Food Storage Containers

[equinecpa]

I always seem to have a mess of kitchen storage containers but not the right ones. I'm moving in a few months and will probably give most of my acquired kitchen stuff to goodwill and start over with proper containers. I have a set of Blue Pyrex Rectangular containers and then a set each of the 2 cup and 4 cup round pyrex glass containers which I like. What I lack is something large to store soup in the freezer. I know some use ziplocs but I'm really trying to phase out disposable plastic. I do re-use ziplocs but eventually they disentegrate. I feed my dogs a mostly raw diet so also have to freeze a lot of meat -any suggestions for what I should put that in for freezing purposes? Currently I'm going the ziploc route. I've never used freezer paper, should I look into this (of course again this isn't disposable but maybe it is at least compostable?).

So what are your favorite kitchen storage containers?

Carolyn

 

[moolie]

Welcome equinecpa! :

Like you I favour Pyrex for food storage, and I've collected a fair amount over the years at second-hand stores and flea markets as well as online through Kijiji.

I've just popped two clear round Pyrex containers (2 quart bowls with straight sides) with dark blue rubbery plastic lids full of chicken stock into the freezer--I leave about an inch or so of headspace and have had no problems freezing in Pyrex. In addition to the Pyrex round containers (various sizes) I also have Pyrex baking dishes in various sizes with the same rubbery lids (red and dark blue): 8x8, 8x11, 9x13, loaf pans.

Then I have lots of older/vintage Pyrex and Corningware in various sizes--these all have glass lids, many of them flat, so they work well for short-term freezer storage but not long-term because they don't completely seal. If I use them to store casseroles in the freezer, I freeze the food in the dish, then add a thin layer of water which then freezes and "glazes" the food, preventing freezer burn in the short term (a month or two). I do a lot of "once-a-month" type cooking, making dinners ahead of time, so this works well for our family.

For meat I use inexpensive plastic storage containers from IKEA and some actual Tupperware brand freezer containers. Both seal really well, are dishwasher safe, and are used strictly for freezer storage--no heating in the microwave (we never use ours) and they are all polypropylene (which is considered one of the "safer" plastics for food storage). Freezer paper is plastic-coated, so not compostable

I have on occasion used freezer ziplocs (though I also don't like disposable plastic), but recently picked up a second-hand Foodsaver vacuum sealer and I'm starting to do more with the jar sealer on wide-mouth canning jars. This is great for home dehydrated foods, grains/pantry items, and fridge storage of fresh veggies and lettuce (keeps things WAY longer--there's a post somewhere on here about it!)

 

[SSDreamin]

I also have a lot of pyrex with lids. I use my vacuum sealed canning jars for all kinds of storage, and I've recently found lock-n-lock storage containers. Variety of sizes and styles and seals things up tight. I do confess to using ziplocs on occasion in the freezer though

 

[FranklinStreetWest]

Most freezer paper is plastic coated just as others mentioned...so not compostable. Most wax paper sold in grocery stores is coated in petroleum based waxes. If you're interested in eliminating petroleum based products, here is one solution: Soy based wax paper. Not completely free of petroleum dependancy since it requires deisel to farm it, but at least it doesn't touch your food!

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/pap...-natural-freezer-paper-roll/433195018NAT.html

I take everything I can out of plastic packaging and seal it into glass, ceramic or tin. Glass canning and storage containers of all kinds. Tin for things like rice and pasta. Large ceramic crocks with wood lids for beans, flour, sugar...things that I buy 20 pounds or more at a time.

 

[~gd]

Have you seen the warnings about rhe new "Pryex"? It has been known to shatter like safety grass with sudden heat changes usuly in freezer to stove top or even conter top transfers. the trademark once owned by Corning has been downgraded to a generic name. Corning sold out that division a few years back [China I think] often stuff is marked Pryex even though it is Flint glass. The Consumer Product Safety Commision is allowing it if the packaging does NOT claim to be oven to freezer safe. The old stuff is fine & safe. The white stuff is safe at least to date. The clue is that the one that shatters is usually much thicker and heavier than the real Pryex.

 

[moolie]

Never had any problems with actual Pyrex brand--old or new (I have pieces that range from the 30s through the early 2000s) although I notice that Anchor Hocking products have become thicker over the years.

I cook/bake/refrigerate/freeze with Pyrex, Corning, Corelle, and Anchor Hocking dishes on a daily basis. The rule of thumb is to not subject it to immediate temperature changes (hot dish placed on cold wet surface or cool water run into hot dish to loosen food remains, frozen dish placed into pre-heated oven but rather put it into cold oven and then allow both to heat together). Never had any issues myself (taking the safety rules into consideration) and never heard of or experienced any issues with dishes coming out of the freezer though.

Just googled Pyrex and Corning and don't see any news pieces in the first few pages, the Wikipedia page notes the chemical composition of a few types of Pyrex and also that it's made in the US http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrex so you may have heard some urban myths.

 

[equinecpa]

Are lock n lock containers really "microwave" safe ie is the food safe?

What do you all use to store soup in?

 

[hqueen13]

My mom's trick for soup in the freezer is to put it in a container, let it freeze, then get it out and let it thaw JUST enough so that it will pop out of the conainter, and then put that in the plastic bag. Makes it a little easier to "stack" the soup. I tend to like to freeze very liquid things in ziplocks that I lay flat to freeze, so they are very thin - then they are easy to store and also quick to thaw.
However, I just found a HUGE blob of soup that my other half put in the freezer in a bag. UGH. It froze in a really funky shape and is all awkward in the freezer now!
I think that it doesn't matter what you do you will almost never have the right combination of storage stuff

 

[moolie]

Are lock n lock containers really "microwave" safe ie is the food safe?

What do you all use to store soup in?

No plastic is food safe when it comes to heat, in my personal opinion.

It all leaches chemicals (except for perhaps Polyethylene or Polypropylene which are considered the "safest" food-safe plastics, but there were tests done last year at a university lab here in Alberta that showed that at least one of those two "safe" plastics also leaches chemicals into just plain water so I personally don't put anything hot into plastic nor cook in it, I only freeze in it where I have no other option.)

However Lock N Lock makes some glass containers (lid is still plastic--they may be called "glass lock"?) that would be fine in the microwave. I've seen them at various stores so they should be easy to find.

We personally don't use the microwave much at all, preferring to dump food into pots/pans and cook the normal way--doesn't take much longer and stays hot longer (we always found that microwaved food cooled off too quickly).

 

[moolie]

Most freezer paper is plastic coated just as others mentioned...so not compostable. Most wax paper sold in grocery stores is coated in petroleum based waxes. If you're interested in eliminating petroleum based products, here is one solution: Soy based wax paper. Not completely free of petroleum dependancy since it requires deisel to farm it, but at least it doesn't touch your food!

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/pap...-natural-freezer-paper-roll/433195018NAT.html

I take everything I can out of plastic packaging and seal it into glass, ceramic or tin. Glass canning and storage containers of all kinds. Tin for things like rice and pasta. Large ceramic crocks with wood lids for beans, flour, sugar...things that I buy 20 pounds or more at a time.

Only problem with soy-based things is that most soy grown in north America is GMO

As an aside, I have seen beeswax wax paper that would probably be compostable, but it's not useful as a freezer wrap since it's not waterproof so not really useful in this particular discussion--I just thought it was interesting.