The week Scott and I got married (nearly four years ago now!), my dad cut a giant hole in my kitchen wall and inserted floor-to-ceiling spice rack into a few inches of unused space. This had long been the wedding present plan, though looking back on it covering the apartment with drywall dust a few days before the big day wasn’t one of my better laid plans.
Still, I’ll never regret the mess, because I LOVE this spice shelf. Not only did it give me a bounty of additional storage space, the shelves are perfectly spaced to hold the canning jars that house my herbs and spices. Truly, it was one of the best presents I’ve ever received.
For the longest time, I thought I was the only one using slightly past their prime mason jars for this purpose, but in recent years, I’ve discovered that I’m very far from alone. And this spring, Ball finally recognized the fact that many of us use their jars in this way and released a product designed expressly for spice storage.
Meet the Dry Herbs Jars
I appreciate the slight rim on the edge of the lid, which means they stack with a sense of security. And finally (though this has nothing directly to do with their utility as a spice jar), I love the look of the smooth-sided four ounce jar. Would that they’d kick those quilted quarter-pints to the curb and sell these by the dozen!
Disclosure: Ball has provided these Dry Herb Jars at no cost to me. However, I am unswayed by this gift and my opinions remain my own.
These would be fabulous for the harvest of herbs I’ll have this summer! The tips are a great addition.
Right now I hang them to dry and stick them in zip lock bags! Hope I win!!
The glass jars they came in. I created some of my own blends (like for tacos) and these would be perfect for those!
I use old spice jars or cheap jars I get from World Market to hold my garden spices. But I love jars in general…and my girlfriend goes nuts when I have jars with nothing in them 🙂
I use some World Market jars right now, nothing fancy. Also sad to say I store extra in zip lock bags ….Oh, no! So as you can see I NEED these ball spice jars!!!
Small mason jars, small plastic containers, small random glass containers… just about anything that’s small and fits in my too small spice cupboard. 🙂
I hadn’t seen these jars before, but I do use canning jars for herbs and spices. These would be great!
baggies inside old tea tins are what I have now. I could use some glass jars!
I store mine on a messy shelf in the cupboard.
I MADE my spice jars in a ceramics class. They hold 4 oz each so I buy or dry in bulk.
Unfortunately, if I don’t have a jar made for a particular spice, it sits in a bag crammed down the side. I would love some other stackable jars that have dispensing lids. How cool! My former jars were tiny mason jars in a drawer and the lids were the only thing that I would have changed. What a great new product!
I usually leave them in their original jars, but I always right the date on the bottle when I open it. I also store them on a rotating lazy susan in my pantry for easy access.
I store my herbs an spices in any glass jar I can find..mason jars..empty olive jars..any jar that comes into my home that is made of glass I reuse by store ing my herbs an spices an any home made mixs. It would be great to have jars made to store spices into ..
I store bulk items in old pickle jars. Small jars would be a treat! Thanks…
Right now they are stored in the small jars they come packaged in. My neighbor and I are starting to grow herbs this year so I would love these to store them in!
Storage is a work in progress at our home. Try to store the small Penzy’s spice jars and mark with a “R” on the lid for the refill spices available that are kept in the freezer for freshness. Is this the correct way? Still learning about them all….
Reused spice jars
I have no fancy herb storing technique, just a small shelf that holds them in the jars they come in. I have a friend however, who bought a bunch of little tin canisters with magnets on the bottoms so she can store her herbs on her refrigerator. They have clear tops so she can see whats in them and it looks a lot nicer than the random magnets on my fridge!
I just cleaned up my spice drawer by getting rid of all the bulk bags. I now have spices in small stainless steel tins, old glass spice jars, ball jars, you name it. I love little jars and can’t quit buying them.
Oh, those look awesome. I have a hanging metal rack, which I hang my fresh herbs to dry, but could use a way to store them once they are dry.
I store all my herbs and spices in Mason jars or reused glass jars that seal well. I am on a limited budget but I have accumulated quite a collection by buying small quantities of various herbs and spices from the bulk section of my local Winco store.
I would love these little jars for some of my home made spice blends.
I have a spice cupboard and a drawer that is overflowing. I’m totally addicted to Penzey’s spices…I typically buy the small bags and then move them in the small canning jars…I put the label on top. I did just see where someone painted the tops of lids with chalkboard paint — allowing you to write on/write off.
I use a variety of glass jars, some canning jars of different styles and some old “refrigerator jars” (have a neat red and white lids). Love the shakers!
I usually refill my existing jars, but these would be great for homemade taco seasoning and such.
I store mine in an embarrassing array of PLASTIC. Aaagh. But I am
Sooo excited about these jars you have no idea! Hope I can find them locally soon!
our spices are pretty willy nilly. lots of little glass jars, a few in tiny plastic baggies. we do often buy in bulk and just re-fill our glass jars. thank you for the giveaway!
I mostly store herbs and spices in their original glass jars. Recently I have taken to using canning jars for some of my homemade mixes like taco seasoning. These jars would be great!
I’ve mostly been storing my herbs & spices in the garden bed right against the house! We’re lucky enough to live in a mild climate where we can grow most of the herbs & spices we use, aside from pepper, salt, & cinnamon. When I do get around to drying the herbs, I mostly re-use small jars – old spice jars from the grocery store, small Mason/Bell jars, little jars of who-knows-what from the condiment section of a touristy-type shop. I also send herbs & spices from the garden to friends who live far away, which means we go through those re-used jars from time to time.
I store my spices in Ball jars, but they don’t have this cool lid!
I store mine in the bottles they come in, but since I planted my first herb garden this year these would be fantastic!
My spices are in rescued jars, bags and spice jars. They need to be organized.
Same as you in Ball jars!
WONDERFUL JARS FOR STORAGE OR GIFTS OF HOME GROWN SPICES.
These look great! I have been using blackboard chalk painted onto the tops of my jars…but they tend to smear! is it cilantro? or parsley? hard to tell
I mostly store my herbs in the garden :o) If not there, then whole spices in small canning jars.
These look awesome. I use old spice bottles/jars for mine. We try to stick to similar spices, because the taste never fully washes out, but I still shudder because I’m using plastic. Ugh. For my fresh-grown herbs.
In the Penzey’s containers, in plastic bulk bags, in recycled glass jars.
Right now they’re in a ton of random bags and original jars. These would be wonderful!
Right now all our spices are in little glass jars from Penzey’s..they are a mess!
I primarily store spices in glass jars – including recycled jars with the old faded labels that my mom had on the shelf when I was growing up in the 1970’s. I also use tiny jars for those handful of things that are in the spice drawer in the kitchen that I use sparingly most of the time – nutmeg nuts, ground rosemary, etc. In the storage pantry are the old spice tins for cinnamon sticks whole cloves and other winter time spices. There is also the backstock in bigger glass jars for cinnamon and cumin we buy by the half pound and the gift of colorful paprika tins from eastern Europe that have been reused for more paprika. It is a bit of an organized chaos and those lovely sized jars would be perfect to make more order of the hodgepodge.
Most are in the jar they came in…herbs that I dry from my garden usually go in the 1/2 pt. mason jars. Some spices from bulk bin go in whatever I can find, recycle or just a plastic bag. What a mess! New homes should come with built in spice racks like yours!
I store mine in bags from the bulk section, old glass jars that used to contain salsa and tomato sauce, the jars they came in, whatever I can find and keep them fresh in the pantry. I need a more organized approach, in addition to a way to keep them fresher longer.
Glass jars, of course! I have glass jars from Penzey’s for most of my herbs and spices. These squat jars would be very handy.
Ooh, I love the smooth sided jars too! My spices and herbs are currently a big jumble in the jars/bags they come in, all jammed in a shelf that’s over my head, so it’s a total gamble whether or not I’ll find what I want without dropping everything else all over the stove. Some organization and fancy jars could only help matters!
Some in the jars they came in, some in spice jars I’ve recycled when empty, and when I mix up spice rubs… Anything I can find… Baggies, empty jars, plastic containers. These ball spice jars would be perfect!
Mine are random! I dry a lot of herbs from the garden, so these would be perfect.
I have a drawer they all go in. It’s always jam packed, not a good method of storage.
Dry and freeze em!
i do nothing special with my herbs and spices. i saw these awhile back and thought they were cool.
Wow, those are awesome! I store some in the freezer and some on the pantry door and some on the counter. Depending on frequently they are used is where they are stored.
Would be handy for all the fresh herbs I dry from the Farmer’s Market. Sure looks better than plastic baggies =
And I totally agree, Ball should switch all the 4oz jars to these nice smooth sided ones.