Gadgets: Ball Dry Herb Jars

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a bit of a storage issue with herbs and spices, particularly when I buy in bulk or dry my own garden-grown herbs. I end up using random jars and containers that used to hold something else.

That works well enough (and let’s face it, it’s the cheapest option), but those odd-shaped and sized jars don’t make for a neat spice cabinet. And then there’s that fun game when I have jars and lids and I can’t find the matching pairs.

Although it’s not the most innovative product on the planet, the new dry herb storage jars from Ball ($6.95/4) are pretty handy. They’re small – just 4 ounces (1/2) cup – and the lids have a build in shaker top. If you want to dig in with a measuring spoon, the opening is the same size as a regular canning jar, so it’s a wide enough opening for pretty much any standard measuring spoon.

The jars themselves can be used for canning – but not with the lids. But, hey, if you use the little jars for canning, you can use the shaker lids on your other canning jars.

I think that’s the thing I like best about the jars – there’s no need to keep track of which jars fit which lids – any standard (not wide-mouth) – jars I have can be turned into a shaker-top jar, and I can use the little jars with regular lids. 

Samples were provided by the manufacturer for a review on Serious Eats.

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