Please help me make lids for these lidless jars

April 21, 2012 4:38 PM

I love these small European-style yogurt jars. They have no lids. Please hope.

So in love with these little yogurt jars that I will probably buy them, even though they're only sold in lots of 100.

I make a lot of yogurt, and for my own use can seal them with plastic wrap/foil/whatever. But (especially in such quantity) they'll be nice for gift giving ... jams, bath salts, etc. What are the various ways I can seal them, preferably securely, preferably in an attractive manner?

(Also, if anyone can point me to something similar with lids, or wants to go halfsies on a case of 100, let me know!)

posted by cyndigo to food & drink (18 answers total)

White Cow Dairy sells their absolutely fantastic yogurt in many wonderful flavours in similar little jars with lids. Their product is only available in New York State, but maybe they would let you know who their supplier is? Based on this question, they'd probably be reusable enough for your purposes.

They are great little jars, and I'd offer you some of mine, but every single one I've kept is currently and constantly in re-use.
posted by peagood at 4:57 PM on April 21, 2012 [5 favorites]

You can find small weck jars. I'd bet if you buy them in hundred counts the price would come down a little. Still a more expensive solution than your original idea.
posted by JPD at 5:02 PM on April 21, 2012

I think you will have more luck looking for 4oz jam jars or candle jars because there are a lot of those in dozens of shapes, with lids.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:03 PM on April 21, 2012

Fast answers, thanks! I'm specifically in love with the curviness of the little yogurt jars. Love Weck, but wayyy too expensive to give away with abandon. Will contact White Cow.

Still, would be nice to get ideas for making lids/sealing oddly shaped containers, just in general....
posted by cyndigo at 5:10 PM on April 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

This spice jar is cute and curvy and about the same size and has a lid.
posted by instamatic at 5:21 PM on April 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

It's worth emailing the folks at Cambro to see whether these decanter lids might fit the bill.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:35 PM on April 21, 2012

If all else fails, what about the old-fashioned method with circles of heavy freezer paper or waxed paper, tied with butcher's twine? Or maybe circles of heavy duty foil?
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 5:59 PM on April 21, 2012 [2 favorites]

You might also want to contact U.S. Plastic Corp. Lids for 4 oz. containers.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:08 PM on April 21, 2012

Lug caps?
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:17 PM on April 21, 2012

Depending on what you are storing, cork might be a decent choice.
posted by chairface at 6:28 PM on April 21, 2012

Circles of shrink wrap and a blow dryer...?
posted by kmennie at 6:47 PM on April 21, 2012

Catalina
San Tropez
New York Glass Jar
Luminarc - love these!
posted by barnone at 7:30 PM on April 21, 2012

Wreck's Tulip Jars along with Wreck's clips?
posted by sebastienbailard at 11:30 PM on April 21, 2012

These plastic lids have a claimed diameter of 2.5 inches, one of the diameters listed for those jars. (The title says 2", the description says 2.5". Weird.) No guarantee they'd work, but they're cheap, so being wrong wouldn't be too terrible. Probably what I'd do in your case is just buy the jars and then take one to the nearest restaurant supply store and ask them what they have.

If they don't have anything, there's always sealing it with plastic wrap, then covering it with a circle of cloth cut with pinking shears attached with an elastic band, like these.
posted by hades at 12:42 AM on April 22, 2012

On further searching, this appears to be the same (or a very, very similar) pot at a better price: $100 for 192 jars. Here is the heat-sealed lid that goes with it ($70 for 750 lids).
posted by hades at 1:04 AM on April 22, 2012 [3 favorites]

We have these everywhere in France! They're sealed with vacuum-closed foil when sold in stores. I'd second the plastic wrap covered with an attractive circle of cloth, which is how they're traditionally covered here even for jars with screw-on lids. Since (I'm assuming) you can't do the more secure vacuum closure, you'll just have to be a little more careful with them, is all.

We have ceramic ones too, btw, and they have a very down-to-earth sort of popularity where people will get them just to be able to use them as pencil and pen holders :)
posted by fraula at 2:53 AM on April 22, 2012 [2 favorites]

If you ever do go with Weck (or someone reading this thread), I have tried them for canning, and I have found the seals to be temperamental. If the rubber seal wasn't absolutely, perfectly centered, my jams would spoil very quickly. I imagine yogurt would need sealing to keep from getting moldy, so maybe this is something to think about.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:03 AM on April 22, 2012

King Arthur Flour has some that are listed as yogurt jars, although the curved shape isn't exactly the same.
posted by LaurenIpsum at 6:03 PM on April 22, 2012