Food containers are one of the indispensable items in the kitchen of families and restaurants. Along with that demand, there are many types of food containers on the market with different materials and prices that confuse consumers, unable to make accurate decisions.
Currently on the market there are many types of food containers, from small sized to large sized containers, from plastic to porcelain, stainless steel. So how can we choose the best family food containers or choose the best commercial bulk food storage containers?
You might want to see this first: Best Commercial Manual Sausage Stuffer.
What is a food storage container?
Food storage containers are a great assistant to help users store food, unused or leftover food, help them to be stored in a safe environment, avoid contact with pathogenic bacteria, mold and other agents.
A food container is also a great way to preserve food in the refrigerator, helping to keep the freshness of food and avoiding spreading the smell to other foods and avoiding the smell of the refrigerator.
Why do you need a food storage container?
What is the advantage of a food storage container and why should you buy a food container? To answer this question, let’s take a look at some of the main uses of food containers.
A food storage container usually has a protective lock or a rubber suction belt, so it doesn’t cause food to fall out (especially water-based foods like soup, porridge) or spread the odor to the surrounding environment. Moreover, with dry foods such as rice, wheat flour, sugar, etc., the airtight container can help keep them dry, not moldy but still retain the maximum nutritional value.
Food storage container can be used both at high and low temperatures. So this is an indispensable tool when preserving food in a cool compartment or freezer. When stored in the refrigerator, it can extend the life of the food to the maximum extent, helping to preserve food more effectively. It can even be used in a microwave oven without exploding or cracking.
Because of these great uses, the airtight cotainer can become a powerful assistant in a family kitchen or commercial kitchen.
What types of food storage containers are available?
Thanks to the excellent use of food storage containers, there are many different types of them on the market, ranging from designs to materials to meet consumers’ needs. We have studied and classified the main types of food storage containers, let’s take a look!
#1 Plastic food storage containers:
Plastic food storage containers are the most popular, most commonly used containers in families’ kitchens and commercial kitchen. The advantage of this container is light, has many sizes, less cracks and low cost. However, the disadvantage of this type is that it is scratched, not shiny after a period of use. It is difficult to clean if store food which is high in fat. Most plastic containers will change color and smell after a period of use, no matter how scrubbed and carefully preserved.
In addition, food safety studies have shown that chemicals in plastics can decompose and seep into food during storage, especially food at different temperature (containers storing hot food or when you put in a microwave oven, freezer), accumulate and endanger health. Therefore, when choosing plastic food containers, consumers should pay attention to choosing plastic without BPA.
#2 Glass food storage containers:
Today, more and more families and restaurants are turning to glass containers for food storing because of its advantages. First, the container of glass is often beautiful and luxurious. In addition, jars or glass containers do not absorb colors and smell of food like plastic.
Glass containers are often easy to wipe, clean, quite durable, especially glass surfaces do not absorb germs. In particular, food in glass containers is also guaranteed to taste, freshness and nutritional assurance than plastic ones. However, the disadvantage of this type of food storage containers is that it is easy to crack if there is a collision and the product cost is quite high.
#3 Ceramic food storage containers:
The ceramic food storage container has the advantage of a beautiful, varied, quite durable, good heat-resistant design, which can be used in microwave ovens, non-toxic when storing food. However, the disadvantage of this material is that it is easy to break when there are collisions. It also has high price especially some high-class enamelled types are quite expensive.
#4 Stainless steel food storage containers:
Stainless steel food storage containers have the advantage of light, easy to clean and affordable. However, the disadvantage of this type is toxic if the food contains sour or alkaline substances. Stainless steel materials of poor quality or unsuitable for food also affect health of customers.
Top 4 best food storage container 2022
#1 Stainless Steel Airtight Canister for Kitchen
ENLOY is a famous brand with stainless steel kitchen products with good quality and reasonable price. So when it comes to the name ENLOY, many people probably won’t need to be puzzled about choosing other brands.
If you are looking for a commercial stainless steel food storage container, you should consider this product of the brand. This is one of the brand’s best- selling products, which has received a lot of appreciation and good feedback from customers. This is a product that can confidently provide you with what you need for a stainless steel food container.
This is a product with great capacity and easy to use. You can easily close and open the box with one hand. All you need to do is lift the lock and then take it out. Unlike other stainless steel products, this product offers consumers convenience and makes their lives easier.
This product is quite light weight because it is made from high-quality stainless steel, combined with the lid with rubber seal to help the food be stored in the best way. You absolutely do not have to worry about the air can penetrate inside the box.
This Stainless Steel Airtight Canister is extremely easy to clean, you do not need to wash many times with soap (this will reduce the durability of stainless steel) but just wash them with water then wipe dry, or can be cleaned with damp towel. You should also not store acidic foods instead store dry foods such as coffee, flour, rice to be able to preserve them for the longest time.
However, because it was easy to open the lid, the children could easily open the lid and play with the food contained in it. So place them on the kitchen shelf, out of reach of children to avoid unfortunate situations.
#2 Chef’s Path Food Storage Containers
If you are looking for commercial flour containers for your kitchen, don’t hesitate to add Chef’s Path food Storage Containersright away to your preferred list.
This is a set of 6 containers of different sizes. They are made of BPA-free plastic that is not harmful to users’ health. They also come with labels and pens so you can write the names of foods to avoid confusion. With a modern and special design, this is probably one of the best gifts for housewives.
These 6 containers include 2 extra large containers with capacities up to 4.3 liters; 2 large containers with capacity of 2.1 liters and 2 medium containers with 1.8 liter capacity. This allows you to use it to store different types of food that suit your needs. For example, you can store rice and flour in an extra large container, and store sugar in medium containers.
Moreover, these boxes can be stacked in a solid way so that you can save space and help the storage becomes neater.
These containers can be used in refrigerators, freezers and dishwashers. However, we recommend that you should clean them by hand to maximize their life span.
The downside of this product is that the 4- sided locking system is quite fragile and uncertain. They are easy to loosen after many operations, so be careful not to use too much force when you open the lid.
#3 Arrow Reusable Plastic Storage Container Set
Arrow Home Products is a well-known American home appliances brand, specializing in the production of high-quality, safe plastic products for consumers’ health. Its products are always satisfied customers and more and more improve quality.
If you’re looking for commercial freezer containers, don’t miss this product of Arrow Home Products. This is the product that can be the best freezer storage container among of those which are avaiable on the market and definitely worthy of your investment.
Set of 4 containers containing 0.5 Gallon, this is the ideal size for storing food in the freezer. The airtight lid helps protect food from bacteria and avoids spreading the smell of food in the refrigerator. These containers can also be stacked on top of each other to help you save space in the refrigerator so that you can store other foods.
For less than $ 20 you can own a full set of safe and functional food storage containers, so don’t waste money buying smaller sized containers or expensive ceramic ones instead.
#4 Rubbermaid Easy Find Lids Glass Food Storage and Meal Prep Containers
For those looking to buy a glass food storage container, we strongly recommended you to try the 11-pack set of Rubbermaid. This is one of the best-selling product sets of the company and is trusted by many customers.
The container is made of high quality tempered glass so they can withstand the low temperature in the refrigerator or freezer and the high temperature in the microwave. You can also store food at room temperature without having to worry about food being exposed to air and pathogenic bacteria. Because the lid system has done a good job, they can cling to the container in a very certain way.
These boxes can also overlap to save space, but you should not stack too many containers together because it will easily break them.
However, you should note that the lid should not be put in the microwave, because only the container is safe in the microwave and the lid is not. So write down your notes so you don’t have to face any problems in your kitchen.
What are the criteria for buying a safe food storage container?
To buy food storage containers, you need to choose very carefully. We have compiled a number of criteria that will give you the basis to evaluate the products you choose.
#1 About the material
You should consider the need to use of family or bussiness to choose the right type of container. Each container has different advantages and disadvantages that you should seriously consider.
#2 About capacity
Glass storage containers on the market have many different capacities. If you only buy storage s to store food for family, you can choose from 400 – 600 ml, it is suitable. A storage container of 700ml may be suitable for storing food in the refrigerator and you should choose a square or rectangular container because it will save more space.
If you find a food storage container for your restaurant or commercial kitchen, you will definitely need to buy a large sized container to store a large amount of food. Plastic food storage containers often come in a variety of large sizes, on the other hand, porcelain and glass storage boxe containers are usually not large in size. So you should consider carefully the need to store food so that you can choose a suitable sized container
#3 About the lid
When you store liquid foods such as soup, porridge, etc. you should choose the type of container which has rubber inside the lid, to help the liquid not spill, pour out when the container is tilted by your move. This will keep the food container airtight, help keep the food inside better, not get in the air, causing food spoilage and other issues. Or you can choose the container has safe lock on the lid. The lock helps the lid to be tightly attached to the container, more airtight, limiting the situation of food being spilled when the box is tilted.
#4 About steam valve
The steam valve on the lid is especially beneficial when you heat the food and cover it in the microwave. When heating food, remember to open the valve so that the air in the container can escape, avoid the pressure in the container is too high to cause swelling and explosion.
Is the food storage container safe?
Food storage containers are a handy and indispensable tool in any modern family kitchen or commercial kitchen. Food storage containers will be really safe if you choose to buy quality, clear original and reputable products, these products will cost more than some products.
However, if you are willing to buy cheap products, they will be a potential risk that will affect user’s health. Therefore, choosing right food storage containers is extremely important.
For restaurants or households that want to buy commercial food storage containers, you must buy plastic ones. Because most large sized containers are made of this material. Here are some of the plastics and their properties, giving you more knowledge to choose the best commercial food storage containers.
Type 1 plastic is polyethylene terephthalate, abbreviated as PETE or PET. This plastic is considered to be quite safe and does not cause adverse health effects so it can be used to store food. However, its porous surface causes bacteria to accumulate, so this plastic should only be used for food storage at once.
Plastic No. 2 is also considered to be quite safe because of its low accumulation of bacteria, however it is quite opaque. You can choose products of this type of plastic to store milk, juice and water.
Type 3 plastic is made of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. In general, the products made from this plastic are very dangerous, you absolutely should not use them to contain or preserve food. This plastic contains phthalates – one of the chemical compounds that hinder the growth of hormones, which can cause dangerous effects when you use them to preserve hot food and hot water.
Plastic No. 4 and No. 5 are suitable for preserve and food storage. Plastic No. 4 is often used to create food wrappers. Plastic with symbol number 5 (PP) is suitable for most food storage. This type of plastic is made from polypropylene. Containers from PP will ensure that harmful chemicals do not get into your food. At the same time, when using food at high temperatures, the plastic will not release toxic substances that are dangerous to the body. If you prefer to use plastic containers for food, then you should choose commercial kitchen containers with the number 5 to make sure there are no harmful chemicals to infecting your food.
Plastic with symbol number 6 also creates for food storege at once. However, after studies prove that this plastic is capable of secreting toxic chemicals, especially at high temperatures, it has been limited to use this plastic for food storage.
Plastic No. 7 refers to the rest of plastics, a mixture of plastic types including Polycarbonate and BPA. You should never choose products from this plastic to store and preserve food because it is completely unhealthy for your health, even causing bad effects. Fortunately, there are rare cases of food containers and household items made of plastic No.7 on the market today.
Note:
With food storage containers with PP notation, you can use them to store both hot food and cold food, which can be used to store food in the refrigerator or in the freezer. Because this plastic has a very high resilience, it can withstand the sudden high and low heat changes.
Separation of hot and cold storage containers is not necessary (unless the container manufacturer has such a product instruction manual). However, with a hot food storage container, it’s best to use an inorganic plastic food container. Because of the scientists’ view, they are often less likely to contaminate the chemical composition of food than organic plastic. The characteristics of inorganic plastics are that when it fire does not usually produce smoke, it does not have a pungent odor, has high resistant to breakage, acid resistance, improved ductility and waterproof.
For the most economical, you should choose the same set of food storage containers with different sizes. This means that the container is only different in height and not different in mouth diameter and can still be stacked on each other. Thus, this set will only have one lid size for different container sizes. This will help you not have to spend a lot of time looking for the size of the lid every time you use it.
How to clean food storage containers properly?
Plastic food containers often encounter problems of smell, remain food stains that are difficult to clean and make the container less aesthetic and fast to break, below are some tips on cleaning plastic food storage containers that users need to pay attention to.
Soak and wash the container immediately after removing the food from the container, avoid leaving it overnight or too long, making food easy to stick on the container.
Use vinegar to wash the food containers, pour vinegar into the container for 3 minutes to remove the stains and then rinse with dishwashing liquid and water.
Using lemon directly on stains, lemon acid will effectively remove odors and clean organic stains.
Use Baking Soda with warm soaked water and a soft scrub to clean stains.
Do not clean the container with an iron brush so hard, it will scratch the surface, making the stains easier to stick to the container.
Conclusion
Safe food storage containers are not really means the expensive ones. It is important that you need to buy product of prestigious brand with an accreditation certificate and use the right product to store food. The market currently has too many types of food storage containers, diversified materials and difficult to control origin, users need to choose to buy at a reputable genuine store with full product information.