Geoffrey Zakarian's Pro Home Food Storage by Tarhong

When I went to the Housewares Show in Chicago this past March, one of the coolest things was when I met Geoffrey Zakarian and he showed me his new line of kitchen storage products. He was friendly and warm and really enthusiastic about the products.

Well, of course he was enthusiastic about the products, because he designed them. He said that after working in restaurants for years and seeing and understanding the proper way to store food, he was disappointed that there weren't similar storage products sized for home kitchens.

So he decided to create them.

The containers are clear, so you can see what's in them. They seal well, and have a tab on the corner that makes it easy to remove the lid. They are dishwasher, microwave, and freezer safe. And there are removable trays so food doesn't sit in liquid, if it's not supposed to. Obviously, if you're marinating, you want it in liquid. But if you're storing fresh strawberries, you don't want them sitting in any sort of moisture that could cause rotting.

The containers nest for storage and they stack when they're full. They also include a pen that can be used to write on the containers to label them, and it wipes off nicely so you can re-label again cleanly.

I only got one container at the show (which was plenty, because there's only so much stuff that can be stuffed into a suitcase) so I haven't used it a lot, but it's really a nice container. Sturdy, solid, well made. If I was tossing out all my current containers and starting over, I'd definitely be looking at a set of these.

He also has some other products that are in the design stage that aren't for sale yet that looked interesting. I'll be curious to see how well his new product line does, considering there are w whole lot of storage containers on the market. Right now, I'm not finding them widely distributed, but I hope we'll be seeing more of them.

As a side note ... my one regret about meeting Geoffrey Zakarian at the show was that after I walked away, I realized it would have been totally cool to get a video of him telling me that I'd been chopped. Oh well. Maybe next time.

Who's it for: People who store food in the refrigerator.

Pros: Nice containers, made similar to professional storage.

Cons: Limited distribution right now.

Wishes: I'd love to be able to just buy the sizes I need at the grocery store.

Source: I received this as a sample at no cost when I was at the Housewares Show.

MagnetJar

I get all kinds of interesting items for review. MagnetJar qualified as interesting - a spice jar you could hang somewhere with a magnet.

I really didn't think it through before I said yes. Because there's one tiny problem with any spice solution that has the spices hanging on the fridge. Herbs and spices should be stored in a dark place. Out in the open hanging on the fridge isn't a good spot.

The company also suggests you can hang the jars on the stove hood, which is worse because you have both light and heat.

But then I thought, gee, if these jars are that spectacular, maybe it would be worth hanging a sheet of metal inside a cabinet door to hang the jars.

When the MagnetJars arrived, I had to clarify ... are these the final versions, or are they a prototype? Sometimes I get prototypes and test models, so I had to find out.

Functionally, they work fine. They're a spice jar with a magnet glued to one side. They hold spices and they stick to metal surfaces. Job done.

But they're not particularly decorative or elegant. They're not ugly. But no one is going to look at them and say, "Oh, those are pretty!" Looking at them from the front with spices in them, they'll look fine. But from the side, that magnet is bulky and not particularly attractive. Depending on where you hang them, you might not see the side. But you might, right?

I have absolutely nothing against things that are function over form. Function is actually more important to me. So ... these work. Pretty much like any other spice jar I own. My original thought was actually pretty good. If you hung a big metal sheet inside a pantry door, these would be nice stuck to the inside of the door. As for leaving them out in the open ... you're really better off having your herbs and spices safely inside a cabinet.

These would also be useful in a garage or craft room to stick on metal shelving to hold small screws, washers, nuts, and other small parts.

Who's it for: People who need more spice jars and who want to hang them up.

Pros: They're functional.

Cons: They're not particularly attractive.

Wishes: Opaque jars would make so much more sense, like maybe opaque white with a chalkboard-painted circle to write on.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Debbie Meyer GreenBoxes - and MORE

Green Boxes on display at IHHS 2016

Years ago, I tried Debbie Meyer GreenBags and they worked really well to keep my produce from going bad as quickly.

The problem I had with them (and this is just me, okay?) is that I'm not a huge fan of washing and re-using plastic bags.

I like my dishwasher. I have some things I wash by hand, either because they deserve it, or because they don't fit in the dishwasher. Washing plastic bags and finding a place for them to dry is pretty low on my priority list.

So when I found out there were green BOXES (I saw them at the Housewares show in Chicago earlier this year), I was pretty excited. They're just like regular storage containers, except that they're designed to keep your produce fresher.

So you can store your strawberries and cherries in them, or the lettuce you prepped for tomorrow's salad, or the cut zucchini and cucumber that you didn't use for the recipe.

And if you happen to use them for leftover spaghetti, there's no harm done. They're just as dishwasher safe as the non-green containers, and they nest and store neatly. What's not to love?

But that's not all. When I wasn't paying attention to the Debbie Meyer brand, she came up with a whole bunch of products.

Besides the GreenBoxes (and the GreenBags that are still available) there are oven bags for roasting, microwave bags for steaming, slow cooker liners for ... uh, lining your slow cooker, and grilling bags for grilling.


AND she has two cake cutting tools. One cuts wedges in round-shaped cakes and for pies, and the other cuts squares from square and rectangular cakes.

That's a whole lot of stuff! Which is your favorite Debbie Meyer product?

Who's it for: So many products, so many uses!

Pros: Love that the boxes are easier to clean than the bags. The variety of products is great.

Cons: So much to choose from? Okay, some of these might be a tad pricy for single-use, but it depends on your budget.

Wishes: Maybe a sample pack of the grilling, oven, microwave, and slow cooker bags, so you could try them all.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

FreshyBag

Although I don't normally pack a lunch - hey, I work from home - there are plenty of people who brown-bag it regularly.

This little black bag (called the FreshyBag) is a nice alternative to the basic paper bag. It's insulated and has two separate compartments so you can keep your squishy sandwich away from your heavier items.

When I first got this, I was a little puzzled, though. First, I thought the bottom section was for a freezer pack, but that makes no sense. Why put it under the food, and why put it in a completely insulated space? Duh. It's for your sandwich or whatever else you want to shove in there.

The second thing that momentarily baffled me was that the top section doesn't open from the top. Duh. It opens from the side. That seemed to be an odd, but it makes more sense if you're stacking foods in there. It's easier to see them and to remove just one item than if you open from the top and can only remove the thing from the top of the stack before you get to the next one and the next.

The bag is insulated, and it seems like a decent amount of insulation. I haven't tested it to see how long things stay cold, but it should be as good as any other insulated bag.

But one thing I really like is that it's completely machine washable. That makes so much sense for a bag that you're going to use to carry food. Because food can be messy, leaky, or sticky. So if your barbecue sauce container opens up and it gets all over inside the bag, you just toss the bag in the washer instead of trying to sponge out the goo.

When I first saw this bag, I thought it looked a little small to hold a normal-sized lunch, but it's actually pretty roomy. And since you can separate squishables from other things, you can make better use of the space.

Who's it for: People who carry lunch or other foods to work or elsewhere.

Pros: Nice bag. Sturdy zippers.

Cons: The name Freshy on the side is a little weird. Well, the font is weird. From a distance, I kept reading it as Fleshy.

Wishes: It only comes in black, which is fine with me. But other people might like other colors.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Cherry Blossom collection from Charles Viancin

Let's face it, cherry blossoms are pretty. Charles Viancin has created a set of cherry-blossom-themed silicone covers (for bowls and such) as well as some cute bottle stoppers in the same design.

While these evoke spring, they'll work just as well in summer. And, hey, when winter comes along you can pretend they're poinsettias.

Of course, if you're using them in the kitchen for cooking and storing, it doesn't matter if they match the season or not, right? You might want a bit of springtime in the midst of winter.

But here's the thing. They aren't just decorative - they're functional. For the covers, the protruding bit in the center of the flower makes a nice handle. And there's a hole for hanging the covers, should you want to do that.

Since these are made from silicone, they're flexible, heat resistant, dishwasher safe, and microwave safe. Like other covers of this type, they create a bit of a vacuum seal on bowls, but they remove easily when you grab an edge.

The small covers would be lovely for outdoor dining, to cover drinks.

Who's it for: People who have bowls and things to cover.

Pros: Pretty. Useful.

Cons: Sort of seasonal.

Wishes: None really.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

GIR Square and Rectangular Lids

You might be familiar with GIR (Get it Right) because of their spatulas. But they also make silicone lids. I wrote about their round lids (in a pretty large variety of sizes) before, but now they've created rectangular and square lids to cover the rest of your pans and casseroles.

The lids are sold individually in 9x6 and 9x13 rectangular sizes and a 9x9 square. You can also buy a set with the 9x6 and 9x9 lids.

These are a similar weight as the larger round lids. While they don't stick to or stretch around pans, they're heavy enough to stay in place if you set them on top of your pan. And if the pan's surface is smooth and you press down a bit, you create suction that keeps the lid attached to the pan.

Needless to say, if you've got rising bread dough in a pan, you won't get that suction. What you get is a lid that allows the extra gas to escape but it's still heavy enough to seal again, unlike plastic wrap that just flaps in the breeze if it comes loose.

I use the round lids all the time - to cover pots on the stove, to weigh down food that wants to float in water or a sauce and to cover bowls. The rectangular and square will be just as useful for square and rectangular things - and you could use them to cover round things that you want to vent - like when you're microwaving something and don't need it fully covered. Nice, eh?

They're dishwasher safe, so they're easy to clean, and GIR makes their products in a pretty wide range of colors, so you can match your kitchen, choose your favorite color, or just go random.

What would you do with these?

Who's it for: People who need lids for things that don't have their own lids.

Pros: Dishwasher safe. Heat resistant.

Cons: Now that they've added the rectangular sizes, I'm a happy camper.

Wishes: None, really. I think they chose useful sizes.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Green Paxx Ice pop molds and silicone straws

Ice pops and homemade popsicles seem to be pretty hot on blogs this summer. I've been thinking that maybe this is the year I'll buy some really cool molds, but I just haven't gotten to it.

Maybe because there are no kids around here to eat them.

But then again, I like a good ice pop once in a while. Or a boozy ice pop.

And that's how I tested the Green Paxx ice pop molds - with boozy ice pops.

The really big test was that I didn't have space in the freezer to stand the ice pops upright, so I had to lay them down in the freezer, and there was absolutely no leaking. Good thing, because I wasn't looking forward to cleaning the freezer.

The molds are made from silicone, so they can be washed in the dishwasher, if you like, and the colors I got were pretty wacky. In a good way.

Besides using them for ice pops, the company suggests using them for carrying snacks to school or work. Since they seal well, it makes sense, but since I work from home, I don't need to pack any snacks. They could also be useful for packing daily portion-controlled snacks to keep from over-snacking at home, I guess.

Photo courtesy of Green Paxx

The company also sent me some two-piece flexible silicone straws. I'm not entirely sure why a two-piece straw is better, except that you can take them apart for cleaning, or perhaps use the two parts separately.

Since the straws are silicone, they're very durable and reusable. They'd be good for households with kids (of any age) who like to gnaw on their straws, since the kids wouldn't damage their teeth or the straw.

But like any reusable straw, you need to clean them inside. If you clean them right after using, you can dip them in soapy water and rinse, but if you leave them sit too long or if bits of your smoothie got stuck in the straw, it's a good idea to give them a little scrub with a brush that's made to fit inside straws.

The straws are a pretty large diameter, so they didn't fit into a few cups I tried that came with their own straws, but they did fit into the Ball Sip n Straw lids that I have, and the fit was snug enough that they would stay in place, and spillage would be minimal if the drink tipped over.

Green Paxx also makes a universal lid (which I didn't receive or test) that fits several sizes of drinking glasses that has a hole that will accommodate their straws.

Who's it for: Mostly families with kids, but there are also non-kid uses.

Pros: Silicone is pretty durable stuff. Fun colors.

Cons: Still not entirely sure why a two-piece straw is necessary. I could imagine that kids of a certain age might have a lot of fun pulling them apart, though.

Wishes: I like the idea of the ice pop molds for carrying snacks or other small items, but a non-tapered bottom would probably be more useful for that. I could see using these to carry spices, nuts, bread crumbs, or other measured amounts of products to add as a finishing touch to foods taken to a potluck or party.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

LidLover Lids - Updated Post!

I've been using these lids regularly for more than a month, so I wanted to update this post.

First, the mini lids are now available for sale, and the square and rectangular are coming very soon.

The reason I love reusable lids like these is that I used to go through plastic wrap at a ridiculous pace, and a lot of it was for covering bowls of rising dough or for covering other bowls that didn't have their own dedicated covers.

So when I got a chance to test LidLover lids, I was really curious. Would they work?

Unlike other stretchy lids I've tried, these have concentric rings that make it easy to fit the lids onto different sizes of bowls or other containers.

That doesn't mean there's one size that fits everything, though. There are small lids that fit cups, glasses, jars and food cans, and three different larger lids for large containers. The largest size is sold solo; the middle-sized lids are sold as a pair of two different sizes; the smallest (now available) come as a pair of the same size.

The lids can be used right-side up, or upside down. That doesn't seem like a big deal since the lids stretch, but I found that sometimes the fit was better if I flipped it over.

The lids are made from silicone, which means they're safe in a wide range of temperatures - freezer to dishwasher to oven ... although I can't imagine why you'd use them in the oven.

I've tested them on different containers made from different materials, and they work well. One of my biggest uses for covers is my stand mixer bowl, since I need to cover it if I have bread dough rising. Over the past few years, I've tried different covers, and many of them failed to hang on when the dough rose and gasses stretched the lid.

This one, because of the rings, has plenty of ability to expand before it starts to stretch, and even with the little bit of stretch required, it hung on tight.

I've had a small one on a plastic container in the refrigerator for quite a while, and it's still holding on.

Most things that I plan on storing long-term go into containers with their own dedicated lids, but there are plenty of times when I'm marinating something, or I have a salad pre-made and in a serving bowl, and I want to cover it before it goes to the table, or I want to stop the splattering in the microwave. These lids are perfect for all of those uses.

While they work well for longer-term storage, I usually think of covers like this as a short-term solution, mostly because the containers I use for long storage have their own lids.

After using these for over a month, I have to say that they've held up well and that I actually use then quite often, both as a loose cover in the microwave, and as tighter bowl cover. I've washed them multiple times in the dishwasher, and there hasn't been any color fading or other signs of wear. While I'm sure they're not indestructible, they should last for a good long time for normal use.

I got some of the brand new mini covers recently, and I learned something new - they sent along jars with covers on them, with one of the covers right-side-up, and the other upside-down

Okay, I knew you could use them either way. But they wrote little notes on top of the lids and said that the notes could be wiped off. So I grabbed a paper towel, moistened it, and the ballpoint-pen notes wiped right off.

Isn't that cool? You can write on them and the text wipes off really easily, so you can label things in the refrigerator without permanently marking the lids and without using tape that you have to peel off - which of course could leave a sticky residue.

I know that's not the most earthshaking thing, but I thought it was worth noting.

Who's it for: People who have lidless bowls and containers.

Pros: Each one fits multiple sizes. Stretches. Wide range of temperatures.

Cons: None yet.

Wishes: Colors are limited. Not a deal breaker, but I love when products have color choices.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Lekue Herbstick

The Herbstick from Lekue is an odd little thing. It's like a silicone Popsicle mold for herbs. The idea is that you fill it with herbs, add olive oil so the herbs are covered, put the cap on, and freeze it. Then, when you want to use those herbs, you either slice off a disk of herbs, or you grate what you need.

It sounds a little odd, but ... I really like it. I mean, I know that I can freeze herbs in ice cube trays, but what if I only need a little bit? Have you ever tried to shave or slice an herb ice cube, so you can use a little bit of it? Not so fun.

The Herbstick lets you hang onto that silicone part while you cut or grate the herbs, so you're not trying to hang onto a slippery, freezing cold, partly melting, oily odd-shaped thing.

Of course, if you always use a whole ice cube worth of herbs, then you're good to go. No need for portioning or grating. But so far I've grated frozen herbs onto pasta and scrambled eggs, and into a sauce I was making. It was nice to be able to do that, then just put the cover on, and toss it back into the freezer.

Since I only have one Herbstick, I filled it up with a mix of herbs from my little wheelbarrow herb garden, but I could see the sense in having a whole array of these, each filled with a different herb. Then, label each one with a piece of freezer tape and a marker.

Maybe one filled with hot peppers. I mean, why not? It would make it really easy to grate just a small amount of those ghost peppers into a dish, right?

I was kind of surprised how much I could squish into the Herbstick. I grabbed a couple hand fulls of oregano, basil, chives, and parsley, chopped them, mixed them, put them into the Herbstick, pushed them down a little, and then realized I had barely filled it halfway.

Leaves are fluffy. I didn't need them to be fluffy. I could pack them in much more tightly, and that's what I did. So although this is pretty small, it holds a decent amount of herbs.

Who's it for: People who want to freeze fresh herbs in small quantities.

Pros: If you live where winter happens, this could be very handy. The covered container is nice, and it's easy to push the herbs up for slicing or grating.

Cons: If you live where herbs grow outdoors all year long, you probably don't need this. Also, it's a tad pricey for one container. But ... around here fresh herbs are pricey in winter, so if it saves me from buying them - or from throwing out excess - it would pay for itself pretty quickly.

Wishes: I would love it if these came in a variety of colors for easy color-coding. I could see keeping savory herbs in green, hot peppers in red ... or whatever makes sense.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for review.