Mason Jar Experiment

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely heard about a chemical called BPA that is found in many of the plastics we use in our kitchens and in the lining of canned goods.  When this first came to my attention, I replaced all of the Nalgene bottles I use for water and my plastic food storage containers with BPA-Free versions.  This was not an inexpensive endeavor.  Now I've read that there is some debate out there as to whether or not BPA-free plastics are really safer.

Put "BPA" in your search engine of choice and you'll come across many articles and you can decide for yourself if you're concerned about this chemical.  I've decided to continue to try to limit my voluntary exposure to BPA.  I buy my coconut milk and tomato products in glass or Tetra Paks when I can.  I have purchased some glass food storage, but mainly use them only at home.  I've thought about making the complete switch to glass for food storage, but it scares me.  Not from a health standpoint of course, well, not unless you count wound care from broken glass.  I'm a klutz.  I'm constantly falling down and dropping things.  I can see myself surrounded by broken glass on my tile floor and two curious paleo kitties getting cut in the aftermath.  A bit dramatic, yes, but this is how my mind works.

As its 100+ degrees outside, I've been going through a lot of water and was considering buying some more BPA-Free Refillable Bottles, but then I thought this would be a good opportunity to get rid of some plastic.  Are there other alternatives that would not include the fragility issue?  Yes, aluminum, but that would be pretty expensive.  Mason jars were on my mind as I had just been to the store looking for a glass container for brewing Kombucha Tea, so back to the store I went.  I bought 12 quart size mason jars for just over $9.  I also bought some BPA-Free plastic lids for them that about $2.50.  The box of lids only had 8 lids.  I decided for the sake of trying, 8 water jars would be enough.  For a little more than the cost of one Nalgene bottle, I now have 8 pretty water jars in the fridge!  I suddenly feel like a hipster.

Pretty Jars!

But Rachael, you said you were getting rid of plastic.  I suppos I could use the metal rings and covers, but for daily use, the plastic lids are more convenient and practical for me.  At least the water wont be in direct contact with the plastic any longer.

The jars will be far easier to keep clean than the plastic bottles that I had to hand wash with a special brush.  I can throw these in the dishwasher after a single use.  I'm excited about this as I will be able to offer guests a jar of cold filtered water.

The Paleo Review:  So far, thumbs up!  I pulled one of the cold jars out this morning and so far so good.  If it turns into disaster, I'll report back.