Repurposing A Parmesan Cheese Container – A Mason-Jar Shaker Lid For FREE!

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Did you know some Parmesan cheese lids fit a regular-mouth canning jar? It’s true! I place a repurposed parmesan cheese lid on standard mason jars. See all the ways they simplify my life in the kitchen. 

I place a repurposed parmesan cheese lid on a standard 1/2-pint canning jar. See how it simplifies my life in the kitchen. #TexasHomesteader

(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)

My baby sis knows that I reuse various containers. So she’s always checking with me before she sends something to the recycling bin.

The other day she held up an empty container of Reggano Parmesan cheese (like you sprinkle on pizza) that she’d bought from Aldi. She asked if I’d like to have the empty container.  

RancherMan HATES that stuff so I’m never able to buy it. So I enthusiastically accepted her offer. She was a bit surprised at my excitement. But when I told her what I was gonna do with it…

Remember my battle cry: Use WhatCha Got! 

You see, the Parmesan lid she had perfectly fits a standard canning jar opening, whether 1/2 pint, pint or even quart. Several brands of Parmesan cheese have the same sized lid but not all do. Be sure to check.

I’ve wanted to get my hands on one of those lids for awhile. But again, RancherMan hates dried Parmesan cheese so I’ve never bought any.

Now that I’ve gotten this empty jar from my sis I’ll get started repurposing it.

I place a repurposed parmesan cheese lid on a standard 1/2-pint canning jar. See how it simplifies my life in the kitchen. #TexasHomesteader

First I filled a small 1/2-pint jelly jar with baking soda. Then I took that lid off the flimsy plastic container the Parmesan lid came on. Instead I screwed that super-functional lid onto my glass canning jar of baking soda. 

But why? Well I’m so glad you asked…

Ease When Baking

This is perfect to use when I’m baking! The small jar takes up very little space in my spice cabinet. And one side of the lid opens wide, making for easy measurement when I’m cooking. 

Plus the top of the lid levels off the contents in my tablespoon. The excess simply falls back into the jar. No mess!

Y’all know I’m a big fan of ‘No Mess’. LOL

I place a repurposed parmesan cheese lid on a standard 1/2-pint canning jar. See how it simplifies my life in the kitchen. #TexasHomesteader

Non-Toxic Dish Powder

The other side of the flip-top lid has sprinkle holes. I’ll use this side when I’m scrubbing my pots & pans.

I typically use baking soda for an environmentally-friendly option when a little extra scrub power is needed. It’s cheap, it’s effective and it’s non toxic. And now with this handy lid it’s also super easy to use.

Simple, Natural Cleaning

As a matter of fact, I use baking soda for all manner of cleaning. To be honest I’ve really never understood why the marketing gurus have convinced us that each individual surface needs a different cleaner.

I place a repurposed parmesan cheese lid on a standard 1/2-pint canning jar. See how it simplifies my life in the kitchen. #TexasHomesteader

I always prefer to use simple non-toxic cleaners in our home. And heck if you can EAT your cleaner (ie: baking soda) I figure that’s as non-toxic as it gets!

Plus, you know, baking soda is cheap, y’all. 

So I have a jar of baking soda in my cleaning supplies too. The shaker top makes it easy to shake this extra scrubbing powder onto surfaces. And quicker & easier chores is my wheelhouse. 

Toilets? Yea. bathtubs?  You bet. Just about anywhere a little extra ooomph is needed I’m using this shaker jar of baking soda.

Nice, Heavy Sprinkling For BBQ Rub Seasoning

I’ve since been gifted 2 or 3 of these handy lids and use them around the house. For instance – RancherMan has a favored recipe for BBQ rub.

At first we mixed it up in a repurposed seasoning shaker. But those holes just weren’t large enough to sprinkle the seasoning as liberally as he liked.

But his face lit up when I suggested he mix it up in a small 1/2 pint canning jar because this Parmesan lid would fit it.

And the size of the shaker holes is perfect for his seasoning mix! Oh how he loves this repurpose.

BBQ Rub container with easy access. I place a repurposed parmesan cheese lid on a standard 1/2-pint canning jar. See how it simplifies my life in the kitchen. #TexasHomesteader

The holes are large enough for him to sprinkle his seasoning liberally on the meat being grilled. And if he wants to make a batch of his favorite Beer Mop Sauce, the other side of the lid opens for measuring-spoon access. Yep, this is perfect alright.

And the cost was free, free, FREE!

Homemade Laundry Detergent Jar

I’ve made my own homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent for over 10 years now. The beauty of it is that it only requires about 1-2 Tablespoons of detergent per load to clean our clothes.

I make up large batches at a time and then store the bulk of it in Repurposed Coffee Cans. But I keep a smaller jar within easy reach of my washing machine. I needed an easy way to be able to access and measure out 1-2 Tablespoons at a time though.

Homemade laundry detergent. I place a repurposed parmesan cheese lid on a standard 1/2-pint canning jar. See how it simplifies my life in the kitchen. #TexasHomesteader

It’s these handy lids to the rescue! I grab an unused glass canning jar & screw one of these repurposed parmesan cheese lids on top and I have an easy flip-top access to my laundry detergent.

I simply slide my tablespoon into the powder and drag it along the inside of the lid to level it off and allow the excess detergent fall back into the jar. Then BOOM! I’m left with 1 level tablespoon measurement!

Check The Lid

Most of the parmesan cheese containers I’ve seen have this same sized lid. But not all do. 

I asked my sister what brand she used and she said she buys her parmesan cheese at Aldi’s. The brand name she buys is Reggano.

Repurposing a parmesan cheese shaker lid on a glass canning jar. #TexasHomesteader

So if you find yourself with an empty jar of Parmesan cheese, don’t toss that handy lid. It can simplify lots of things in your kitchen.

If not don’t worry, you can still buy those handy canning jar-sized *Shaker Lids On Amazon and I’ve also seen *Shaker Lids at WalMart online as well.

~TxH~

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20 thoughts on “Repurposing A Parmesan Cheese Container – A Mason-Jar Shaker Lid For FREE!

  1. SallyFoister

    Just made. My first batch of Honeysuckle Jelly, MmmMmm good. I will make more. I am going to make the clover jelly. I make Homestead Honey using White Clover, pink clover, blackberry blossom and sugar, my Grands look forward to a jar each year. I use it for coughs and sore throats also.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      I’m so glad you love the Honeysuckle jelly as much as we do, Sally. It’s a much-requested jelly for gifts so I like to make plenty! Would you do me a favor? Would you please go to the honeysuckle jelly post & leave a comment and a star rating for the recipe? It really helps people be able to find it on google. Thanks girl – you’re AWESOME! The honeysuckle jelly post is here –> https://texashomesteader.com/recipe-honeysuckle-jelly-childhood-memories-in-a-jar/

      Reply
  2. Deborah

    These are also good to put Borax in for cleaning the bathtub or other items. I use borax a lot in cleaning.

    Reply
  3. Mary Beth

    I fill one up with ice melt and keep in my car so if it snows during the day a can spread it on the ground to my front door when I get home at night.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      A clever repurpose Mary Beth. I love repurposing when it fills such a need – it’s a win/win. Good job! ~TxH~

      Reply
  4. candace ford

    I have to say that I feel like I’m in some kind of time warp. I’m just reading this in October of 2019 and all the comments are 2016. In any event, I have saved several of those sprinkle lids and use them but now I usually get a small brick of parm and grate it myself as needed. It still comes in dreaded plastic-y wrap which isn’t recyclable (sigh). I remember the little neighborhood store of my childhood with a glass fronted cooler case – in it were sandwich meats and cheeses, on top was a slicer. Bologna and cheese were all sliced to order and handed to Ma wrapped in paper.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      LOL Candace. Yeah, this is one of my most popular post. I guess many people were the same as me & didn’t know about the Parmesan cheese lid fitting canning jars. I have my sis save all of them (since RancherMan hates Parmesan so I don’t buy it) and I have several in use in various parts of the house for different things. I love the neighborhood store you described. Although I still see glass-front cases and large slicers in various locations around us, those items are sliced up & handed to us in a plastic bag now. 🙁 I have one of those large slicers though, and I purchased a cheese press and am hoping to make my own cheese. ~TxH~

      Reply
      1. Patt Pilgrim

        I just use the plastic, food safe, bottle. Great for homemade meat rub.

        Reply
  5. Karen Woodall

    great idea for a small sized parm container. we buy the huge ones from sam’s club. i haven’t repurposed any yet, but was thinking they might be great for holding spaghetti or angel hair. hummmm. thanks for getting me thinking!

    Reply
  6. Margy

    Thanks for the inspiration. I made my own baking soda container and shared it on my blog this week. I get so many good ideas from your blog. – Margy

    Reply
  7. Michelle

    I keep all sorts of empty containers and I may just have one of those. I hadn’t thought to use it that way, but it makes perfect sense! I keep empty herb containers to put my own in, too.

    Reply
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author

      I keep those little spice bottles, but most of mine are plastic. I’m working on saving small glass bottles for my herbs. ~TxH~

      Reply
  8. Roseann Hampton

    Great re-purposing idea!

    Reply
  9. Alicia Owen

    I use mine for homemade bathroom cleaner. 🙂 Stopping by from This is How We Roll Thursday hop.

    Reply
  10. ColleenB.~Texas

    Lids are great to put on glass jars that is filled with them candy sprinkles to sprinkle on ice cream, cupcakes, etc. One of my favorite uses :}
    Use as Powdered Sugar mason jar dispenser as well as a cornstarch dispenser.
    Keeping  containers full of baking soda (I buy large bag of baking soda @ Sam’s Club) for at my kitchen sink and one in each of our bathrooms as well as my laundry room. It does an excellent job of cleaning, deodorizing and polishing my stainless steel sink and it’s cheap and non-toxic.
    The containers are also great for storing craft supplies in, buttons, small beads, glitter, paper clips, etc.
    Thing to do is repurpose and reuse as the Famous Tammy Quote:  “Use WhatCha Got! “

    Reply
  11. Greg Hill

    Simple but very effective way to re-purpose this container. I like it and your sister …well I too think see might not you the next one.
    Pinned it to my .. Discover Repurposing Board on Pinterest…

    Greg

    Reply
  12. Teresa

    I have been using those lids and jars for some time now. They work great with cinnamon and sugar to do toast and your cinnamon apple slices also an extra lid for leftovers on jars.
    I buy sodioum bicarbonate by the 50 pound bag at the feed store to use in laundry and my household mixes , it keeps in a bucket just fine. Love your website. Happy Holidays!

    Reply
  13. Laurinda

    Great minds think alike- I did the same thing too! Great for scrubbing, or deodorizing carpets (& catboxes)

    Reply
  14. Margy

    I just saved two after reading a post on another blog. I love to repurpose items now that I’m living away from town. Everything I take to our cabin home either has to get repurposed or hauled back to town for recycling or disposal. It’s a lot easier and more fun to find other uses. – Margy

    Reply
  15. Pam Kaufman

    I did the same thing! I buy a big bag of baking soda from Costco and then fill my jar as I need to. Had to get used to screwing on the lid backwards though. I don’t know if thats true with all these lids or just the one I used. It’s very handy though!

    Reply

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