I've been able to accumulate a lot of mason jars this summer. Canned what I could, but have many dozen left. My first thought is to just fill them with water. Any other suggestions? Thanks for your comments.

-- cmd0903 (cmd0903@aol.com), October 01, 1999

Answers

Suggest you hang onto them, stock up on meat and poultry, and can those, or save them to can what's in your freezer after watching what the world is doing on Dec. 31 ie: blackouts in other time zone means its coming our way.

-- Stacia (ClassyCwgl@aol.com), October 01, 1999.

We always filled ours with water before we stored them...being glass they have to be stored carefully anyhow. Just don't count on the original cartons holding up for long if they get damp. Canning requires alot of water anyhow and for years,we only had a shallow well with low capacity so this worked for us.

-- mutti (windance@train.missouri.org), October 01, 1999.

Use them to rodent-proof grains and rice. Either vacuum seal, or use diatomaceous earth, or (last resort) just close them up. That'll keep mice out.

We buy them for 15 cents from Goodwill, no carton.

To make a carton, get apple boxes from the store and cut them down to 7 inches high. Then use the cutoff cardboard to make dividers - two long ones (19 inches) and 4 crosswise (11 inches). Cut slits halfway through the dividers every 4 inches, and fit them together. Now glass won't touch glass.

An apple box holds 15 quarts, so 4 apple-box-cartons is like 5 mason-cartons.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), October 01, 1999.

I was planning to use masons to decant powdered milk and eggs, and will toss a desiccant pak in each one.

-- PH (ag3@interlog.com), October 01, 1999.

I fill quart jars with beans, rice, oats, grains, honey, trail mix, dried fruit, pasta..anything that I buy in bulk (25# for example). I open the bag, pour a jar full, and put the rest in a plastic 4 gallon food grade bucket. I store the buckets in the pantry, and put the jars in my kitchen cubbard. I have about 30 jars used this way, each are labeled clearly, and some have instructions taped to the jar (on the tabouli salad mix, for example). Each jar holds enough for 3 or 4 meals, and there's enough variety (like 6 different kinds of beans, 4 kinds of rice, other grains like millet and quinoa and couscous) that I only need to refill the jars once a month or so. Which means that the remaining product, in the sealed plastic buckets, is exposed to the air very little, and stays good for a long time. We have a bad problem with ants here, and they can't get into the jars.

-- Margo (margos@bigisland.com), October 03, 1999.

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

Here's something I wrote a couple months ago about uses for mason jars.

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), October 04, 1999.

Can milk and cream. Make giant batches of soup or soup base then can. There is no such thing as a surplus of canning jars! Remember to stock up on _lots_ of the pressure seal lids.

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), October 04, 1999.