Food Storage Containers

products tested (listed alphabetically)

• Betty Crocker Servables Container
• Genius VakSet: Four Vacuum Storage Containers with Pump
• GladWare Containers/Deep Dish Size
• Pyrex Storage Plus/Rectangle Dish with Lid
• Rubbermaid Seal'n Saver
• Rubbermaid Stain Shield Square Container
• SK Enterprises: Three Vacuum Seal Storage Containers
• Snapware Snap N' Serve: Clear Stainproof Six-Piece Food Storage Container Set
• Sterilite Ultra Seal
• Tramontina Stainless Steel Gourmet Collection Storage Container
• Tupperware Rock 'N Serve Medium Deep Container
• Ziploc Brand Containers/Large Rectangle (pkg. of 2)

See Product Comparison Chart

Circa 1950, leftovers were stored in Tupperware . . . period. Today, some 50 years later, you can store leftovers in any number of containers made from plastic, glass, or metal that include features such as vacuum sealing, stain resistance, locking lids, and special venting. For a device as seemingly simple as a food storage container, the variety can be daunting. We wanted to find out if any of the newer models offered a higher level of protection for your food, more useful features, or significantly better design.

First, we came up with several reliable, if slightly unconventional, methods to test the seal between the container and its lid. The "sink test" was first. We filled each container with 2 1/4 pounds of pie weights topped with a layer of sugar, and, with the lid in place, submerged the whole thing in water. Then we fished out the container, dried it, and inspected the sugar inside. Wet spots were immediately obvious because the sugar clumped. To further assess the seal, we devised the "shake test." We filled each container with 2 cups of canned chicken barley soup, fixed the lid in place, and shook vigorously. If we ended up wearing soup, the seal wasn't tight enough.

Preventing the transfer of food odors is also the job of the seal between container and lid. To gauge odor protection, we conducted "stink tests" by loading slices of white sandwich bread into each container, closing the lid, and storing them all in the fridge with a huge, uncovered bowl of diced raw onions. Over the course of five days, we sniffed the bread daily to see if we could detect any onion scent.

We chose chili to test stain resistance, refrigerating it in the containers for three days, microwaving it to serving temperature (about three minutes), and then immediately running the containers through the dishwasher. Last, to replicate the ravages of time, we ran the containers through 100 cycles in the dishwasher and then repeated every test.

The stink tests produced no clear pattern among the odor control champs. The results of the staining tests, on the other hand, did reveal a pattern. The winners were made of the hardest materials. The glass and stainless steel containers proved stain resistant, (though the same cannot be said of some of their plastic lids). Among the plastic containers, those made from hard, clear polycarbonate (the same material used for lightweight eyeglass lenses and compact disks) resisted stains best in our tests. The plastic containers were made of polypropylene, which, according to Rob Krebs, a spokesperson for the American Plastics Council, is a somewhat softer polymer that seems more susceptible to staining, as we observed in our tests.

And When Things Go Wrong?

Our testing procedures had produced some clear winners—at least according to fairly normal kitchen conditions. But what about when things go wrong? Cooks and their equipment face a constant barrage of bumps, bashes, falls, wallops, and, well, abuse.

To evaluate how our containers would fare under unfortunate but common circumstances, we intentionally dropped them in three different ways designed to replicate the types of accidents that take place in home kitchens every day. We dubbed them the "stress tests." We knocked chili-filled containers off the edge of a counter; stumbled while carrying the containers so as to flip them over from waist height; and dropped the containers, frozen and filled with a solid block of ice, from chest height, as if the container had slipped out of our hands while pulling it from the freezer.

Not a single contender survived these unusual tests unscathed, so we did not factor them into the containers' overall ratings. We will say this, however: These tests taught us to handle our food storage containers with care, especially when they're full.

And what about a yogurt container?

We all do it. Most of our test kitchen staffers do it (in the privacy of their home kitchens, of course). And we bet you do it, too. We're talking about storing leftovers in containers once used as packaging for store-bought foods.

Take the yogurt container, for instance. Most everyone we asked admitted to saving one or two old yogurt (or sour cream) containers in which to stash odd morsels of this and that in the fridge. This practice naturally begs a question, though: How well will a yogurt container serve you, especially when compared with fancier receptacles designed specifically for this purpose?

We put a yogurt container through our full battery of tests and can report that it makes a perfectly serviceable choice when the swankier containers are occupied. The seal held strong, preventing leaks in nearly all of the tests and staving off the invasion of unwelcome food odors when new (its ability to block food odors was compromised after 100 trips through the dishwasher). Though it did stain from the chili and go disturbingly soft and squishy in the microwave (it did not melt or become misshapen, however), we found that a yogurt container does just fine when it comes to basic food storage tasks.

See the Results