Cookaholics Bulletin Board

So being the OCD kitchen girl that I am, I love it when I find a tool, etc. that not only has the form and function I want, but also looks very cool. So when I decided that I needed to open up some space in my spices/baking ingredients cabinet, the logical thing was to replace the pretty oil and vinegar bottles in my corner glass-door cabinet with things that I actually use. (Behind the bottles were/are extra glassware, etc., so that space was already functional, but what was at the front was totally decorative.)

So I got/saw the bright idea to put my various cocoas, baking chips, etc. in the tall straight mason jars I use for keeping my nuts/dried fruits vacuum sealed. But the metal jar lids/rings were not an option because that would be a total pain to handle, and the white plastic lids that you can get for regular or wide mouth jars are not airtight and are way too utilitarian looking for something that's visible (in my world, that is).

Long story short, there was almost nothing suitable online in the wide-mouth size, and then I came across iLids. They are the coolest thing ever for mason jars! They are really well-made and have a gasket and come in colors (including black, my personal favorite). They're not inexpensive, but I think are a reasonable price given how well-made they are.

An added bonus is that, from what I can tell, it's a small start-up kind of company where someone had a great idea and actually had the guts and determination to get it produced and bring it to the marketplace.

So FWIW, that's my cool kitchen gadget tip of the month

p.s. They're on Amazon but they have a website plus a promo code that saves 10%, which covered the cost of shipping in my case (compared to getting them Prime).

They look so great! I am heavily invested in the white plastic ones at this point but mine are behind cupboards....I store so much in mason jars.
Now I want to change all of them.

Their website led me to look at youtube about using mason jars with a regular blender. How did I not know this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaiHuqwRAko

So sorry, Jean. But if there was ever something worth enablement, it's these! I smile every time I pass the cabinet

Emilie,

They're attractive, but I'm not clear on what they do that regular lids don't?

Actually Josh, there are hardly any one-piece storage lids made for the wide mouth jars. The only ones I could find were the white screw-on ones that Ball makes. They work okay but they're not airtight like something with a gasket, which iLids have. (Disclaimer: I'm not a science girl so that's just my layman's perspective.) But definitely the sturdiness and look have equal appeal for me. Of course I guess the original ball lid and ring could be used, but dealing with two pieces whenever I opened up something would drive me batty.

Emilie

p.s. They also make them for regular mouth jars, although I'm sure there are other lid types available for that size. But probably not that sturdy and with a gasket, or the colors available for people with style (that don't accessorize everything with black like I do).

Actually I could have been a lot more brief if I'd just copied and pasted this from the website: Intelligent LIDS was started by a Seattle woman who loves her mason jars and wanted a one-piece, non-rusting, reusable, non-leaking lid for everyday use.

Ahhhh, that is a much clearer explanation - THANKS! I DID wonder what the all the fuss was but I can see clearly now

Okay so not to totally beat a dead horse (what a weird expression), but I've got a new use for these and I can't believe I never thought of it before. One of the wide-mouth lids I bought originally was missing a gasket, so when I contacted them about it, they sent me not only the gasket but a regular-mouth black lid as a courtesy (a nice surprise and smart marketing too, as now of course I want more).

At first I was going to put a small jar of yeast with it and keep it on the counter. That would have made the yeast more handy, but I'm used to keeping it in the freezer. Then it occurred to me to put my vanilla in it. I've made my own vanilla for years and have always just refilled a small Absolut bottle with it and kept it in my cabinet. I wasn't sure how it would work out, opening a jar rather than pouring from a bottle, but it is so cool! I just open and tip it a bit, and put my measuring spoon down in it. It is so much neater than having to pour it, plus it's more accurate because I usually over-poured/spilled a bit.

So even if you're not into cool lids, it might be worth giving it a try with whatever jar that works. It's like when I started using a canister years ago for my salt rather than pouring from the metal spout on the package. That was a serious epiphany. And this one is pretty close!

Emilie

I'd love to have these but I also have many of the white lids. My fix for sealing (on items I don't use often) is to place plastic wrap across the jar and then put on the white lids. I might have to spring for some of these.