Forums: January 2011 Kickstart Forum: Storage containers
Created on: 01/04/11 02:28 PM Views: 2605 Replies: 11
Shadowheart Joined: 09/05/10 Posts: 83	Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 2:28 PM What is everyone using to store their dry beans, rice, etc? I'm tired of bags in my cupboards, then we had ants visit, so I put the open bags inside ziplocks. Now, I'm wanting to get something more permanent. Any suggestions?
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 2:34 PM We have large Rubbermaid-like food grade storage bins on a rack in the kitchen. We buy black beans, wheat and popcorn in bulk amounts (25-50 lbs) and we'll probably be buying some others in bigger quantities in the near future too (not quite as big as that though). There are lots of nice sturdy sealable containers out there. Some of the grains/legumes/beans that are smaller in nature (like lentils) we store in washed out glass jars from peanut butter or pasta sauces. --Deb R
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cch22 Joined: 09/08/10 Location: New York State Posts: 999	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 2:36 PM i use canning jars..but be careful to take them out of the bags.. getting bags out of those jars is sometimes hard.. then label the jar .. just in case..
	Edited 01/04/11 2:36 PM Quote | Send PM | Link | Top | Bottom
Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 2:38 PM cch22 wrote: i use canning jars..but be careful to take them out of the bags.. getting bags out of those jars is sometimes hard.. then label the jar .. just in case.. Yup, we've got some things in those too. It just depends on how big the item is (garbanzos vs. lentils) and how much we purchase at a time (25 lbs of black beans vs 5 lbs of rice vs 1 lb of lentils). --Deb R PS good quality popcorn makes awesome corn meal!
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Susan Levin Joined: 12/26/09 Posts: 1189	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 2:43 PM I love glass, and I love the way glass full of different beans and grains looks atop my counters. But if you eat your bulk beans and grains slowly, you might want to stick those plastic bags in the freezer instead of a cupboard or shelf. Whole foods are alive and can go bad. Susan Levin, MS, RD PCRM Director of Nutrition Education
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 2:47 PM We don't buy them in plastic bags at all. We get them in the bulk bins in our lovely local vegetarian food co-op market. I bring my own containers for smaller stuff (lentils, rice, etc) and we order wheat, corn, and black beans through them in large sacks. Takes us somewhere close to 3 months to go through a 50 lb sack and more like 6 weeks to go through the 25 lb sacks (give or take, we go through LOTS of wheat in the winter, less so in the summer, so we vary the quantities we buy). A pound of red lentils will disappear in maybe 2 weeks, sometimes less. if a particular grain/bean/legume seems to be gone quickly (like one or two meals), I'll buy more next time. If it seems to hang around, I'll buy less next time. That's one of the things I love about the co-op bins - I'm not tied to a given size package. --Deb R
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soon2BVeg Joined: 08/24/10 Posts: 225	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 4:21 PM I get glass jars with screw-on lids at discount stores. I also repurpose glass jars with screw-on lids from products like mayonnaise when I can get them. Sadly, the day of the glass jar seems destined to be over .... so many items are sold in plastic now. And I don't like plastic. Don't make a New Year's Resolution...make a Decision!
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tinabean Joined: 09/08/10 Location: Pasadena, TX Posts: 113	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 4:41 PM I have limited space & a recurring moth problem I'm still trying to eliminate. I use mostly glass jars. Barilla jars have wider mouths than Classico, just so you know. I don't think it's that noticeable when you're at the store, but when you're trying to wash it out it that stuff becomes important. If it's too big/too much to fit in a spaghetti sauce jar -or just inconvenient to measure it back out - then I store it in my fridge. Maybe for someone with a larger family that wouldn't seem like a great alternative to a pantry, but for me it works.
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turtlekaren Joined: 01/03/11 Posts: 13	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 7:52 PM I have those tupperware modular mates, they are pretty cool, and stack well. But expensive. And plastic. As the dog gets ahold of them and chews them up, or my boyfriend leaves them on the stove and they catch fire, I'm replacing them with those italian glass containers with the rubber gaskets and spring-top lids - they do look really cool all lined up in the pantry like that! (and they're not flammable). What do you store 50 pounds of bulk food in, though? I bought rice like that once, and ended up throwing a lot of it away because it got weevils.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2068	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 8:58 PM turtlekaren wrote: What do you store 50 pounds of bulk food in, though? I bought rice like that once, and ended up throwing a lot of it away because it got weevils. BIG storage containers. We got ours at the hardware store I think. Checked first to make sure it was safe to store food in (checked what type of plastic it is made from). There are various sizes and we have a few different sizes based on what goes in them. Hubby is the head chef at our house and the kitchen reflects that - we have a very sturdy wire shelving unit from the hardware store along one wall and that is the pantry. Most everything comes out of the store packaging (if any) and gets stored in sealable plastic or glass containers - the cardboard/paperboard packaging is often the source of critter access. --Deb R
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Shadowheart Joined: 09/05/10 Posts: 83	RE: Storage containers Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 11:24 PM I'm switching to glass jars! I bought two nice ones, and found a couple others in my cabinet. Amazing what you can find behing the items you use. Not sure why I even needed to start this thread, I have a decorative shelf of glass containers filled with beans, corns, peppers, oils... just didn't dawn on me to put the food I eat in glass as well
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kaykay Joined: 01/04/11 Posts: 12	RE: Storage containers Posted Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 12:01 PM turtlekaren wrote: I have those tupperware modular mates, they are pretty cool, and stack well. But expensive. And plastic. As the dog gets ahold of them and chews them up, or my boyfriend leaves them on the stove and they catch fire, I'm replacing them with those italian glass containers with the rubber gaskets and spring-top lids - they do look really cool all lined up in the pantry like that! (and they're not flammable). I did the same. I had tupperwares but am trying to get rid of as much plastic as possible and ended up buying the same italian glass containers in different sizes. No need to put labels etc. as they are glass and they look great on the shelves. No need to hide them. For taking food to work etc. I still use Tupperware as they are leakproof and don't break.
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