars for things like cereal, granola and chips to extend the time that they stay fresh. The jars that I linked in my Amazon cart have a mouth opening that is big enough to get a measuring cup in. This is always a plus, since it really is annoying to have to transfer something from a larger jar to a bowl in order to measure it, which I had to do with some jars I purchased in the past.
Half-Gallon Mason Jar (64 oz.):
This is the second most common jar that is generally used for strawberries & grapes.
In the fridge: I use it for fruit storage. It still gives the items enough room to not be squished in the container and fits most 1lb packages of strawberries. The ½ gallons come in a case of six.
For Pantry use: Half gallons are the largest size jars you can vacuum seal for long-term storage if you have this attachment with your food saver. This greatly increases the shelf life for dried pantry items like rice, beans, and pasta. I don’t vacuum seal jars that we are currently using and are a part of our working pantry. More information on how I stock my pantry can be found here and on YouTube here.
Wide-Mouth Quart Mason Jar (32 oz.):
Quart jars are the most common canning jar and with the increase of people getting back to homesteading basics in the last 2 years, they have been harder to find. We are working hard to make sure these quart-sized jar links always work for you, but if they are out of stock, feel free to message us and we can help find another link for you.
Quart-sized jars normally come in a case of 12. I usually only buy the Ball brand of canning jars, as I trust them the most not to break. For most things, WIDE-mouth jars are going to be what you are looking for. They are more versatile than regular-mouth jars, which have a smaller opening.
In the fridge: We buy Greek yogurt from Costco, which has a six-week fridge life. This means if we didn’t eat it all I would only have to buy it every other time we go to Costco. After it is open in the plastic container, it can spoil quicker. This is why I started transferring it into glass jars.
I also use this size for cheese. We get the mozzarella balls from Costco, and putting them in a jar helps them fit in the door, or in the back of the fridge (instead of the flat round container, which has a hard time fitting with anything else in the fridge). Shredded cheese will also last twice as long in glass than its original packaging. Here is how I store my cheese in the freezer. The other thing I noticed when I did this is that they fit so much better in my fridge than the random, different-sized containers.
Wide-mouth jars can also be put in the freezer. I talk more about storing these in the freezer here. One thing I always have ready to use in my freezer is my homemade turkey stock, which I use for my Chicken Noodle Soup and sometimes as a course for our Valentine’s Fondue.
Wide-mouth Pint Mason Jar and Wide-Mouth Pint-and-a-Half Mason Jar (16 oz. and 24 oz.)
We've used both of these sizes for years as our drinking glasses, for smoothies and iced drinks.
In the fridge: we use these to store condiments and cut-up veggies for our salads. We have an acrylic container that we keep all of our salad toppings in, and I store my lettuce in this. Learn more about how we do salads in our house here and watch my wonderful hubby make his favorite salad dressing here.
In the pantry: I use this size for the entire top row of the pantry, which has items like applesauce, salsa, carrots and green beans.
Note: Pint-and-a-half jars can be harder to find in stock but if you are interested in purchasing some, take a look at these.
Half Pint Jars (8 oz.):
These are smaller jars that are used more for jelly and baby food.
Other Glass Storage Containers
I use flat Pyrex containers for food like blueberries, carrots, celery and raspberries (see how I wash and store those here). They are easier to grab out of a flat container, rather than a large jar. That’s just a personal preference, though.
These blueberries were the final sign I needed to start The Cross Legacy and start teaching produce hacks. One of my favorite people that I look up to, Jordan Page shared my four-week-old blueberries on her shelf cooking page.
Those same blueberries ended up lasting 8 weeks and made me realize I had skills to teach others. I started The Cross Legacy Instagram quickly so she could tag me in a post and started working on the blog all the same weekend. I still can’t believe that was just last summer.
Water Bottles (18 oz.):
I use these glass water bottles in my fridge door which use up the space well. They are taller and skinny and fit in my LG Fridge. I will be totally honest here, this is one thing I do because I like the aesthetic of it and not necessarily because they last longer in the bottles. I like less packaging and labels in my life. They also fit really well in the skinny part of my fridge door.
2.5 and 2 Gallon Jars (384 oz. and 256 oz.):
I like to use these jars from Anchor Hocking in our “working pantry” (things we use all the time) to store grains like pasta and rice. In a recent live I did on Instagram, you can also see that we love our coffee and like to store it in the big 2.5 gallon jar. With how busy we are, we drink this a lot!
These do not have completely airtight lids, so if you are wanting to store something in your pantry for longer than a year, do not use these. We do not have to worry about problems like pantry moths where I live, so I don’t have an issue with using some jars that are not airtight.
1.5 Gallon Jar (192 oz.):
This one is also from Anchor Hocking and I store items like flour that I use all the time. Of course the size of the jar that I use depends on the size of the original packaging that the food comes in. These are just examples of how I use the different sizes.
Organization
I like to use these dividers for the various Pyrex containers.
Labels in my pantry are a new thing just since this past Christmas. I have always written straight on the jar with a sharpie. I even write down boil times for pasta, or how many cups of pancake mix I need to make the recipe.
If you don’t have labels for all of your items, which is perfectly fine, you can easily write on the glass jar with a sharpie. It will come off with some dish soap and a little scrubbing. For your dried goods, it may be helpful to write the expiration date on the jar somewhere. This can help in the long run and save you from having to throw out expired food that can no longer be eaten.
If You Want to Buy Local
I always love supporting local businesses, not to mention that they may have some items in stock that are out of stock online. People may not think to look here, but local hardware stores, like Ace Hardware or Tractor Supply where I’m at, have canning jars. You can also find them, in limited supply, at grocery stores and places like Target.
Buying these jars through my link always helps to support The Cross Legacy and our mission, but so does joining Patreon, reading the blog posts, and purchasing upcoming ebooks. Everything helps and we are always so grateful for your support!
One Last Note About These Jars
I love them so much! Can you tell?
Unlike plastic, they can go from freezer, to fridge, to dishwasher, and to the oven. I have had them for years and had no issues with the lids. I use these a ton for batch cooking to go into the freezer and then defrost in the fridge.
And This Is How We Do It!
Extra points to you if you sang that in your head.
I always tease people that I like things that are practical and pretty, so storing food in glass containers just makes me really happy. My food actually lasts longer and looks pretty too!
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