jar

{{Short description|Rigid, approximately cylindrical container with a wide mouth or opening}}

File:Christian Dorflinger - Candy Jar - 1942.1090 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif, 1869–1880, glass, diameter: 12.1 cm, Cleveland Museum of Art (USA)]]

File:色絵花鳥文八角大壺有田焼･柿右衛門様式-Hexagonal jar with Flower and Bird Decoration (one of a pair) MET DP281207.jpg (New York City)]]

A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a lid, screw cap, lug cap, cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on cap, plastic shrink, heat sealed lidding film, an inner seal, a tamper-evident band, or other suitable means. The English word "jar" originates from the Arabic word jarra, which means an earthen pot or vessel.{{Cite book |last=Abu-Haidar |first=J. A. |title=Hispano-Arabic Literature and the Early Provencal Lyrics |date=November 24, 2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1138976016 |page=228}}{{Cite book |last=Glevin |first=James E. |title=The Modern Middle East: A History |year=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0190218867 |page=21}}

Background

Jars can be used to hold solids too large to be removed from, or liquids too viscous to be poured through a bottle's neck; these may be foods, cosmetics, medications, or chemicals.Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-470-08704-6}} Glass jars—among which the most popular is the mason jar—can be used for storing and preserving items as diverse as jam, pickled gherkin, other pickles, marmalade, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, jalapeño peppers, chutneys, pickled eggs, honey, and many others.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

Types

Bell jar – typically used in scientific laboratories to produce a vacuum; also used in Victorian times for display purposes
Cookie jar – typically ceramic or glass, common in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom
Killing jar – used to kill captured insects
Leyden jar – a historical electrical capacitor
Specimen jar – an instrument used in anatomy to preserve specimens
Apothecary jar – historically for storage of medicines; made of ceramics or more typically in modern centuries, clear glass. Typically cylindrical or with rotationally symmetric decorative curves, sometimes with a glass disc foot separated from the main body. Modern glass versions are also used for artistic display of the contents.

;Modern glass food storage jars come in a variety of shapes, all of which have a circular opening on top for screwing on a lid:{{Cite web |date=2019-04-04 |title=Types of Packaging – Glass Bottles and Jars |url=https://howtobuypackaging.com/types-of-packaging-glass-bottles-and-jars/ |access-date=2021-05-07 |website=Howtobuypackaging.com}}

Economy round or wide mouth jars – tall but rotund cylinder slightly rounded at the top and bottom, relatively wide with a wide mouth, commonly used for sauces like a mayonnaise
Paragon jars – tall and narrow cylinder, commonly used for pickled foods such as olives
French square or Victorian jars – roughly a small cube
Spice jars – small cylinder or rectangular cuboid
Hexagon or hex jars – regular hexagonal prism
Mason jars – moderately tall cylinder typically used in home canning, sealed with a metal lid
Kilner jar – similar to a Mason jar but sealed with rubber
Straight-sided jars – cylinders with no neck. Squat straight-sided jars are suitable for creams which can be scooped out.

;Ancient ceramic types include:

Amphora – large, but typically holding under 50 L
Pithos – very large, typically the size of a person and holding hundreds of liters, Pandora's Box is often referred to as Pithos
canopic jar

Utility

Jars are sterilised by putting them in a pressure cooker with boiling water or an oven for a number of minutes. Glass jars are considered microwavable.{{Cite journal |last1=Ahvenainen |title=Factors affecting the suitability of glass jars for heating in microwave ovens. Comparison with plastic jars and paper board tubs |last2=Heiniö |first2=R.-L. |journal=Packaging Technology and Science |year=1993 |volume=6 |pages=43–52 |doi=10.1002/pts.2770060108 |issue=1}}

Some regions{{where|date=April 2023}} have a legally mandated deposit refundable upon return of the jar to its retailer, after which the jar is recycled according to the SPI recycling code for the material.{{Cite book |last=Soroka |first=W |title=Fundamentals of Packaging Technology |work=IoPP |year=2002 |isbn=1-930268-25-4}}

Gallery

File:PreservedFood1.jpg|Preserved food in Mason jars

File:Jam jar.jpg|Reusable jam jar with flip-top or bail closure

File:Jar made of PLA-Blend Bio-Flex.jpg|Jar made of PLA-blend bio-flex, a bioplastic

File:CandyJaracp.png|Candy jar

File:HK Central Kai Bo Foods Buddy's 花生醬 Peanut creamy Butter Skippy April-2012.JPG|Peanut butter

File:Orzas in Spain.jpg|Six types of "earthenware jar" in Spain

File:Brown-glazed Jar with Design of Three Fish. Yuan Dynasty. Excavated from Hancheng City.jpg|Brown-glazed jar with design of three fish. Yuan Dynasty.

File:Jar with pump dispenser.jpg|PP jar of skin cream with pump dispenser

File:Ceramic Pickle Jars.jpg|Traditional Indian Ceramic Pickle Jars