Every housewife in the kitchen is sure to find a huge number of different boxes, jars and other containers for storing all kinds of products. But often in a coffee can with the label «Salt» can store sugar or even semolina.… This is not a joke, these are real-life examples. But there comes a time when all of these «various» Jars are amicably carried out to the trash, and we urgently go to the store for beautiful, convenient and so practical containers for food. If you haven’t purchased anything like this in a while – the current selection will just make your eyes diverge! How much you can buy! You want a set of boxes or jars that are already signed – please! If you want round or square ones, you can easily find them. All shapes, colors and materials. With different lids and all kinds of holders. How to choose? Because each type of container has advantages and disadvantages.
Let’s look at all of them and hopefully, after that, you can choose the best variant for yourself!
In Soviet times, in some kitchens we could see sets of tin cans for bulk foods. It was a terrible deficit, and every housewife dreamed of getting such a set as a gift.
Bright blue or bright red, square or round cans stood in the most prominent place and decorated small kitchens.
But, unfortunately, such jars are only suitable for storing loose products and will not last long. The insides of the tin cans quickly become rusty and cracked, they eventually have to be thrown away.
Tin cans have been replaced by plastic ones. The most common plastic containers – most short-lived. Very fragile products, completely transparent or with a transparent lid, closed by means of snaps.
In such containers are packed cakes and salads. Naturally, for permanent use such containers are not suitable, only as a one-time package. You can put sandwiches in them and give them to your child at school, or take them to work with you. To pack food for a trip. They can hold all types of food except those that are very hot. The biggest disadvantage of these containers – fragile, a little too much and it cracks. They are absolutely inconvenient to wash, and in principle not hygienic, as they are considered disposable.
So if you plan to consume them frequently, you may want to get a set of reusable plastic containers.
Now on sale you can find a great variety of plastic jars and boxes. Different colors, with screw-on and snap-on lids, vacuum and plain, for a variety of products.
The plastic containers are very strong and can be used for keeping food in the freezer or to heat food in the microwave oven. Sturdy and lightweight, very practical, often consisting of several of the same or different containers and can be stacked into each other like matryoshkas. In this form, they take up very little space on our shelves, which is a definite plus.
But when buying sets of plastic containers you need to be extremely careful. Plastic can be harmful to our bodies. It’s all about melamine. Melamine is the basis for melamine-formaldehyde resin. It is a polymer material used in the manufacture of plastics, melamine itself is not considered poisonous, but in combination with other components it can cause illness. The poison contained in the plastic with melamine, acts slowly, and gradually accumulates in the body, while not manifesting itself in any way. Besides that, the cheap plastic food storage containers may contain asbestos, which is added for durability, although it is prohibited for use in this time.
If you have doubts about the quality of plastic containers and containers for the kitchen – Ask your grocer for a quality certificate. Also, be sure to pay attention to the labeling – Some containers are made of plastic absolutely safe if used in room temperature, and begin to emit toxins only when heated. This information is usually listed, either on the product itself or in the owner’s manual. The safest material for making plastic containers is polypropylene, it can be used at any temperature, even heated in the microwave.
To keep your food well preserved in plastic containers, you must necessarily take into account the fact that not every product is suitable for long-term storage in plastic. Or not suitable for storage in them at all. Long and painless to store loose products, all kinds of cereals, flour and pasta in them. And, for example, fish, meat and other prepared foods – will not last long in a plastic container.
Some bulk food containers are equipped with lids with dispenser, for gently pouring out the food from them. In addition, transparent plastic containers are convenient because when you put them in even rows on the shelf you can immediately see what is there.
For those who are fierce opponents of plastic, glass, ceramic or stainless steel containers will do. Glass containers come in all kinds of shapes. They can have glass, metal or even plastic lids. And also be of different colors and sizes.
Certainly, it is the glass containers that are the most hygienic – The safest and most hygienic. Their one disadvantage – fragility.A very convenient type of glass container – jars with tight snap-on lids. From two hundred grams to two-kilograms. For every taste and need. They are very handy for storing things that take on moisture from the air, or absorb other people’s smells and lose theirs, like coffee, tea, citric acid, spices, starch and powdered sugar.
Use them to store pasta, cereals or flour – They are heavy and cumbersome, but very beautiful. Well, and beauty is known to be – requires sacrifices! Therefore, such jars can easily solve not only the problem with the storage of food, but also very decorate your kitchen.
Ceramic food containers can be in the shape of jars, or in the shape of bottles – To store oil, vinegar or soy sauce. They come in all kinds of colors, from monochrome to painted. They can hold, as mentioned above: oil or sauces, or you can store sugar or salt – So you can be sure that nothing will dry out.
Stainless steel containers are also great for holding food. Steel is not prone to corrosion, and these containers can be stored for long time any food. The lids on these containers can be latched, threaded, or just plain tightly closing. The disadvantage is that such containers, of course, can not be put in the microwave.
Indispensable for packaging fruits, vegetables and herbs – are containers with vacuum valves.
It has long been calculated that foods in such containers retain their freshness up to five times longer than those which are stored in the refrigerator in bags. How such a container works? Very simple. One puts food inside it, closes the lid and sucks the air out of it with a special pump which is sold in the kit. Inside the container is a vacuum, in which most bacteria can not live. However, we should not forget that some species of bacteria do not need air to live. They are called anaerobic (capable of living in an oxygen-free environment), and they include bacteria that cause botulism, so long keep fish, meat and mushrooms, even in these containers, is not recommended. There are several kinds of vacuum containers. Some of them need to be deflated with a pump and some have an electric pump built in the lid. It is completely invisible, and pumps out air automatically at the push of a button. There is also a kind of container where you can deflate it by simply pressing on the center of the lid. Of course, it’s not quite a vacuum, but it’s still more hermetically sealed than a standard jar with a lid.
Some containers are equipped with date indicators, or just a possibility to make a record on them, it is necessary in order not to forget, when exactly you put in it a certain product. This technology is often used in breastmilk containers.
The next kind of container, containers – thermoses. They are indispensable on long trips, when going on nature trips, and especially when you have children with you. In them you can store chilled or on the contrary warmed up food for a long time.
So, we have considered with you some options for food storage containers. And in conclusion, a tip for storing containers: if you are not going to use this or that container in the near future, it should be washed, wiped dry, and kept open, otherwise it can simply disappear «get stinky». This is especially true for products made of plastic.
