by Texas Homesteader ~
I made a cute pour spout sugar jar to more easily sweeten our tea using a repurposed canning jar and an empty box of salt! Work smarter, not harder as RancherMan always says. This is a quick & simple repurpose, y’all!
Making Sun Tea is Low-Energy Cooking
I make sun tea any time it’s sunshiny and even close to being warmish – whether Summer – Fall – Winter or Spring!
I have a large hourglass-shaped glass picante jar that I fill with water & drop in a tea bag. Then I place it on our picnic table in the back yard and the sun does the rest!
By suppertime (or much earlier in the heat of summertime) our tea is deliciously brewed by the sun. I just bring it inside, mix it with a jar full of water and voila!
Tea brewed with no purchased energy. Can’t get better than that, right?
Adding Sugar For Sweet Tea
C’mon, we live in the south – HOME of sweet tea! So RancherMan likes to sweeten his tea, although I prefer mine unsweetened.
Since we don’t both sweeten our tea, the brewed tea in the pitcher remains unsweetened. RancherMan sweetens his tea by the glass.
But each time he wanted to sweeten his tea he had to pull out the bulky sugar canister from the cabinet and spoon a little sugar into his glass. I knew there was a better way.
But you know my battle cry: Use Whatcha Got!
Repurposing A Vintage Canning Jar To A Sugar Jar
I found this old vintage Knox jar half-buried on our property several years ago. Because I didn’t think it could stand up to canning after all those years of being buried in the dirt, I’ve labeled it to be a pantry container only.
I just love the old vintage look of it. So I know this old-fashioned jar will look great as my canning-jar-themed sugar jar.
Hummm… This project could be really, REALLY easy!
Repurposing Salt Box Metal Spout For Mason Jar
First I cut the top cardboard section from an empty canister of salt. Then I used a canning jar ring to mark the area I needed for my sugar-jar lid. I made sure the pour spout was at the edge of my marking area and a little extra margin to allow for the ring when installed.
Finally I cut the cardboard to a size that fit snugly inside the ring.
I inserted the cardboard cut-out containing that metal spout into my canning jar ring and screwed it back onto my pint canning jar of sugar. Done & done.
Plus, since it’s a regular-sized ring it fits all regular mouth canning jar sizes whether 1/2 pint, pint or even quart!
Pourable Sugar Convenience In My Kitchen
Using this old pint jar gives us a smaller easy-pour sugar container than pulling out the large sugar canister each time. Plus the canning jar is perfectly themed for my kitchen.
And since this jar is only pint-sized it’s easy to pick up & pour, unlike the bulky sugar canister RancherMan was using. He just picks up the jar, flips the spout and pours a little sugar into his tea.
And, you know, the most beautiful part is that it took just MINUTES to complete!
RancherMan’s very pleased with this repurpose and it cost nothing. Use Whatcha Got!
~TxH~
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What a great idea! Thanks for sharing.
Love this frugal idea TMR! Anything to add more uses to the beloved mason jars! Thank you for sharing with us this week on the Art of Home-Making Mondays at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth! 🙂
That is brilliant! This would be great to take along on upcoming spring and summer picnics!
Yes, this standard-sized jar ring fits the smaller 1/2 pints too. Perfect! ~TxH~
What a great idea for sugar or salt! I like to sweeten iced tea with simple syrup, which I keep in a canning jar in the fridge. What we do without our canning jars?!
I have done the same thing with salt. The jar is better than the cardboard boxes that salt comes in and pours easily from the pour spout.
Another great idea, unfortunately they sell our salt in rectangular boxes with pour spouts on the side. I bet a repurposed Parmesan cheese container would work well though. I have lots of those. – Margy
I have a box of sea salt in the square box Margy so I know what you’re talking about, but around here those are typically specialty salts. Plain ole everyday salt is almost always sold in round boxes around here so I always have a plentiful supply! ~TxH~
It’s definitely a ‘southern thing’. Here in The Great White North, if I tried this today (or, really, any day in the next couple of months yet) the water would freeze before it took on any tea flavour…..
I actually did make this one summer day – guess what? Mr Shoes was so worried about ‘bacteria -“You let that sit outside in the heat & now you expect me to drink it? Forget it Lady” said Mr Shoes the fussbudget.
Ehh, I drank it & lived to tell the tale.
LOL – you might have to wait for warmer weather for sun tea opportunities. I’ve heard others voice your hubby’s sentiment, I don’t understand it myself. I’m putting clean water in a clean jar with a tea bag, sealing it tight & placing it in the sun for a few hours to brew. I’ve made sun tea exclusively for years – all seasons. (even winter, although we don’t get cold winters like y’all do). I’d say if someone was uncomfortable with it they should definitely abstain, but certainly no one in my family has ever had a problem with it. As a matter of fact when my parents visit they always comment on how much better my tea tastes than the tea they make in the ‘traditional’ way. Yep, to each his own! ~TxH~
Very clever! The green lid from a grocery-store package of Parmesan cheese will also screw on to a regular mouth canning jar.
Blessings, Leigh
Yes I currently have that Parmesan lid being used for a jar of baking soda. The flip-top part of the lid makes measuring for a recipe a snap, and the sprinkle side is handy for sprinkling on a pan that needs a little extra scrubbability. Gotta love it! ~TxH~
I am so pleased with your novel, money saving ideas that really work! if the sugar canister you invented was in a catalog, as a manufactured product, I am sure it would have many buyers for it!
Oh, How Clever. That I never even thought of. Thank U
I like making sun tea as well but sure didn’t have much for sun yesterday. It rained and it rained and rained some more yesterday.
Brilliant!
Indeed! I have to say I am happy that I found your blog. Thanks for sharing.