A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

, or

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a

lid A lid or cover is part of a container, and serves as the closure (container), closure or Seal (mechanical), seal, usually one that completely closes the object. Lids can be placed on small containers such as Tub (container), tubs as well as large ...

screw cap A screw cap or closure is a common type of closure for bottles, jars, and tubes. History Screw caps had been used in Europe since the 1500s and a British patent was filed in 1810 by Peter Durand acting on behalf of Nicolas Appert. John Lan ...

, 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. The English word "jar" originates from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word ''jarra'', which means an earthen pot or vessel.

Background

Jars can be used to hold

solid Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...

s too large to be removed from, or

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

s too

viscous Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for example, syrup h ...

to be poured through a

bottle A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal ...

's neck; these may be

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

medication Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to medical diagnosis, diagnose, cure, treat, or preventive medicine, prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmaco ...

s, or

chemicals A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

. Glass jars—among which the most popular is the

mason jar A Mason jar, also known as a canning jar, preserves jar or fruit jar, is a glass jar used in home canning to food preservation, preserve food. It was named after American tinsmith John Landis Mason, who patented it in 1858. The jar's mouth has a ...

—can be used for storing and preserving items as diverse as

jam Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...

, pickled gherkin, other pickles,

marmalade Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

sun-dried tomato Sun-dried tomatoes are ripe tomatoes that lose most of their water content after spending a majority of their drying time in the sun. These tomatoes are usually pre-treated with sulfur dioxide or salt before being placed in the sun in order to im ...

es,

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

s, jalapeño peppers,

chutney A chutney () is a spread typically associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt, or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion ...

s, pickled eggs,

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of 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 pl ...

, and many others.

Types

Bell jar A bell jar is a glass jar, similar in shape to a bell (instrument), 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 fr ...

– typically used in scientific laboratories to produce a

vacuum A vacuum (: vacuums or vacua) is space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective (neuter ) meaning "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressur ...

; also used in Victorian times for display purposes *

Cookie jar Cookie jars are utilitarian or decorative ceramic or glass jars often found in American and Canadian kitchens. In the United Kingdom, they are known as biscuit barrels or biscuit jars. If they are cans made out of tinplate, they are called bis ...

– typically ceramic or glass, common in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom *

Killing jar A killing jar or killing bottle is a device used by entomologists to kill captured insects quickly and with minimum damage. The jar typically contains gypsum plaster (plaster of paris) on the bottom to absorb a killing fluid. The killing fluid ev ...

– used to kill captured insects *

Leyden jar A Leyden jar (or Leiden jar, or archaically, Kleistian jar) is an electrical component that stores a high-voltage electric charge (from an external source) between electrical conductors on the inside and outside of a glass jar. It typically co ...

– 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 e ...

– 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 such as olives * French square or Victorian jars – roughly a small cube * Spice jars – small cylinder or

rectangular cuboid A rectangular cuboid is a special case of a cuboid with rectangular faces in which all of its dihedral angles are right angles. This shape is also called rectangular parallelepiped or orthogonal parallelepiped. Many writers just call these ...

* Hexagon or hex jars – regular hexagonal prism *

Mason jar A Mason jar, also known as a canning jar, preserves jar or fruit jar, is a glass jar used in home canning to food preservation, preserve food. It was named after American tinsmith John Landis Mason, who patented it in 1858. The jar's mouth has a ...

s – moderately tall cylinder typically used in home canning, sealed with a metal lid *

Kilner jar A Kilner jar is a rubber-sealed, glass jar used for preserving ( bottling) food. It was first produced in 1900 by John Kilner & Co., Yorkshire, England. History The Kilner Jar was originally invented by John Kilner (1792–1857) and associa ...

– 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 (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

– large, but typically holding under 50 L *

Pithos Pithos (, , 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 the succeeding Iro ...

– very large, typically the size of a person and holding hundreds of liters,

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod related that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing curses ...

is often referred to as Pithos *

canopic jar Canopic jars are funerary vessels that were used by the Ancient Egypt, ancient Egyptians to house embalmed organs that were removed during the mummification process. They also served to store and preserve the viscera of their soul for the afterl ...

Utility

Jars are sterilised by putting them in a

pressure cooker A pressure cooker is a sealed vessel for cooking food with the use of high pressure steam and water or a water-based liquid, a process called pressure cooking. The high pressure limits boiling and creates higher temperatures not possible at low ...

with boiling

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

or an

oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool that 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 use ...

for a number of minutes. Glass jars are considered

microwavable A microwave oven, or simply microwave, is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces Dipole#Molecular dipoles, polar molecules in the food to rotate and ...

. Some regions 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 for the material.

Gallery

File:PreservedFood1.jpg, Preserved food in

s 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 bail handle, bail closure frequently used for bottles containing carbonated beverages, such as beer or mineral water. The mo ...

or bail closure File:Jar made of PLA-Blend Bio-Flex.jpg, Jar made of PLA-blend bio-flex, a

bioplastic Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources. Timeline of plastic development, Historically, bioplastics made from natural materials like shellac or Celluloid, cellulose had been the first plastics. Since the end of ...

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 The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

. File:Jar with pump dispenser.jpg, PP jar of skin cream with pump dispenser File:Ceramic Pickle Jars.jpg, Traditional Indian Ceramic Pickle Jars

References

External links