Le Parfait jar rubber seals

A pack of ten orange rubber washers for Le Parfait jars and terrines. Three diameters to choose from, 7 cm, 8.5 cm or 10 cm: pick the one that matches the neck of your jar.

The washers are natural rubber. They are made in the Auvergne, in France, for the Le Parfait brand.

For sterilising, fit a new washer on the lid, close the jar and put it in a bain-marie. The washer gets squashed during cooking and no longer guarantees an airtight seal the second time round: change it after every batch of preserves. For dry storage, pasta, rice or flour, the same washer will serve again as long as it is neither split nor warped.

Le Parfait is a French brand founded in 1930; its jar with the orange rubber washer is the one used for the jams and pâtés in the cellar.