apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I just bought a Sharpie to label all my bags of soup and containers of leftovers for the freezer, don't know how I lived without one for so long.

Vintage pyrex with the glass lids. No plastic-BPA issues, no melting, goes in the fridge, freezer, oven, micro, etc :) And stacks nice too. One downside- a little heavy to carry to work!

I have not done the research yet on the issues surrounding storing in plastic so for now we use the same clear plastic containers the vendors use. After fighting the "I can't find a matching lid" battle once too many times I just decided to go with the flow. The very best part is they all use the same size lids! This in itself is a wonderful thing. Next is they are cheap, also you get a lot for free when you buy things like olives and such, they freeze, stack and store well and you don't have to be concerned about getting your dish back when you send a guest home with leftovers, I think they come in 1/2 pints, pints and quarts, ask your friendly vendor to sell you some, otherwise you have to go to a restaurant supply and buy a huge box.

Oh I forgot, forget the label maker, just keep a Sharpie permanent marker with a magnet glued to it stuck on the fridge.

I have a variety, from old school avocado green tupperware I stole from my mom to simpler plastic to pyrex, but the ones I use most often are the plastic round tubs that my store brand sherbet comes in.

I apparently eat a lot of sherbet, but that's a story for another day. They fit all kinds of leftovers (pasta, soup, entire dinners, etc.), and if they get bent out of shape by the dishwasher, or take on smells from microwaving food in them, they get tossed right in the recycling bin, because I have another half dozen hanging around where that came from...

With all the plastic safety concerns we've largely gone back to Pyrex. I also LOVE Glad Press-n-Seal for leftovers that we cut up to give to the dogs, and the freezer kind for meats.

I sometimes use stainless steel bowls with plastic lids.

I use pyrex. I like being able to reheat without shifting everything into a non-plastic bowl. But as bobcatsteph pointed out, they're heavy to carry to work.

I bought a bunch at Target and they weren't too pricey, but they only had round or oval sizes. I would have preferred square shapes for freezing foods. So it goes.

I'm a HUGE fan of this product:

http://www.keepeez.com

It's a vaccuum seal lid that comes in various sizes and fits over bowls, cans etc.

Slim shapes make for easy storage too.

Labels: Masking tape
Labeler: Sharpie

Re. the round shapes of modern pyrex containers- I've recently bought some vintage ones from the 50s that are nice and square or rectangular on ebay. Price really isn't much more than new ones, and they're actually cooler (red, blue, yellow). They also have glass lids (again, no plastic), and because they're pretty much rectangular they store in the fridge a lot easier, and since they're glass I don't worry about putting still-hot food in them. The throwaway plastic containers folks are using should be checked for their recycling codes if they're using them for foods for kids- even the FDA is acknowledging that maybe BPA wasn't such a great idea (Canada is way ahead of us on this one).

Frigoverre is a brand of container that I really like. They are glass with plastic lids that stay on very well - no fear of leaks. They make some small square ones that I use to transport lunch/snacks.

I just bought some Frigoverre. I like the small loaf-shapes, as they are much easier to fit into tiny, under-counter fridges. Couldn't find much selection of non-round Pyrex with lids (no ebay for me, thanks).

We mostly use pyrex and frigoverre. We have a few with the glass lids which are used mostly for leftovers that don't travel to work. I have a large pyrex casserole dish with glass lid that is fantastic for making and freezing foods ahead of time.

We also use mason jars.

I use the 2-cup glass bowls with plastic lids from Crate and Barrel for taking food to work for lunch. They're not 100% leakproof, but they'll do. Around the house, I use a set of containers I found at a local market, Wellspring GlassLock. It's tempered glass with a snap-down plastic lid. I love them.

Mason jars and pyrex.

From my late mother-in-law: Put the leftovers in a bowl (preferably a clear one, so you can see what you've got), put a plate on top of the bowl, put the bowl in the fridge.

Try to get to it in a day or so.

glass jars- I bought a set of wide mouth canning jars which work very well except for heating explosive items in the microwave. I also found several glass jars at Big Lots at Xmas time with plastic screw on lids that will go in the microwave, preventing splatters. Love those! Aside from the xmas decorations, the glass jars are clear, eliminating the need for labels.

I keep a china marker in the kitchen to label leftovers--either in a bag, a plastic container or a reused jar. This way I can easily wipe it off, wash the container and reuse it again!

I just read yesterday that there is/could be BPA in canning lids. Something to think about when storing food. I found these while searching for replacements to metal lids. Delightful shapes and BPA free! http://www.weckcanning.com/