This is a shopping tip for saving money: take advantage of seasonal bargains on purchases of glass food storage containers.
From Thanksgiving until New Year’s, boxed sets of different sizes of glass containers can be bought for a very good price.
The boxed set contains a variety of sizes, small, medium and large, in round or square shapes. The price is much better than if you went into your local supermarket, cruised the housewares aisle, and purchased them separately at any other time of the year.
Littles are for individual servings. Medium are for two or three servings. Large is for a family size serving. All can be used in the fridge or the freezer, using the EP system.
My two favorite brands are Pyrex and Anchor Hocking. Glass containers come with lids that are air-tight and can go from freezer to fridge to microwave to oven to dishwasher.
Why Does Essential Puree Recommend Glass Containers?
The best food storage is the glass container because you are not dealing with the transfer of chemicals in the heating or cooking process.
Glass is reusable. The containers don’t get stained with food. You don’t throw them out. They is better for the environment. You feel good because you put less plastic in the landfill.
Glass containers are more economical over time. The initial cost is higher, but they do not have to be replaced. You spend once, not over and over. This makes you a very smart consumer.
I store my glass containers on a shelf in my pantry. I put lids in one storage container, round bowls in a second storage container, square bowls in a third storage container. I use boxes purchased at discount stores for storing these.
I like see-through small milk containers that fit on the pantry shelf. These can be bought at Wal-Mart, Target, the Dollar Store and often at office supply stores. I shop the clearance storage items. When organizing, a little expenditure saves a lot of time in the long run and eases the aggravation factor. Who wants to be looking for matching lids for the containers? You know what I mean.
As every reader of the Essential Puree Guidebook knows, one of the benefits of batch cooking is always having a great meal on hand. As long as you are making beautiful food, use clean and safe storage methods.
Where to Buy
I checked out Wal-Mart and Target and I found great sets for good prices. I won’t go into details because local offerings may differ. I won’t suggest shopping for them online, because not all bargains make it to the websites of the various purveyors. For this, you have to go to the stores, but it is worth it.
One exception: On their Sunday cooking show, QVC was running an Anchor Hocking special that it only runs once a year. HSN also offered Wolfgang Puck sets of glass storage with silicone lids that go in the oven or the freezer. The lid allows you to squeeze out the air and thus reduce freezer burn.
The Label
You let your food cool and you ladle it into the containers. Then all you need are Post-It labels to affix to the storage containers. You use a Sharpie felt tip pen and you title the dish, write the day you froze it and the Use By date, and you have the system. The refrigerator or freezer becomes like a pantry.
If you follow the EP system, you have a white board on the freezer and you mark how many servings of each entrée, side dish, veggie, dessert, that you have in the freezer. You mark the white board as you use the servings. That way, when you have your designated batch cooking day, you know what you have to replenish. Easy.
Tip: For my mom, I stored individual servings. Sometimes I would use a larger container and store two servings.
I like glass containers better than storing in large zip bags with one exception. I store gravy in one cup servings in small zip bags, labelled and dated and stacked. That way, I can use a little gravy or a lot, depending on my need. I include my homemade fruit sauces in the gravy category. Your freezer becomes your filing cabinet.
That’s the Essential Puree method.