This post was originally published on July 28, 2020.
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Yes. I’m going to write a whole entire post about mason jars. Why? Because I want to and this is mine and so I can!
I really love mason jars. There is just something very comforting about them. Maybe it’s the nod to days of yore when women would gather tons of fresh produce grown in their own plots of land, either small or large, in a season of abundance and work to preserve for the coming months of cold and scarcity. It kinda harkens back to an idealized and romanticized domestic lifestyle. A quiet, yet full, life.
One of my favorite things about mason jars is the simplicity of their design. I mean, they’re just glass with a logo and maybe some embossed measurement lines. But aren’t they pretty when the light catches them? And when you’ve just added some vegetables for pickling or canning and all the ingredients are fresh, I find such a sense of satisfaction in my work and the beauty that’s been captured in those jars.
Mason jars are functional not just in that they are great containers for storing all sorts of food, but also in their design for preserving food.
The design came in the form of the metal cap that sealed while tightened. The patented threading of the metal lid married together with the threading of the glass opening created a safe tool for preserving and storing food for longer periods of time.
Obvs, we’ve come a long way in how we are able to keep food fresh longer. However, these charming jars never seem to go out of style. I know people who keep old jars as their new water glasses. I’ve seen crafts where people have used mason jars for candle votives. I mean, they’re such a versatile vessel and can be cleaned to be used for whatever you need.
To me, though, what remains is their nostalgia and simple beauty. Their timeless design needs no improvement. They’re practical because they are just so durable.
You just can’t go wrong when something is as beautiful as it is functional.
