Chief cook and bottle washer – American writer and editor Judith Jones once said: “Cooking demands attention, patience, and above all, a respect for the gifts of the earth. It is a form of worship, a way of giving thanks.” I guess, whoever fell in love with the process of cooking, can identify one hundred percent with this beautiful quote. Especially thinking about the ingredients as gifts of the earth hits the mark for me. And in fact, these are the main protagonists when it comes to getting creative in the kitchen.
Once upon a time, when I moved into a literally brand-new apartment, I had to design and build up a kitchen from scratch. This is when you start thinking about breaking a bit the common perception of what a kitchen should look like. And I decided to use as less compartments, in terms of wall units, as possible. I wanted to have the most commonly required tools and ingredients as accessible as possible. And I wanted the kitchen to look as open as possible. I decided to use simple cupboards instead of compartments. Therefore, some proper and usable storage solution for all dry cooking ingredients was required. It just came in handy that my consumption of instant coffee was quite high at that time (and most likely it still is). So I had a bunch of empty jars with screw-on tops in stock. Big enough for the recent volume of ingredients. Upcycling here we come. The only things that were missing: proper labels. To make things short: I had another reason to start new hobbies. Or better to say: to learn some new skills. Engraving and glass painting.
A bit of online research here, a bit of brainstorming there, it didn’t take long to come up with my own process. A bit of an overkill, maybe, but for me the most proper solution. I combined engraving and then painting the engraved writing with glass paint. Basically, one of those techniques would have been enough. But I prefer to be on the safe side. Breaking down the work on a jar goes as follows: prepare the design on a white sheet of paper, apply it to the jar, engrave the design, paint it with the special ceramic/glass paint, burn in the paint. And indeed, this process consumes a certain amount of time. But in the end, the effort is definitely worth it.
The first step is to come up with a design for the lettering. I didn’t want to have the same type on every jar in order to break up the uniformity. Since I’m also not using the exact same type of jar for every container, it makes a lot of sense for me to also alternate the lettering style. A blank sheet of paper is marked with the size I want the word(s) to have. It should be big enough to be easily readable, but not exceeding the engravable surface. Then I draw the letters how I want them to be, filling up the whole marked space. This draft is now placed inside the jar so that I have a kind of stencil shining through the glass. Stuffing the jar with some spare paper or cloth helps keep the stencil in place. Now the handy work starts.
Engraving is pretty straightforward. First I would follow the outlines of the letters. Then the paper stencil can be removed. Actually, it is pretty advisable to remove it and replace it with some dark cloth. Since the engraved surface turns into milky white, you will have a lot more visibility on your work. Now, the filling, if desired, and the details can be worked out. From that point on it has a bit more freestyle characteristics, since you won’t rely on the stencil anymore.
After cleaning the surface of the finished engraving, it is time to use some color. Well, not exactly, since I’m only using black on it. But it’s getting painted, so let’s call it coloring. The painting itself isn’t the hardest part. I would just roughly cover the all engraved spots with two or three layers from the ceramic painting pen. Then, for the trickier part, I scratch off all the excess on the non-engraved surface. In fact, if I was working properly on the painting I wouldn’t have had to take care of this additional task. But it is actually faster than working in detail. As I told before, it might not be necessary to do both, engraving and painting. Besides I like the double effort style procedure there are occasions when I would only engrave the glass without painting it. Since engraving the glass, which is basically scratching the glass, makes the letters white, it is perfectly fine for dark ingredients. Cocoa for example is perfect for not painting the glass black, since the content of the jar is already very dark.
When every letter is reworked properly it’s time to burn in the glasses. After some time, when the print is dried, the jars go directly into the cold oven. The paint I am using needs to be burnt in with a slow temperature-rising curve. The jars stay in the oven for about XXX hours at a temperature of XXX degrees. When they are cooled down the only thing left to do is fill them up.
Besides having one more self-made item in the kitchen, which makes you kinda proud to show off, this type of storage comes with a few additional advantages. One thing, since we are dealing with transparent glass here, is the fact that you are always aware of your stock. I got used to refilling the jars whenever two thirds of their content is gone. No more unpleasant surprise when you start cooking and suddenly realize that there is not enough rice left. When it comes to sustainability, it is very pleasant to use the jars for your regular visit to the local zero waste no package shop. No need for extra containers. You already have it where you need it to be. It makes even more sense with the thought in the back, that you are actually using a recycled item. And finally, you can always extend your repertoire of jars with whatever your kitchen is missing. Keeping your own style.
Although it takes a certain effort to create a storage container like that, the result just puts a smile on my face. Making cooking even more enjoyable and, more importantly, appreciating the gifts of the earth.