Glass Storage Containers
Food storage is particularly useful for pretty much anyone who regularly cooks or takes food with them to work, school or general outings. It allows for food to be pre-cooked in advance and conveniently placed in storage for a later date. Furthermore it enables food to be put in the oven or microwave with minimum fuss or spillage, or compactly stored in a fridge or freezer.
Storage containers can be found in almost any home, as they’re a simple and cheap item. They’re also very useful and versatile, so people use these types of containers for general storage, rather than strictly just for food. There are plenty of food storage containers available, many of which are very similar, so recommending one particular brand or type wouldn’t serve much of a purpose here. Instead, I’m going to focus on the materials used for the storage container, in order to introduce you to the benefits of choosing glass containers, rather than other alternatives.
The most common material used for food storage containers is plastic. This is due to the convenience of vacuum moulding and the relative cheapness with which plastic can be mass-produced. Also, plastic containers can be easily looked after and don’t smash or break too easily.
Plastic storage containers have come under scrutiny in recent times though, as scientific experiments have shown that there’s a possibility that dangerous chemicals within plastic have the potential to seep into your food, especially where there is surface contact. The thrust of this claim is that unnaturally high levels of oestrogen can get into your food, causing potentially serious problems, as high levels of oestrogen can lead to breast cancer.
As a result, some people have turned to other alternatives, such as ceramic containers, or storing food in stainless steel pans. These storage materials don’t allow for the same level of chemical transfer and are generally considered to be safer. This risk needs to be considered, though you should be aware that no cases of breast cancer have been directly linked to the use of plastic storage containers as yet.
When compared to all of the available options, glass storage containers win out on the chemical transfer front. Glass allows for the lowest level of chemical transfer, and is perhaps the best material for food storage. In addition to this, glass can be put in fridges, freezers, ovens and microwaves safely. This makes it comparatively better than plastic, which can melt under lower temperatures than glass.
However, glass isn’t the best material on all counts. Glass is comparatively brittle and will smash if dropped. Also it costs more than many other materials, and isn’t exactly cost effective unless it’s looked after properly. On a similar theme, one of the biggest problems with glass is the safety risk posed if it does break. Shards of glass are particularly good at cutting through skin and this can cause a lot of pain if trodden on or picked up incorrectly.
