A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of
glass,
ceramic, or
plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a
lid
A lid, also known as a cover, is part of a container, and serves as the closure or seal, usually one that completely closes the object. Lids can be placed on small containers such as tubs as well as larger lids for open-head pails and drums. S ...
,
screw cap, lug cap,
cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on cap,
plastic shrink, heat sealed lidding film, an inner seal, a
tamper-evident band
A tamper-evident band or security ring serves as a tamper resistant or tamper evident function to a screw cap, lid, or closure. The term ''tamper-proof'' is sometimes used but is considered a misnomer given that pilfering is still technica ...
, or other suitable means.
Etymology
The English word "jar" originates from the
Arabic word ''jarra'', which means an earthen pot or vessel.
Creation
Jars are
sterilised by putting them in a
pressure cooker
Pressure cooking is the process of cooking food under high pressure steam and water or a water-based cooking liquid, in a sealed vessel known as a ''pressure cooker''. High pressure limits boiling, and creates higher cooking temperatures which c ...
with boiling
water or an
oven
upA double oven
A ceramic oven
An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...
for a number of minutes. Glass jars are considered
microwavable
A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce t ...
.
Utility
Jars can be used to hold
solids too large to be removed from, or
liquid
A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...
s too
viscous to be poured through a
bottle's neck; these may be
food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
s,
cosmetics,
medications, or
chemicals. Glass jars—among which the most popular is the
mason jar—can be used for storing and preserving items as diverse as
jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and entertai ...
,
pickled gherkin, other pickles,
marmalade,
sun-dried tomatoes,
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
s,
jalapeño peppers,
chutneys, pickled eggs,
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
, and many others.
Types
*
Bell jar
A bell jar is a glass jar, similar in shape to a bell (i.e. in its best-known form it is open at the bottom, while its top and sides together are a single piece), and can be manufactured from a variety of materials (ranging from glass to differe ...
- typically used in scientific laboratories to produce a
vacuum; also used in Victorian times for display purposes
*
Cookie jar - typically ceramic or glass, common in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom
*
Killing jar - used to kill captured insects
*
Leyden jar - a historical electrical capacitor
* Specimen jar - an
instrument used in anatomy to preserve specimens
*
Apothecary jar A medicinal jar, drug jar, or apothecary jar is a jar used to contain medicines. Ceramic medicinal jars originated in the Islamic world and were brought to Europe where the production of jars flourished from the Middle Ages onward. Potteries were es ...
- historically for storage of medicines; made of ceramics or more typically in modern centuries, clear glass. Typically cylindrical or with rotationally symmetric decorative curves, sometimes with a glass disc foot separated from the main body. Modern glass versions are also used for artistic display of the contents.
Modern glass food storage jars come in a variety of shapes, all of which have a circular opening on top for screwing on a lid:
* Economy round or wide mouth jars - tall but rotund cylinder slightly rounded at the top and bottom, relatively wide with a wide mouth, commonly used for sauces like a mayonnaise
* Paragon jars - tall and narrow cylinder, commonly used for pickled foods like olives
* French square or Victorian jars - roughly a small cube
* Spice jars - small cylinder or
rectangular cuboid
* Hexagon or hex jars -
regular hexagonal prism
In geometry, the hexagonal prism is a prism with hexagonal base. Prisms are polyhedrons; this polyhedron has 8 faces, 18 edges, and 12 vertices..
Since it has 8 faces, it is an octahedron. However, the term ''octahedron'' is primarily used to ...
*
Mason jars - moderately tall cylinder typically used in home canning, sealed with a metal lid
*
Kilner jar - similar to a Mason jar but sealed with rubber
* Straight-sided jars - cylinders with no neck. Squat straight-sided jars are suitable for creams which can be scooped out.
Ancient ceramic types include:
*
Amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
- large, but typically holding under 50 L
*
Pithos
Pithos (, grc-gre, πίθος, plural: ' ) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and ...
- very large, typically the size of a person and holding hundreds of liters
Gallery
File:PreservedFood1.jpg, Preserved food in Mason jars
File:Jam jar.jpg, Reusable jam jar with flip-top
A flip-top, swing-top, lightning toggle, or Quillfeldt stopper (after the inventor, Charles de Quillfeldt) is a type of closure frequently used for bottles containing carbonated beverages, such as beer or mineral water. The mouth of the bottle i ...
or bail closure
File:Jar made of PLA-Blend Bio-Flex.jpg, Jar made of PLA-blend bio-flex, a bioplastic
File:CandyJaracp.png, Candy jar
File:HK Central Kai Bo Foods Buddy's 花生醬 Peanut creamy Butter Skippy April-2012.JPG, Peanut butter
File:Orzas in Spain.jpg, Six types of "earthenware jar" in Spain
File:Brown-glazed Jar with Design of Three Fish. Yuan Dynasty. Excavated from Hancheng City.jpg, Brown-glazed jar with design of three fish. Yuan Dynasty.
File:Jar with pump dispenser.jpg, PP jar of skin cream with pump dispenser
A pump dispenser is used on containers of liquids to help dispensing. They might be used on bottles, jars, or tubes. Often the contents are viscous liquids such as creams and lotions. Some are metered to provide uniform usage. Some mix conte ...
Recycling
Some regions
n what country?/sup> have a legally mandated deposit refundable upon return of the jar to its retailer, after which the jar is recycled according to the SPI recycling code
Recycling codes are used to identify the materials out of which the item is made, to facilitate easier recycling process. The presence on an item of a recycling code, a chasing arrows logo, or a resin code, is not an automatic indicator that a m ...
for the material.[Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ]
See also
* Canning
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...
* Home canning
* Child-resistant packaging
* Hu (vessel)
* Jar opener
A jar opener is a kitchen device which is used to open glass jars.
A jar is sealed by either (a) a screw-off rubberised lid or (b) a lid placed on the opening of the jar with a rubber sealing-ring between. Screw-off lids are usually made of ...
* Tamper-evident
* Tamper resistant
Tamperproofing, conceptually, is a methodology used to hinder, deter or detect unauthorised access to a device or circumvention of a security system. Since any device or system can be foiled by a person with sufficient knowledge, equipment, and ti ...
* The asterism Water Jar in the constellation Aquarius
Aquarius may refer to:
Astrology
* Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign
* Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages
Astronomy
* Aquarius (constellation)
* Aquarius in Chinese astronomy
Arts and entertainment ...
References
External links
*
*
{{packaging
Storage vessels
Glass jars
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