The Marvelous Mason Jar

The mason jar is surprisingly one of my most used items in the kitchen.  With my mason jars, I have made salad dressing and homemade butter.  Making salad dressing in a mason jar is incredibly easy, because you can close it and shake it to combine the ingredients, you don't have to continuously whisk and worry about separation.  To make a very simple salad dressing, combine the following in a mason jar, then shake vigorously.

2 Tablespoons vinegar (such as white balsamic)
6 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons mustard (Dijon, whole grain or without whole mustard seeds)
Optional additions:
Honey
Pepper (freshly ground)
Shallots (finely chopped)
Herbs (finely chopped)

I also like to use mason jars to store cookies and candy, like amaretti, biscotti, and candied citrus peel.  We served homemade amaretti cookies in a large mason jar during dessert of one of our dinner parties and the guests loved it.  Cookies and candies in mason jars make wonderful gifts!  You can simply leave them as is, or you can tie a ribbon around the neck of the jar.

Finally, I love mason jars because they are better than plastic food storage containers to me.  You can position the jars in the fridge more freely than some plastic containers, because you know the screw top lids won't leak- so you can put them on their side.  They are great for storing liquids like soup and coconut milk, which can sometimes be problematic with plastic containers with wide openings at the top.  I wash them in the dishwasher with all of my other dishes and I never have to worry about warping or melting, as you sometimes do with plastic containers.