Give Old Mason Jars New Life With This Clever DIY

Designed for canning and preserving foods, Mason jars definitely earn their keep around the kitchen with their practical design. For instance, you can turn them into utensil containers or vases to keep herbs fresh in the fridge. Another inventive way to give old Mason jars a new life is to turn them into food shakers for sugar, flour, spices, and salt.

To get started, you'll need an old Mason jar (with the canning lid and ring), a corkboard, a hammer, and a sharp implement to make the holes, such as a clean nail. Simply place your lid on the board and hammer in the same nail several times across its surface area to create a series of small punctures. Then fill your jar with sugar (or any other ground ingredient), place the perforated lid on top, and screw on the ring to secure it.

If you want to use your shaker to give a delicate dusting of sugar or warming spices to freshly baked goods, like cookies or filled croissants, use a slender nail to make smaller holes. Then you can adorn your beignets and French toast with a sweet but dainty restaurant-worthy finish. Alternatively, feel free to make bigger apertures for a generous scattering. This can be useful if you're rolling out fondant on a countertop to cover a cake or want to thoroughly coat a batch of snickerdoodles with cinnamon sugar.

If you're a prolific baker and never too far from whipping up a batch of doughnuts, you will likely use up your jar of powdered sugar or flour quickly. However, to make it last longer, place a second lid over the one with the holes before you put the canning lid on. This move will prevent moisture, odors, and bugs from getting inside the jar and help the contents stay dry and stable for a lengthier period. Then, whenever you want to dust the counter with flour to roll out pizza dough, you'll be ready to go at a moment's notice and won't need to grab a messy handful from the paper package. The action of shaking your jar will also mimic the properties of a sieve — your flour will be perfectly aerated and your sugar free from lumps.

To turn a Mason jar into a salt pourer versus a salt shaker, make a single puncture at one end of the lid instead of several holes so the salt can cascade freely. Spare Mason jars are ideal for making fancy cocktails at home without a shaker, but you can also use them as storage containers for dried goods or fill them with leftovers and place them in the freezer.