Don’t Store Vinegar in a Mason Jar!

Rosemary Vinegar

The other day I finished the vinegar in a fancy bottle on my kitchen counter and needed to use more.  So I looked in the cupboard to see what I might have.  I found a Mason jar that had a sprig of unidentifiable vegetation in it and took it out for a closer look.  It had a label on the lid that said “Rosemary Vinegar.”  Well, that sounded just dandy.  But when I looked at the jar from the side, it looked like there was something white in the bottom, under the sprig of rosemary.

Side View of Vinegar Jar

Looking closer, I noticed that there didn’t appear to be any liquid in the jar.  Now, who would put an empty jar back in the cupboard?  Notice that I live alone so there weren’t many candidate answers to that question!

The next thing I noticed was that the top of the jar appeared to be filigreed.  That’s when I identified the “white stuff” at the bottom of the jar as the enamel from the inside of the Mason jar lid.  The jar had had vinegar in it when it was placed in the cupboard, but the fumes from the vinegar ate away the lid of the jar and then made good their escape!

So if you plan to make your own herbal vinegars, you’d probably be well advised not to store them in Mason jars!