1-Gallon pickle jars

Mods, I wasn't really sure where to place this, so move if it makes more sense elsewhere.

At my job we've been chipping away at an all-points cleanup. The other day I found (in plain sight where video and sound techs walk by them ALL the time) probably 10 or 12 glass 1-gallon pickle jars. They are covered with dust, so I know they've been there a long time.

The inclination among many here is to simply toss the lids/recycle the jars. But....

If these came into your hands, what would YOU do with them? Any good ideas for using these things? I thought about taking some home for DH to put screws, nuts, etc., in, but he really doesn't collect much of that sort of thing.

They just seem like they might be useful, but maybe not?

One of the preschool teachers said she'd take them if they were plastic, but not since they're glass (could break/glass everywhere).

It's sometimes nice to have jars with openings big enough to get a hand or spoon or measuring cup into easily. you could also use them as cloches for more cold-sensitive seedlings, if you grow your own garden. I find their siren song is usually over rated, but I do give them to the one local thrift store I know will try to resell almost anything, it seems a shame to waste them on recycling.

Funny you should say that. We just used up a gallon Costco glass jar and we were wondering the same thing--how could we use it.. well, I just finished a batch of beef broth and that's what I used to store it in.

Oh my goodness. Back in the '70s I used to buy mayonnaise in gallon jars, JUST to get the jars! They are treasures! I have two left, and I store gf pasta in one and rice in the other. We didn't use all that much mayo, so I shared it with others, because it was the JARS I wanted! They had metal lids, but I was able to find plastic lids over the years that fit. 1/2 gallon Kerr or Ball canning jars are really handy, too. I use canning jars of all sizes, rather than plastic, for storage, leftovers, etc. I've thought of going online to see if I could get more gallon jars, but I keep forgetting ...

I use a FoodSaver Universal Lid to vacuum-seal dry goods in 1-gallon jars in our home food storage. They can also be used for fermenting in.

50 Ways to Reuse Bottles & Jars: https://www.pinterest.com/ecodivastv...-bottles-jars/

OMG, Pinterest---why didn't I think of that? I just remembered the terrarium I have on MY Pinterest page!

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Originally Posted by Francie

Oh my goodness. Back in the '70s I used to buy mayonnaise in gallon jars, JUST to get the jars! They are treasures! I have two left, and I store gf pasta in one and rice in the other. We didn't use all that much mayo, so I shared it with others, because it was the JARS I wanted! They had metal lids, but I was able to find plastic lids over the years that fit. 1/2 gallon Kerr or Ball canning jars are really handy, too. I use canning jars of all sizes, rather than plastic, for storage, leftovers, etc. I've thought of going online to see if I could get more gallon jars, but I keep forgetting ...

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I have 1/2 gallon Ball Canning Jars - use them for dry food storage, mostly.

I order coffee 10lbs. at a time - one gallon jars would work very nicely.

I use them for dry food storage, pet food storage, freezing (be careful, the cold glass is very brittle), refrigerator storage, fermenting or brining, making pickles....The glass ones are hard to find now.

I just bought one for ten bucks, for fermenting. You have a fortune on your hands! :~)
(C'mon, kombucha...)

I would also use it for storage. One year I had those pantry bugs and had wished I had everything packed in glass. Also we had mice in our attic last year so having as many food items packed in jars is what I want to finnaly complete since they wouldn't have anything to eat. That is a great find!!!

They are the bomb!! Especially awesome for mouse proof storage if you have a tendency for that. Just a tip.. to get the pickle smell out of the jars and lids stuff the jars with crumpled up newspaper. Close jar tightly and let sit for a week or two. This will rid them of all odours.

Others have great suggestions. If they still don't appeal to you I'd suggest freecycle or craigslist for sale "free" section. Someone would surely want them and get more out of them than just recycling them. It's a workplace so you could just have the person come during biz hours and pick them up from the receptionist or whatever. No effort on the part of you or any of your coworkers.

Just like everyone else has said, they are so valuable I'd hate for you to throw them away.

And just like everyone else, I use them for storing pantry dry goods, and for refrigerating and freezing leftovers and homemade broth. They are also nice for taking soup and such for occasions like funerals, new babies, sickness-in-the-family - all those times when a pot of soup (or chili, or beans, or chicken-n-noodles) is something you want to do to help - and you can leave the container and not have to worry the recipients about returning it.

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Originally Posted by Francie

... 1/2 gallon Kerr or Ball canning jars are really handy, too. I use canning jars of all sizes, rather than plastic, for storage, leftovers, etc. I've thought of going online to see if I could get more gallon jars, but I keep forgetting ...

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This. I even drink my breakfast drink out of a quart jar in the morning. (Stay classy, Jane...)

I store beans, grains and flours in gallon and half gallon glass jars. No plastic in my pantry!! I bought a bunch of the at Azurestandard recently. It would have been nice to find free ones.

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Originally Posted by JaneV2.0

This. I even drink my breakfast drink out of a quart jar in the morning. (Stay classy, Jane...)

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We do the same with water, smoothies etc. but we went high tech and bought two lids with holes in them for stainless steel straws, plus the straws. Not expensive and really useful. (Much safer for drinking a smoothy in the car, for instance, and also for water on a nightstand overnight.)

for pickled eggs you need to be able to get them out..........of course storage too!

Lessisbest...........I was never interested in the Food Saver thing 'cause you can't reuse the plastic, but I didn't know you could use it on jars. That would be great!

KayLR.....what kind if lids do they have?
Even if you decide not to use all of them, I'm sure someone at a place like Goodwill would love to have them.
Oh.....and if they are really old and you found them at work, is there any reason to think they shouldn't be used for food?

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Originally Posted by CathyA

Lessisbest...........I was never interested in the Food Saver thing 'cause you can't reuse the plastic, but I didn't know you could use it on jars. That would be great!

KayLR.....what kind if lids do they have?
Even if you decide not to use all of them, I'm sure someone at a place like Goodwill would love to have them.
Oh.....and if they are really old and you found them at work, is there any reason to think they shouldn't be used for food?

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FoodSavers have always been able to vacuum-seal canning lids on jars (I got my first FoodSaver in 1987) with the jar sealer. They later came out with the Universal Lid, which can be used on any rigid container with a smooth rim.

When it comes to reusing jars for food storage, I would not use a jar if some sort of chemical/poison had been stored in the jar, but that should go without saying. I would also use caution if you are canning and you find/purchase/are given a cache of old used jars - but gallon jars aren't safe for home canning - and 1/2-gallons are restricted to apple and grape juice, so there probably isn't a problem there. Glass can get brittle after years of home canning, as well as from storage conditions (extreme heat and cold in an attic, garage, shed), and can break easily. I still have some canning jars my mother had, but I only use them for vacuum-sealing dry goods, not home canning, because they are too old and brittle and would probably break easily in a canner, especially in a pressure canner.

Well, I finally looked up gallon jars on the internet, and lo and behold!, there are a lot of them to choose from! Since I only ever use mine for storage of grains, flours, and the like, I think I may just order a case (of 4). Wow!

CathyA they have metal lids, the ones they came with originally when they held pickles.

I've taken a couple home to make terrariums with the grands. I'm going to take another to put my whole wheat flour in. I don't really keep that amount of pasta or dried goods that would justify taking one for that. But before the rest get recycled, I'll run them down to Goodwill instead.

Iced tea. Iced coffee.

Many years ago I made my family eat a certain kind of pickles so I could collect 10 matching gallon jars. My husband built a shelf in the kitchen to store them. they were labeled and held flour, oats, wheat, beans, rice, sugar, etc. We then bought different pickles in matching 1/2 gallon jars. I stored staples that we keep in smaller quantities in those. The jars had lovely brass colored lids. I still have them all. Now they are in closed cupboard. I liked it better when they were on display.