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Rice & Grains

Pantry Organization: Put Your Grains In Jars

Faith Durand
Faith DurandSVP of Content
Faith is the SVP of Content at Apartment Therapy Media and Editor-in-Chief of Kitchn, and the author of three cookbooks, including the James Beard Award-winning The Kitchn Cookbook. She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband and two daughters.
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updated May 3, 2019
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(Image credit: Faith Durand)

When I got married last summer I bought several dozen vintage blue Mason jars as flower vases for the reception. I loved their greeny-blue color — but I also loved their functionality. I had plans for these jars, post-wedding, and I finally put my plan into action.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

I don’t have a lot of pantry space in this kitchen; most of the cupboards are quite narrow and shallow. Also, I have been buying most of my grain and pasta in bulk so my cupboard was getting piled up with thin, floppy plastic bags. I would forget what I had, and lose things underneath other bags.

So I finally did what I had been intending to do all along: Put our hallway shelves to good use as a proper pantry, with all my serving platters stacked up neatly, and use our washed-and-ready wedding jars for all the grains collecting in the cupboards.

I still need to get lids that fit; the vintage lids I had were too big. But the overall effect has already been excellent; I remember what I have, and it makes this little pass-through hallway at the foot of the stairs much prettier.

I am hoping that the vintage blue of the jars also helps keep the grains fresher. Even though the hallway is pretty dark (and Ohio sunlight is awfully weak right now; I don’t know if any will actually squeak in from the living room or kitchen) it’s good to keep grains in dark or opaque containers.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Until I poured out the grains into the jars, I didn’t quite realize how many different varieties I had! And this is only the whole grains; the flours, sugars, and other ground-up grains live in the baking cupboard.

Here’s a list of the grains currently lined up in my pantry jars, with links to recipes or info about each one:

• Rolled oats
• Steel-cut oats
• Basmati rice
• Jasmine rice
• Arborio rice
• Wild rice mix
• Buckwheat
• Trader Joe’s Harvest Grain blend
• Pearl couscous
• Spelt
• Popping corn
• Orzo

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Here’s a wider look at the pantry. We took out the bottom four shelves to make room for our television, which is on a mobile cart. It usually sits here in the hallway between the living room and kitchen, draped with one of these. (A small joke.)

I’m not a fan of open storage in every occasion; there are parts of my kitchen I want safely behind doors. But already I’ve enjoyed having my grains in jars out where I see them regularly, and out of precious cupboard space. It helps me remember to use things up; I pass that buckwheat and couscous eight times a day at least. I’m also looking forward to not using bags anymore when I need to fill up on something at the co-op; I’ll just take my jar down with me.

Do you keep any of your ingredients out in the open?

Related: Kitchen Spotlight: Open Storage in Small Kitchens