FYI - do NOT use the plastic canning jar lids that are available if you want a tight seal on liquids. I have been taking soup and milk for lunch in canning jars for years, and I was so excited to see the plastic one-piece lids for non-canning purposes. Unbeknownst to me, they do not seal completely, and I milk leaked out all over the seat of my 'new' car. Hmph.

I think you're missing a somewhere in there.

I love packing my lunch in canning jars (soup/stew/pasta), not only is it cheap, easy and effective but it's also pretty. For me there's something about reheating soup out of a canning jar that makes it feel more like homemade and less like leftovers.

@portlandy a what?

i think s/he meant an end bold or strong tag.

I take quart jars of soup for work for 2-3 servings at a time. Works better than freezing individual portions! Pints work great too and I can stick those in the freezer if I eat half on Friday.

Ah! Wasn't showing up in my browser. Thanks! Fixed.

I always just save the plastic containers when I buy soup from the chinese take-out place. They're either 1 pint or 1 qt size. The great thing is that they are reusable but I don't feel guilty if I need to throw them out.

Picantel, I don't think you are supposed to reheat take-out containers more than once and I find that those leak. I also do canning jars- love them!

Great idea! Gonna try this. For my son, I use the cute Thermos they sell at Target and they work like a charm. No leaks! He loves having homemade soup for lunch, or pasta, or rice. Yes, kids make fun of him though for not having "junk"...go figure.

I reuse my glass jars and to prevent leaking, I will use a small piece of saran wrap inbetween the jar and the lid to create a tight seal. However, I don't store piping hot soup this way because of the plastic.

@masala99: it was my understanding that the plastic lids were still to be used with a traditional lid inside...as in it just replaces the ring, not both pieces. In my experience it seems to somehow grab unsealed lids, so that it does function like one piece after you assemble it. But yeah, still doesn't quite seem worth it...

haha i googled "best way to bring soup for lunch" like 20 minutes ago. thanks for reading my mind. magicians.

I use wide-mouth pint jars. The wide-mouth kind makes it easier to get a spoon in there and I find that a pint jar filled just over 3/4 of the way full, with some bread and a piece of fruit, is just perfect for lunch.

I use canning jars for storing everything. They're awesome - air tight, water tight, microwave and oven safe (minus the metal lids)!

Washing them by hand kinda sucks though. No dishwasher in my household - unless you count my boyfriend. :)

careful, i definitely had a canning jar full of chili break and explode all over my bag one time :(

I love using jars to transport my soups. I've never found a plastic (tuperware, rubbermaid, etc.) container that doesn't leak. I even use old pickle, spaghetti sauce, or olive jars as soup transport containers. They seal so well!

I love reusing old salsa jars for this too. They're a serving-friendly size, and have those great wide mouths!

So smart - I can't believe I have not thought of this! I bought a flat of Ball jars before Christmas at a store that was going out of business but wasn't really sure what to use them for (I don't do much canning, myself). I ALWAYS spill my soup in my lunch bag - this makes it so much easier!

A friend of mine made me a cozy for pint mason jars. I can reheat my soup, slide it in the cozy, and be able to hold the hot jar to eat my lunch. It's brilliant.

Those plastic boxes that you clip shut work well (the German brand is called Emsa Clip & Close), they are absolutely tight. They are lighter than glass and don't break.

This makes it so easy to pack lunch as well. You make the soup, divide it up in the jars, and you have a nice row of lunch entrees ready to go. Much less work than making a sandwich every night. I wish I had a friend who could make me a cozy, though! The outside of the jar does get hot when you microwave your soup.

Wide-mouth pint jars are perfect, especially for soup. After making a big batch I jar up five or six pint jars and freeze whatever's left over for another dinner. Then in the morning all I have to do is grab a jar from the fridge and a spoon and I'm set for lunch at work!

@Trish1980 I do the same thing! I have a bunch of salsa jars and lids that I reuse to take lunch in. The lids do get a bit rusty after a while unfortunately.

I do this all the time. I use little ones for trail mix, big ones for soup... my favourite is layering rice and stew or curry, then reheating at school. I keep it cool or warm by wrapping in a tea towel before putting it in my bag. Then come lunch, the tea towel is my napkin! Bring your own cutlery and it's a waste free meal :)

I started doing this a couple of years ago to reduce my use of plastic containers, particularly with foods I plan to reheat at work. It works wonderfully in many regards, but I've had two soup-filled jars break in my bag, making a horrible - and dangerously shard-riddled - mess of my bag, my clothes, the floor, etc. Use with care!

Make sure the jar is more than 1/4 full of liquid. I nuked the dregs of some soup in mine and it exploded in the microwave.

Also, when you take a hot mason jar out of the microwave, set it on a napkin, not on a cold counter. A friend did this and it cracked into three pieces and stuff ran everywhere.

Mason jars aren't tempered like other glass items that can withstand temperature changes better. Many of the rules we observe for canning in regard to the jars go for using them in everyday life as well.

I commute on bike, so taking coffee or soup to work would be impossible without mason jars!

I just freeze it in tupperware and microwave at work

I use glass jars with the plastic lids (Bernardin white lids) all the time for soup, never had a leek. I keep a bowl and a plate at work to reheat my lunches.

That's a fantastic idea!

Why a canning jar? I re-use jars for all sorts of lunch items, including soup, just like my grandmother has done her whole life. I don't get this trend of putting something in a Mason jar as it if it's a novel idea.

Where did you purchase your mason jar?

Why a canning jar? Because they are strong and durable due to their makeup for canning use. they have a thicker glass making it possible for it to be jostled around a bit without breaking. It can be reheated and reused over and over and take the abuse that a standard jar just can't. I use the glass freezer jars personally and have never had a casualty.

I had the same problem, then realized I was using the Ball brand lids on Kerr brand canning jars. You may want to check this. Ball-on-Ball gets a better seal.

"I always just save the plastic containers when I buy soup from the chinese take-out place. They're either 1 pint or 1 qt size. The great thing is that they are reusable but I don't feel guilty if I need to throw them out."

Aha, another "Chinese Tupperware" user! I even have quite a few of the elusive 1 cup size. :) I use them for soup storage (I often make 6+ quart batches of soups), but I don't reheat in them. Rather, I heat up my chilled/frozen soups in a pot or microwave in a bowl.