Why You Should Use Square or Rectangular Food Storage Containers

Christine Gallary
Christine GallarySenior Recipe Editor at The Kitchn
After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, I worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW's test kitchens. I've edited and tested recipes for more than 15 years, including developing recipes for the James Beard-award winning Mister Jiu's in Chinatown cookbook. My favorite taste testers are my husband, Hayden, and daughter, Sophie.
updated Jun 8, 2019
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If you’re thinking of investing in a set of food storage containers, you’ve probably already mulled over of a bunch of different factors: Glass or plastic? Regular lids or hinges? Do they need to be oven or microwave safe?

But the thing that you might not have thought about is shape, and I’ve become a strong proponent of choosing square or rectangular-shaped containers rather than round ones. Here’s why!

The original idea for using square food storage containers came from an interview with Susan Reid of King Arthur Flour :

“Square containers take up 25% less space than round ones, so if you wish your freezer was 25% bigger, start saving those square plastic containers from your last takeout meal!”

(Image credit: Reader Johanna)

It’s pretty obvious, but so many food storage containers are round so I hadn’t considered the space savings in choosing something different. When I started thinking about, it just made a ton of sense. Storage containers that have corners just fit well together with no wasted space between them. Plus, it actually doesn’t have to be just square containers — rectangular ones have the same corners that work just as well.

Whether it’s the fridge, freezer, or pantry, a little extra storage space is always welcome, and using efficiently-shaped containers is an easy way to achieve that!

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