Food storage: Glass vs. Plastic
I've been phasing plastic out of my cupboards for a while now. It's a slow process as I and trying to balance convenience with health and environmentalism. One change that I have made is that I throw fewer glass jars in the recycling bin and instead save them to reuse later.
Classico pasta sauce comes in Mason Jars perfect for drinking iced tea. Their pesto comes in tiny Mason jars that I use to serve my 3-year-old drinks. The jars are made of thick glass and can take a lot of abuse. There is an interesting little debate over at Recipe Zaar as to whether or not they can be reused for canning, however, the are perfectly suitable for consuming beverages.
Pickle, peanut butter and even babyfood jars are used in my house for food storage -- mostly leftovers. Because they are clear, I can immediately identify what is inside unlike many plastic containers. One big bonus over Tupperware is that glass won't be stained by tomato sauce. Finally, glass can be boiled or microwaved without any concerns about chemicals leaching into the food, unlike plastic.
There is of course the issue of breakage. It happens. However, families manage for generations with this hazard so I think that I can too.
Classico pasta sauce comes in Mason Jars perfect for drinking iced tea. Their pesto comes in tiny Mason jars that I use to serve my 3-year-old drinks. The jars are made of thick glass and can take a lot of abuse. There is an interesting little debate over at Recipe Zaar as to whether or not they can be reused for canning, however, the are perfectly suitable for consuming beverages.
Pickle, peanut butter and even babyfood jars are used in my house for food storage -- mostly leftovers. Because they are clear, I can immediately identify what is inside unlike many plastic containers. One big bonus over Tupperware is that glass won't be stained by tomato sauce. Finally, glass can be boiled or microwaved without any concerns about chemicals leaching into the food, unlike plastic.
There is of course the issue of breakage. It happens. However, families manage for generations with this hazard so I think that I can too.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-24-2008 @ 1:45PM
Diane said...
I have been re-using glass jars and containers for many years in my home. It started with mason jars for drinking, then I started in the pantry with my dry goods to protect them from insects. I especially love the really large jars from Costco which our church uses when they have pasta dinners. I was always the crazy one that took all the dirty jars home. Who's crazy now!
I tend to drive everyone a little nuts with the storage of all the different sized emptys, but plastic is poison. If it comes in glass, buy it and reuse, reuse, reuse. Just throw in the dw and you continue to have a clean, chemical free storage container that you can even see through! The carbon footprint becomes less with each reuse!
Reply
9-24-2008 @ 1:47PM
kelly.leahy said...
Hey Diane, thanks for the comment. I kind of like the look of the different sized containers in the cupboard. Keep up the good work.