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The Case For Packing Your Lunch in a Mason Jar

Camilla Salem — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:52:11 PST

Here at the office, we're big fans of mason jar meals; we've found you can avoid the hassle that comes with plastic food containers if you bring your lunch to work or school in a Ball jar. These glass storage containers are easy to clean and not prone to residue. We love that they seal, which prevents leaking in your bag, and they leave no plastic flavor in food. Best of all, they can hold anything from salads (think of all the stacked Caprese salads you could enjoy for lunch!) to various types of soup. You can heat up the contents in a microwave and eat it right out of the jar, if you like, to avoid cleaning more dishes. They're also reusable, affordable, and eco-friendly. Next time you find yourself searching frantically for that one lid that fits your plastic Tupperware container, I say think again and reach for the mason jar instead.

How do you bring your food to work?

Plastic-Free Ways to Store Fall Produce

Lizzie Fuhr — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 05:44:55 PDT

I love finding easy ways to make little shifts that make a big difference from the environment. I don't have the space for a compost box, and I do love indulging in a long shower every now and again, but finding a supersimple way to store food without plastic? I'm game. While we consider plastic as positive, plastic is not a biodegradable. And while it can be recycled, many stations are asking us to abstain from tossing plastic bags in our bins. You'll be surprised how easy it is to make a few easy switches that will really help the Earth, without making your life any more difficult. Keep reading for an abbreviated list of the way to store some favorite Fall produce without plastic.

How to Can Tomatoes

Susannah Chen — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:24:41 PDT

This season, I made it a priority to educate myself on the basics of canning, pickling, fermenting, and food preserving. Thankfully, I was able to put my knowledge to work when I finally confronted a boiling-water canner and my Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. My parting thoughts after this first brush with home canning? It's not as hard as it sounds, and once you get the rhythm of it, it can be well worth the effort. My advice for those new to jarring: start with a project, such as this one, that isn't too complicated. To see how I canned whole tomatoes in their own juice, keep reading.

Food Preserving Facts: Do You Have Them in the Can?

Susannah Chen — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:04:41 PDT

For every minute that I cling more desperately to the idea of Summer produce, I can feel it further slipping away. My soon-to-be saving grace? A frenzy of food preservation as the days get shorter and the nights grow colder. Who knows; perhaps I'll host a canning and pickling party or make a fruit jam of my own!

But before I share ideas and recipes with you, I want to find out just how versed you are on food preservation. One of the best-known methods of treating food is heat processing, or forming airtight seals around food in jars - but there's also fermenting, jellying, pickling, salting, and curing. Do you have the basics in the can? Let's find out when you take this quiz!

Take the Quiz

Homemade Pickled Fruit: It's Oh So Sweet

Susannah Chen — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:26:57 PDT

It may be hard to visualize given Summer's solid grip right now, but in a few months, we'll be indoors, seeking respite from the cold and washing away the Winter fruit shortage with little more than apples and oranges for comfort. So what's a girl to do?

Take a hint from Kate Kiernoziak, sous chef at San Francisco's Credo Restaurant: stock up on stone fruits, berries, and melons at the farmers market, then pickle them while they're still at their seasonal peak so you can enjoy them any time of year, rain or shine.

Keep reading for tips on making your own extraordinary-tasting pickled fruit

The Best Way to Store Tomatoes

Katie Sweeney — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:33:45 PDT

Although there is much debate over whether or not tomatoes should be stored in the fridge, the best way to keep tomatoes depends on the ripeness of fruit.

Keep unripe green tomatoes, stem side down, in a paper bag or single layer in a cardboard box in a cool area until they turn red in color.
Perfectly ripe tomatoes, fresh from the garden or farmers market, should be kept at room temperature, on the counter away from sunlight, in a single layer, not touching one another, stem side up. Consume within a couple of days.
Overripe tomatoes that are soft to touch with very red flesh are best kept in the fridge. The cold air will keep the tomatoes from ripening more and they should last for another three days. Before eating refrigerated tomatoes, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. This will allow the fruit to develop some of the flavor it has lost due to refrigeration.

What's your method for storing Summer's bounty of tomatoes?

The Best Way to Store Strawberries

Katie Sweeney — Wed, 04 May 2011 04:21:30 PDT

Earlier this week I purchased two small baskets of beautifully ripe strawberries. However, within 48 hours, the strawberries had gone bad (as you can see from the photo!) and some were covered in mold. It made me wonder: what's the best way to store strawberries?

Well, first things first, don't wash the berries until you're ready to eat them. Excess moisture could cause them to spoil quicker. Start by removing the berries from the store-bought package. Discard any that are starting to look bad.

If you've got a large fridge with plenty of space, store them in a single layer on a paper towel lined cookie sheet or plate making sure that none of the berries touch. Don't have a lot of room in the fridge? Place them in a glass container with a lid. If you're lucky, they will stay fresh for up to a week!

What's your tried-and-tested technique for storing fresh strawberries?

What's Your Food Storage IQ?

Susannah Chen — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 04:30:08 PDT

Happy Spring, everybody! The two aspects of this season that have the most impact on you and your kitchen are the oh-so-welcome bounty of Spring produce - and a dreadful but necessary phrase that you may be familiar with, Spring cleaning.

Along with those kitchen appliances that need to be stowed away and the cabinets that are waiting to be wiped down are probably a number of pantry items and refrigerated goods that have long surpassed their prime.

After all, what exactly is the shelf life of that bottle of ketchup, anyway? Before you get to that major project of deep cleaning your kitchen, brush up on your food storage knowledge.

Let's get started, shall we?

How long will . . .

Take the Quiz

5 Ways to Keep Pet Food Good to the Last Drop

Morgan Ashley Parker — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 04:01:49 PST

If storage and freshness are the only things that prevent you from going big, then check out my five ideas to keep food fresher . . . for longer. Dig into these tips and your pets will surely thank you for it (if they could talk anyway).

The Container Store Helps You Be Fresh and Stay Fresh

PetSugar — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:30:19 PDT

Now that I've got a new apartment, I'm joining the buy-in-bulk clique. More space to store . . . means less trips to the grocery store! While I had a tiny, cute pet food tin in my old place, I've upgraded in size to one of these Pet Food Containers ($20 and up) from The Container Store.

Not only is it big enough to keep North's jumbo bag fresh, I love the wheels to roll it out of the closet and in when mealtime is done. Easy to serve and preserve - well, that's what I call a win-win!