Fabulous five: jam jar re-use tips

As a mother that works 36 hours a week I like to think ahead. Making soups or sauces in the evenings, ready to warm up for dinner the next day, is a real time saver. I like serving homemade food, and by storing my creations properly I can feed my troops quickly.

Once my homemade food is packaged in a smart way, it can also be taken to work or on a picnic on the beach or in the park. This prevents us from buying greasy snacks, although we give in to our cravings every niw and then!

People often ask me how I manage this, upcycling jars is a big part of the answer. Here are my five ideas for storing and transporting in jam jars:

  1. Use jars  to store your home made jams, jelly’s, lemon curd or mayo.Mayo1
  2. Make and store batches of delicious sauces and dips in the barbecue season like tzatziki, rocket pesto and tomato sauceRocketPesto2
  3. Mix your favorite salad dressing inside a jar. Just add all ingredients, close and shake! I like making our Ceasar salad dressing this way.
  4. CeaserOne jam jar holds 1 (cold) soup serving, for a healthy lunch or afternoon snack! (like this my gourgette soup recipe, good warm or cold)Gsoup2
  5. Label your jars! This way you know what’s in them and when you made them. I use pretty labels when I plan on giving the jam away. That brings me to another perk of using a jar, unlike an (expensive) plastic container, I never worry about getting the container back from my friends….

Homemade mayonnaise

Mayo2I know it’s easy to buy mayonnaise ready made in the jar. I recommend you make this delicious sauce at least once, because;

  • you see what ingredients go in
  • you can determine the quality of the ingredients used, adding your own favorite ingredients
  • and of course it really does taste much better.

Once you have mastered the basic recipe below, you can start varying the ingredients to make your personalized version by;

  • Using your favorite vinegar or citrus juice like flavored vinager or lime juice instead of lemon juice.
  • Using your favorite mustard.
  • Adding 1 or 2 garlic cloves to the mustard and egg yoke, creating garlic mayo or Aioli.
  • Substituting up to 125 ml of the neutral oil by olive oil or yoghurt for a healthier mayo.

As a Dutchy I love my mayo with chips. It is also great for making a potato salad.

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Keep your leftover mayonnaise in a jar in the refrigerator. The lemon and the mustard ensure that you can keep your mayo for at least a week, if it lasts that long that is….

Basic mayonnaise

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tbsp mustard
  • half tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
  • 275 ml of neutral flavored oil, I use sunflower

Combine your yolk, mustard, vinegar and salt and whisk until well combined.

Keep whisking and gradually add your oil. After adding all the oil you should have a thick and glossy mayonnaise.

If you add your oil too quickly, the mayonnaise will split. Try whisking vigorously. If this doesn’t rescue your mayo, put this batch to the side.  You will have to start over. When you are halfway adding your oil, add your split mayo instead, essentially creating a double batch of mayo.

Potato salad

Turn your mayonnaise into potato salad by adding it to some boiled sliced potatoes. Add some capers and sliced spring union for some freshness and a splash of green.

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