Freshen up a smelly mason jar

[Muse]

I buy mayonnaise in 64 ounce containers at Costco. Of course, I don't put that in my refrigerator, I transfer to a couple of 1 quart mason jars and refrigerate those.

I just opened a cleaned jar that had mayo in it before and there's a fairly strong stale smell. I would like to eliminate that offensive odor before scooping mayo into that jar or using it for another purpose, e.g. canning soup.

What I just did was put a bit of vinegar in the jar, shake it up and set it on the counter to sit. I have no idea if this will work.

What is a smart means I can employ to freshen/deodorize the jar?

 

[NetWareHead]

I buy mayonnaise in 64 ounce containers at Costco. Of course, I don't put that in my refrigerator, I transfer to a couple of 1 quart mason jars and refrigerate those.

I just opened a cleaned jar that had mayo in it before and there's a fairly strong stale smell. I would like to eliminate that offensive odor before scooping mayo into that jar or using it for another purpose, e.g. canning soup.

What I just did was put a bit of vinegar in the jar, shake it up and set it on the counter to sit. I have no idea if this will work.

What is a smart means I can employ to freshen/deodorize the jar?

Mason jars are made of glass which is an inert substance and wont retain odors/stains. If the jar stinks, wash it again (I run mine through the dishwasher). Ensure they are sanitized before putting aaway for storage. I store mine with lids off in the basement.

Are you using fresh canning lids? They are one time use when canning, but I'll presume you are not canning your mayo. The lids have a tendency to absorb odors/stains. They also make mason jar lids more suited for storage and not for canning.

 

[TheGardener]

Buy a rubbermaid set for leftovers. You can also cook in them. Toss the mayo jars.

You can try using baking soda. But if the smell is real strong, it probably won't work.

 

[Muse]

Mason jars are made of glass which is an inert substance and wont retain odors/stains. If the jar stinks, wash it again (I run mine through the dishwasher). Ensure they are sanitized before putting aaway for storage. I store mine with lids off in the basement.

Are you using fresh canning lids? They are one time use when canning, but I'll presume you are not canning your mayo. The lids have a tendency to absorb odors/stains. They also make mason jar lids more suited for storage and not for canning.

I do buy canning lids, do a lot of canning. I'm canning soup at this very moment, processing 90 minutes at 11lb pressure, Moroccan pumpkin soup. The lid I had on this quart jar with mayo is one of those lids with built in seal, a white lid you commonly find. I'll try washing with baking soda and see if it helps. The odor probably will be overpowered by the odor of mayo once I reuse it and it won't harm me in any case, I figure, but I sometimes wonder if that odor will contribute to an eventual off taste of the mayo, IOW if there are bacteria transferred.

Edit: I just rewashed the jar... by hand, I don't have a dishwasher.

 

[Mike64]

The lid I had on this quart jar with mayo is one of those lids with built in seal, a white lid you commonly find. I'll try washing with baking soda and see if it helps. The odor probably will be overpowered by the odor of mayo once I reuse it and it won't harm me in any case,

You're not re-using lids for canning, right? (If you are, stop that!)

As for the smell, NetWareHead is exactly right - glass simply doesn't absorb odors, so all you have to do is scrub it out really well with detergent. If it still smells after you think you've washed it adequately - you actually haven't. (From my own experience, if the Indian spice asafoetida doesn't permanently odorize Mason jars - and it doesn't - nothing on Earth will. On the other hand, nothing on, or possibly off, Earth will ever get that smell out of the the lids.)

I wear men's large/extra-large gloves and can reach the bottom of pint and smaller jars without squeezing my whole hand into them, and can just get my hand all the way into a wide-mouth quart or larger Mason jar once everything's a little soapy. (I stopped using the larger regular-mouth jars exactly because they're harder to clean without a dishwasher - which I don't have either.) If your hand is too big to squeeze into the jar with a scrubbing sponge, get a good stiff bottle brush with bristles on the end, to get at the bottom of the jar.

And if you don't want to have to re-wash, don't store them with old lids. (I only keep old lids, not for canning, that haven't been exposed to really strong odors, and I store them separately from the jars.) Either use a new lid, or store the jars upside down to keep dust out of 'em...

 

[olds]

When tupperware gets discolored from tomato based products, my wife sits it in the sun for a day or so. It clears up. Might be worth a try.