🫙 Jar
Also known as: can, tin
A wide-mouthed container with a lid for dairy products, olives and wine; the glass jar with a screw-on lid was patented in 1858.
A jar is a container with a wide mouth and a lid, made of glass, clay or metal — tinplate or aluminium. Jars are used to store and sell dairy products, condensed milk, table olives and, in recent years, even wine. The glass jar with a screw-on lid was patented by the American John Mason in 1858.
The glass jar with a screw-on lid has a well-known birthday: on 30 November 1858 the American John Mason received US patent No. 22,186 for a neck with an external thread onto which a metal lid is screwed.
At home, milk, sour cream or soured milk are kept in glass jars: glass does not absorb odours and is easy to wash. The tin can is the home of condensed milk: in 1856 Gail Borden patented the condensing of milk in a vacuum in the USA (patent No. 15,553). And balls of labneh are kept in glass jars, often under olive oil.
Under the International Olive Council (IOC) standard, black olives darkened by oxidation are packed in hermetically sealed containers and sterilised; table olive labels have to show the drained weight and advice on storing an opened pack. Wine in aluminium cans is a newer form of packaging: in 2021 this market was valued at $235.7 million. Cans are lined inside with lacquer 2–5 micrometres thick, yet in a 2024 study canned wine built up more hydrogen sulphide, which smells of rotten eggs, than wine in glass.
Why it matters to you. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise against eating canned food if the can is leaking, bulging or cracked, or if liquid or foam spurts out when it is opened: such a can should be thrown away without tasting. Keep opened canned and pickled foods in the fridge.
How it connects to milk
Links
- What is packed
- 🥫 Condensed milk, 🫒 Table olives, 🫒 Californian-style black olives, 🍯 Dulce de leche, 🍯 Cajeta, 🥛 Milk, 🫒 Spanish-style green olives, 🫒 Greek-style black olives, 🧈 Ghee, 🫙 Labneh
- Related to
- 🍷 Amphora
- Part of
- 🍼 Milk containers and tableware
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that you can taste canned food to check whether it has gone off?
No. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise throwing the can away untasted if it is bulging, leaking or spurts when opened.
Who invented the jar with a screw-on lid?
John Mason: in 1858 he received US patent No. 22,186 for a neck with an external thread.
Why can canned wine smell of rotten eggs?
Aluminium reacts with the wine's sulphites to form hydrogen sulphide; a lot depends on the lacquer inside the can and the amount of molecular sulphur dioxide.
How should an opened jar of olives be stored?
In the fridge and as directed on the label: the IOC standard requires the label to say how to store an opened pack.
Why keep milk in a glass jar?
Glass does not absorb odours, it is easy to wash, and you can see how much milk is left.
Recipes
What to read next
- 🍯 Dulce de leche — A thick caramel “milk jam” of milk and sugar cooked down until brown; under the Argentine code, up to 30% moisture and 6–9% fat.
- 🫒 Californian-style black olives — Half-ripe olives treated with lye, darkened by air and sterilised in cans.
- 🍷 Amphora — A two-handled clay jar with a pointed base that ancient people used to transport wine.
- 🍯 Cajeta — Mexican cooked-down milk caramel; “Cajeta de Celaya” is made from goat's milk, “Cajeta de Sayula” from cow's milk; both are Mexican geographical indications (2022, 2024).
- 🫒 Greek-style black olives — Nearly ripe olives fermented for 6–9 months in brine with 8–10% salt, without lye.
Similar
🫙 Jug · 🫗 Vacuum flask · 🪣 Bucket · 🍼 Baby bottle · 🫙 Milk can · 🫙 Milk churn
Sources
- US Patent 22,186 (30 Nov 1858), J. L. Mason: Improvement in screw-neck bottles
- US Patent 15,553 (1856), G. Borden: Improvement in concentration of milk
- International Olive Council: Trade Standard Applying to Table Olives, COI/OT/NC no. 1 (2004)
- Sheehan M.J. et al. Hydrogen Sulfide Formation in Canned Wines: Variation Among Can Sources. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 2024, 75: 0750003
- CDC: Preventing botulism — home-canned and store-bought foods