Taste Test

french ceramic yogurt container

french ceramic yogurt container

The kids are on a two week break from school. And it is soooo cold out there. (It looks like spring, but feels like dead of winter.) Consequently, we’ve been looking for good indoor activities and concluded that this is a perfect time to do some taste-testing. Today, we’re testing out a few products from the dairy aisle and tomorrow we’ll focus on candy.

My favorite part about the dairy products is that many come in pretty little glass or ceramic containers. Of course, my brain immediately starts figuring out what sorts of things I could make or do with mini pots. Tiny flower arrangements for a baby shower. Votive holders. Little containers for mixing paint…

What would you use them for?

french glass yogurt containerfrench ceramic yogurt container

P.S. — I didn’t put anything in the photos for size reference, but these are all individual serving size — each one is only 2 or 3 inches tall.

french glass yogurt container

87 thoughts on “Taste Test”

  1. What adorable pots! Do you get a refund when you take them back? I think it would be hard for them to be cost effective/green enough to recycle.

    I love blue pots for flowers. Maybe tiny yellow crocus.

  2. I recall reading on a food blog – probably Orangette – that in France, baking recipes will cite a yogurt cup as a measurement: 1 yogurt cup milk,’ for example. Fond of that idea.

  3. I thought they were meant to be returned and reused? I am pretty sure Bea of Zero Waste Home buys this French yogurt because the containers go back to the store to be cleaned and refilled.

  4. Hello, I live in Nice (4 years now) and I use the yogurt blue ones with flowers for the BBQ mantel outside!
    It’s also very cold in the south!!!

  5. Oh my! The yaourt pots are my favorite souvenir from France. We use our little clear pots to hold shells, rocks, sea glass,treasures from our travels. We use the taller clear pots for pencil holders . I’m also considering them for my summer pesto. And, my favorite, the little ceramic pots for making our own yogurt at home (channeling our inner Paris). They are also great for individual chocolat pots du creme, or molten cakes mmmm. By the way have you tried the kiwi-apple flavor yet? You really must. I can’t remember the brand but the pots are made by Cermer and mine are a lovely apple green. Have fun!

  6. For the glass ones – Years ago for a party I put wire round each one & made a little handle, so that I could put tea-lights in them – I then hung them from trees…it ended up looking like a fairy tale. So beautiful.

    For the ceramic ones – I use them all over the house….on my desk filled with rubber-bands, paperclips & drawing pins. In the kitchen I fill them with chocolate mousse for dinner parties.

  7. We’ve used them as votives for garden parties. You just have to be careful with children because they get really hot. I don’t know of any grocery stores (in Paris) that take back the glass containers. They certainly can be recycled in a designated bin, however. They are excellent for art projects!

  8. Sorting buttons and cast-off sparkly bits. I would probably set them aside and claim them for some other purpose – like sprouting seeds – but it’s inevitable that I would wake up one morning and find them all commandeered and stuff full of Pea’s collections.

  9. My mum is incapable of throwing those things away and it’s something I’ve definitely inherited from her. They’re great for burning anti-mosquito citronella candles outside in the summer, among a million and one other things.
    Also, serving frozen peas. (We always used to eat these as children, I know that’s weird)

  10. Those are wonderful. The blue ones would look great in my bathroom!;0) I hope you’re having fun and I’m anxious for pictures of your yard there when spring decides to show up.

  11. I love that you share what you shop for! I would love to see how the store layout compares to American markets. I would love to see the school stuff section like paper, pencils, envelopes, crayons, pens… Do markets have that or is everything split up into separate markets? I guess I would use those cute glass jars for candles or spices if I could find caps to fit. I like your idea for paints! I can’t wait to see the candy taste test!

  12. I am DYING. I am sooooo homesick! I love their dairy products! I have to figure out a way to get our family of 7 over there too! Thank you for sharing everything. I am living vicariously through you right now. One day I WILL get back.

  13. I use these in the bathroom to have little amounts of q-tips, cotton pads and my daily make-up on hand without having to display their ugly packaging.
    I´m German and used to live in Spain for some time, so to me it´s very exciting to read how you adjust to Europe and to be pointed to the little differences.
    Thank you for sharing!

  14. Same as Robyn here for me….. Love that you’re sharing … all these little things that my family and I discovered / noticed as ex-pats years ago in Lux, France and Germany. Makes me “homesick” too despite living in the states most of my life :-). Did like it overseas…. will get back there to live too…..

  15. We use small glass jars to hold pens, pencils, crayons, markers etc and then we caddy them in a wooden crate. They also make fun vessels to serve parfaits in, and you can even bake individual pies, cobblers and cupcakes in them.

  16. Gabbie, Have you been introduced to yogurt cake yet? You use the petit pot from the yogurt as a measuring cup. It is a fun project for kids and it make a great cake. I learned how to make them when I lived in France. I will send you the recipe when I am at my house and can grab it for you. I think your kids would love making it. You could frost it, but the French eat it plain.

  17. Hi;
    Thanks for satisfying my french fix everyday. I’ve never been to France, but it is on my bucketlist of things to do. I look forward to your posts everyday.

  18. I use them for packing kids lunches to hold dips for veggies, servings of berries, or (get this) yogurt! I think NotMartha had pics of little pies baked in small jars.

  19. These are so pretty and re-usable! I love reading everyone’s else’s suggestions for them. I’d love to line up a row of these on my kitchen windowsill with herbs potted in them.

  20. I think they would be great with all sorts of natural finds (like pebbles and grass and flowers the kids bring in from walks… so cute

  21. Those little pots would be great to pour jello in and put in the fridge to set. You would have individual servings ready to go. Just add a dab of whip cream on top before serving, and you will have happy kids and less of a mess to clean up. :-)

  22. Save up a few of those gorgeous terra cotta ones and sell them to me. They are fabulous!

    Seriously, though, I would line them up on a counter/shelf/desk and use them to hold all sorts of things. Pencils, thumbtacks, buttons, flowers, spare change. . .

  23. Hadley Duncan Howard

    Many French recipes call for “jars” of ingredients, instead of specifying a (more familiar to Americans) measurement. This means the cook is meant to use those little glass or ceramic jars as the measuring cup. I’ve a few recipes for French pastries and baked goods (gateau au citron, etc) that mention “jars” — it’s about 1/2 cup. Charming.

  24. How adorable! Love that they aren’t using plastic. Wish some companies over here would get with that.

    Give one to each kid and let them fill it with treasures – a mini time capsule!

  25. Hi Gabrielle,

    This is one of those posts where I wonder -again- who takes these gorgeous shots (the calendar one, too!)? Did you take a photography course? What kind of camera equipment do you use?

  26. ooh, gorgeous. I can almost taste the yogurt. Maybe perfect for egg dyeing soon? Hippity hoppity, Easter’s on its way…! Speaking (err, writing) of Easter, I can’t wait to see the beautiful French Easter candies that you will find!

  27. Everyone else seems interested in the reusability of the cups…I want to know more about what you’re tasting! :)

  28. Oh, I am nearly crying with jealousy! :) I would love some of those to organize little things in my bathroom!

  29. Those pots are adorable but the yogurt inside is also divine!

    I am organizing my craft room and I could SO use those little pots for many many things!! :)

  30. I think I’d keep them all and then try to make a fabulous chandelier when you come back to the States. I’d also use them to store buttons, ribbons, paperclips, stamps, stickers in the craft and office areas.

  31. How did you like the cheese in the ceramic container? i found it pretty “unusual” but i do love the yoghurt!
    if you add sand and a small candle, the glasses are the perfect candle holder for a warm summer evening! i also collect my rings in it ;)
    enjoy france- and if you stay still spring, take youre kids surfing!
    greetings from the baltic sea

  32. I expected to hear more about the contents of the cute little containers, but maybe that will be forthcoming. Are these really intended to be disposable/recyclable, or is there a program where you can return them for cash back or something? I like that they don’t have the unsightly ridges for a screw top, but I also find myself wishing that they had lids. Oh well. I don’t even HAVE any of these, so I guess it doesn’t make any difference. :)

  33. So which was your fav? I remember my first time in France…I have very fond memories of loving the yogurt, and I too loved that it comes in glass jars.

  34. I’m sure some of your readers, ahem, would love a giveaway of your extra, unused jars. They’re so pretty!

  35. Very true, I always liked the fact that yaourt comes in these beautiful jars. A whole different experience!
    {even a plain joghurt turns into a fancy dessert that way}
    I have lots of them here at home, the blue ones from the first pic..haha… I got them last year and when we went to visit MIL…and I made everybody crazy to make sure they do not end up in the bin :)
    I use them for flowers or very often give them my daughter when she is busy drawing with water colours… to wash her brushes… not so fancy but beautiful :)
    the glass ones we used a lot as candle holders, storage in my crafting cupboard… as you can see easily what is inside…
    well yes… you get a joghurt and a very handy jar :)

  36. I think I would move to France just for those bottles! It’s amazing the difference between countries. Is the yogurt much more expensive to compensate for the container?

  37. We just made mini snow globes for Valentine’s Day and those would have been perfect! There are lots of tutorials around and they are a lot of fun for kids to make.

  38. We can’t return from a holiday in France without some packages of yogurt (in glass containers of course). I never saw the ceramic ones before…
    Before I read blogs I always bought a copy of MarieClaire Idees when we where in France. They have lots of nice projects and I defenitely saw more than a few with those jars!

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