For The Love Of Mason

So what exactly is this fascination Southern folks have with drinking out of mason jars? Are we Just That Country? Is it a tradition? Or does sweet iced tea really taste that much better in a jar?

The answer is yes! to all of the above.

It is said that canning jars came about when Napoleon Bonaparte offered a reward for a method of preserving food for his traveling army. That first jar was a glass vessel, reinforced with wire and sealed with wax.

By the time the U.S. Civil War broke out, a new canning jar was in use. John L. Mason was an inventor and tin smith from New York City, and in 1858 he invented the mason jar that we recognize today. The difference between his design and previous jars was the seal:  his glass container had threads molded into the neck and a metal lid with a rubber ring.  The rubber created the seal, and the threaded lid kept it secure. Food preservation was simpler and safer than ever.

Much of The South was devastated by The War and many country families turned to sharecropping as a way to sustain life. The only way to survive a long, hot day in the cotton fields is to stay hydrated, and the easiest way to keep flies and dust out of the water was to keep it covered. Mason jars were common and the lids made transporting and drinking fresh water, or homemade brew, less a chore.

When Prohibition rolled around in the 1920's, mason jars took up a new role. The government had intended to hamper the consumption of alcohol by doing away with the businesses that made and distributed it. Instead, the moonshine industry saw a boom. With alcohol in short supply, personal backwoods stills became money-mines; the key to success was not getting caught. Mason jars were commonly used by country folk for putting up food, so they could be easily purchased without raising suspicion with the sheriff or the revenuers. The jars were smaller and lighter than pottery jugs, so they were preferred by the bootleggers who delivered the spirits, and they were transparent, so customers could gauge the clarity and quality of the product at a glance. And...they were just the right size for sippin'.

Tradition dies hard in The South and many of us still prefer 'shine, tea, lemonade and coffee straight out of Mr. Mason's jar.

So we see that the Mason Jar is rich with country tradition... but does sweet tea really taste better from a jar?

I would say so, yes. Maybe it's in the delivery - the particular angle at which the beverage goes from from the jar to your mouth - that makes the difference. Maybe it's because you're tasting pure, sweet iced tea instead of plastic chemicals.

Or maybe it just tastes like nostalgia.

MAMA'S SUN TEA RECIPE
  6 Regular Tea Bags
  Water
  A Glass Gallon Jug with Lid
  About 1 Cup of Sugar
  A Sunny Day
  Ice
Fill jug to about one inch from the top with fresh water. Drop in tea bags; cover. The best tea is made in the morning and steeps in the sun for about 4 hours. Properly served over ice and in a mason jar.