Adding beauty to your everyday
with some funky food storage, well not funky exactly but some good stuff that isn't plastic and my Kitchen Disco Record of the Week.
I’ve gone all domestic this week, yes it’s come to this, I’m getting excited about food storage - I do hope you haven’t clicked away already. It isn’t just about a practicalities, I do believe in trying to bring beauty to my everyday as far as I can and try to make it a mantra for my daily life. If that all sounds a bit airy-fairy then do bear with, as it’s really just about trying to brighten the mundane. I do feel that looking for beauty in my surroundings, in others, in myself and in what I do is a good principle to live by.* Waffling a bit here, so I’ll get to it.
I have recently moved to glass food storage, whilst the plastic containers (including those heatproof ones retained from a takeaway) can be handy for storing leftovers and food in general, when they begin to colour up in the same shade as the food you had stored in them it feels a bit off, even if the food stored inside them isn’t.
For years I have stored a lot of dry food stuffs in glass Kilner jars, it’s a bit of a faff, but I decant easily spillable packets into clean glass jars. I like the way they look in my cupboards and it makes using these items much more of a pleasure.
If I’m having a bake-a-thon I pull out my box of sugars.
For breakfast and general snacking I flop a few blobs of greek yogurt into a bowl and depending on my mood add some blueberries and sundry items from this tray of goodies; jars of toasted seeds, bran, nuts and granola. Storing the jars in a box, tray or basket makes for easier access and items don’t get lost at the back of cupboards.
I have now extended my use of glass food storage to the fridge. I have always regularly ditched discoloured plastic food containers and on listening to Radio 4’s Sliced Bread on the subject I have realised that this is actually quite prudent. I am not a lunatic constantly on the look out for things in everyday domestic life that might harm me, truth be told it’s mainly the aesthetic that motivates me here, but according to the experts on the programme, if the plastic container you’re using has been discoloured by the food i.e. the food is seeping into the plastic, then what will also be happening is the plastic is leaking into the food. So glass containers or stainless steel are considered a much better option. I am most likely being slow to catch on here, but I hadn’t appreciated that some round cornered stainless steel containers can also be safely used in a microwave.
Gladly buying a set of containers doesn’t require a huge bank loan, there are some extraordinarily cheap options about and of course they should last well, even in a clumsy household like mine.
Please note I am not about creating an Instagram worthy fridge interior containing a display of immaculate glass lidded dishes full of colourful healthy foods. Of course I have the odd half-empty packet of bacon lurking at the back (quite possibly past its use by date) and very often a random cling film-covered plate of something I can’t bear to throw away that will be ultimately be ditched when it becomes inedible. BUT there is some beauty in there, neatly tucked in sleek glass vessels.
Here are some of the ones I’ve found.
Starting at the low end and working up, this one from B&M Stores is impossibly cheap £2.50 reduced from £3!
A set of 6 here from ProCook for £34, two sizes available with dimensions given on the website.
If you want something sexier, I cannot believe I have actually used that word to describe a food container, but when you take a geek at the Black+Blum range I think you’ll know what I mean. I do own a Black and Blum travel cup (this one) and I do love it, but whilst I can testify to its good quality, I often wish it was twice the size.
The range of containers are mainly stainless steel and admittedly the products are not primarily for food storage, more for meals that will be transported, but obviously that needn’t preclude use in the home. They look satisfyingly sturdy and smooth to touch, in fact, so fabulously tactile I want to reach out and stroke them.
I’m not quite sure why this has happened, laziness probably, but I don’t find myself in packing up for picnics territory very often these days. It just feels like too much hassle when I can just sit in my garden beside an open door to the kitchen. However if I was filling two or three of these Black + Blum containers (here and here) it would dramatically lessen the chore.
The range above would have me well motivated for picnic action. I can visualise dropping these containers into this glorious basket I mentioned last year.
They are at the spendy end of food storage, so perhaps a bit of an outlay for those of you who sensibly produce huge volumes of batch cooking, but they are easy on the eye and cost per use will ultimately be minimal.
I might even pack myself some lunch and take it to my desk in this!
Kitchen Disco Record of the Week
Back to the seventies this week. A song I definitely would be found bopping to in my teenage bedroom. The lyrics are a tad old-fashioned and objectifying, but ignore that and dance. Also spot Lionel Richie playing sax in the background.
The Commodores - Brick House
Thank you for reading as ever. Looking like we have some perfect picnic weather incoming in the UK so enjoy your week. If you liked anything here do please click the ❤️ button as it helps my writing become more visible to non-subscribers.
Thank you.
*I’m hoping to make ‘adding beauty to your everyday’ a series, but I haven’t called this ‘episode one’ in case it takes me an age to write of other things and I default.
Love this ! I keep all manner of jars to use for storing things like seeds, nuts, pasta etc and they do look lovely in the pantry - very satisfying! 😘