I didn’t realise until I moved to the UK that the glass ramekins used to hold Gu desserts are basically a second currency here.
People hoard them like dragons with gold coins, stacking them high in the cupboards under their sinks; and just as a giant winged reptile can’t actually spend any of the treasures it guards, I’ve never seen a glass-gathering Brit use one of their coveted cocottes.
Well, no more. Recently, I discovered something that’ll finally render your ramekin collection useable; it turns out that Pringles lids fit perfectly onto the containers, turning them into endlessly useful little storage pots.
That’s pretty handy, actually
Yep! One user commenting on Gardener’s World says that they make a “sterilisable, re-usable, airtight seed soaking/stratifying jar” that “stands up to boiling water well, does fine in the fridge and microwave too.“
You can write whatever you like on the lid with a marker before wiping it off when you want to reuse it, they add. The commenter had created holes in the lid of her food package waste hybrid container and used it for seeds.
You can see how perfect the combo is on this Reddit post, which led some commenters to say “Came downstairs to discover this in the kitchen holding cloves of garlic. Mum’s the real snackrchtiect [snack architect].”
I’ve just used to hack to store some leftover garlic mayo from my takeaway pizza ― you could also use it for bacon grease, or even spilled spices.
There’s more!
Looking for a sustainable (read: cheap) DIY Christmas pressie? You could fill the pots with your DIY spice mixes or tiny microwave mug brownie ingredients (bar the wet ingredients, of course).
I’m also obsessed with these easy Gu pot candles (though they don’t require a lid, necessarily).
Perhaps you could share a giant tin of loose-leaf tea with friends in their own individual lidded Gu pots ― and hey, who am I to stop you from wrapping some twine around the neck of the pot and creating a little herbal tea-style label with their name on it to add to the end of the string?
Or, you could simply stuff them with snacks like pretzels and send ’em on their merry way. One thing’s for sure, though ― ’tis the season to clear the Gu pot graveyard in your cupboard.