Your jar is empty. What do you do? Scrub it out with some
dishwashing detergent and warm water and try one or more of
our 10 innovative ideas for reusing your jars!
Food & Kitchen
1. Create a set of elegant coffee or tea cups.
2. Create a stylish tray of sauces or dips.
3. Create a stylish tray of different herb butter types for
serving with your favorite fresh bread.
4. Use as attractive salt and pepper bowls at the table.
Keep-safe Storage
5. Keep next to the sink or in the laundry room as a safe
place for storing your hand jewelry whilst you work.
6. Keep at your bedside table for storing rings and earrings
whilst you sleep. Store loose coins.
7. Store loose coins.
8. Store paper clips and thumb tacks in the office.
Bathroom
9. Store your favorite bath salts near the bath tub.
10. Make your own simple Scandinavian salve:
This recipe suffices for filling 3 x 50 ml/1.7 fl. oz. or
1 x 150 ml/5 fl. oz. Purely Nordic jars once you have finished
using the purchased contents.
Ingredients:
1 ounce (30 grams) beeswax
1/3 cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil (olive
oil yields a richer salve)
1/3 cup (80 ml) almond oil
30 drops essential oil of juniper
Equipment:
Measuring cup
2 cleaned Purely Nordic jars
Thick-bottomed non-aluminum pot
Non-electric handheld beater
Non-mercury thermometer
Preparation:
Set out the open jars on a clean counter with a sheet of newspaper
underneath if you are worried about getting oil and wax on
your kitchen counter. Combine beeswax, and olive and almond
oils in the pot. Melt together over gentle heat. Place juniper
oil nearby so that it is easy to pick up and use with one
hand - but don't add yet. Remove the melted ingredients from
the heat and continue to beat; scrape away from the sides
any hardening salve until the mixture begins to become thick
and look cloudy or the temperature is reduced to about 35
degrees C or 95 degrees F. It is essential to beat continually,
since the liquid will otherwise begin to clump up. As you
keep beating, add the essence of juniper. Pour into clean
jars and seal. The salve will keep for about a year. A note
about the equipment you use: it is worthwhile to set aside
the equipment that you use specifically for making salves,
creams and other homemade personal-care products, since it
is hard to completely get rid of the oil and wax. As soon
as you are done making the salves, clean all of your equiment
with recycled paper towel.
Recipe from On My Swedish Island: Discovering the Secrets
of Scandinavian Well-being (Tarcher Penguin, 2005). Order
the book.
