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Where to buy sweet jars
Rows of glass jars have meant sweet shop since at least the 1820s. Here is where to buy sweet jars, where the tradition came from, and how to keep sweets in a jar at their best, whether for a shop window or a present.
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Our trade section at sweeties.net sells traditional shop style glass sweet jars with lids, in packs of six, for display on a counter or to fill as gifts. They sit alongside the rest of the kit for a pick and mix counter: see where to buy a pick and mix stand
A very old picture
The sweet shop window full of jars is an old image. In 1825 the writer William Hone described confectioners polishing their tall glass jars for Twelfth Day, filled with peppermint drops, elecampane, sugar sticks, hardbake, brandy balls and bullseyes. Two years later a shop in Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, began selling sweets, and it is still trading today: see the history of the sweet shop and the oldest sweet shop in England
Glass lets customers see exactly what they are buying, and sweets kept in jars were weighed out by the shopkeeper, traditionally by the quarter pound: see what is a quarter of sweets?
Keeping sweets in a jar
A jar is only as good as its lid. For sweets that stay fresh:
- Seal it. Use a lid that closes tightly, so hard sweets do not pull moisture from the air and turn sticky, and soft sweets do not dry out.
- Keep it cool and dry. Out of direct sunlight and away from heat.
- Keep kinds apart. Over time, moisture moves from soft, moist sweets into dry, hard ones, so for long storage keep them in separate jars.
See how should you store pick and mix?
The jar guessing game
Guessing the number of sweets in a jar is a game played at fetes and parties, and there is science to it: round sweets fill about 64 per cent of the space in a jar, and M&M shaped sweets about 68 to 71 per cent: see how to guess the number of sweets in a jar
Filling a jar as a gift
A jar of pick and mix makes a simple present. You can build the mix by the 100 g in our shop, where every sweet's card opens up to show its full ingredients and allergens, which matters when the jar is for someone else.
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
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Questions and answers
Where can I buy sweet jars?
The trade section at sweeties.net sells traditional shop style glass sweet jars with lids, in packs of six, alongside tubs, scoops and bags for a pick and mix counter.
Why do sweet shops use glass jars?
So customers can see the sweets. Loose sweets have long been kept in glass jars and weighed out by the shopkeeper, and Georgian confectioners were already polishing their tall jars in the 1820s.
How do I keep sweets fresh in a jar?
Use a jar with a lid that seals, keep it somewhere cool and dry out of direct sunlight, and keep hard sweets apart from soft, moist ones.
How many sweets fit in a jar?
It depends on the jar and the sweet. Round sweets fill about 64 per cent of the space, and M&M shaped sweets about 68 to 71 per cent, so a simple sum gets you close.
Sources
- The Every Day Book, January 6, William Hone, 1825
- Confectionery store, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Where to buyWhere to buy a pick and mix standOur trade section sells pick and mix stands: tray selectors with 12 or 24 tubs, a 36 tub stand, scoops, bags and labels. What a pick and mix counter needs.
- History and originsThe history of the sweet shopBritain's sweet shops grew from confectioners' glass jars and Victorian street sellers to Woolworths counters, and a revival of old style shops since 2004.
- Sweet tips and how toHow to guess the number of sweets in a jarTo guess the sweets in a jar, work out the space inside, allow for the gaps, and divide by the size of one sweet. The maths, plus a trick from the crowd.
- Questions people askHow should you store pick and mix?Keep pick and mix sealed, cool and dry, away from sunlight. Store hard and soft sweets apart, keep chocolate out of the fridge, and keep sweets away from pets.
- Stories, heists and recordsThe oldest sweet shop in EnglandThe Oldest Sweet Shop in Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, has traded since 1827 in a building from 1661. Guinness listed it in its 2014 book.
- Questions people askWhat is a quarter of sweets?A quarter of sweets is a quarter of a pound, 4 ounces or about 113 g. Loose sweets have been sold in metric since 2000, which led to the Metric Martyrs row.