Glass Food Storage Containers

For the longest time I've been searching for small glass food storage containers with glass lids.  Seems easy enough ... lots of sizes, colors and styles to choose from online.  

But ... I didn't want to pay a fortune and I wasn't necessarily looking for vintage or antique.  Just everyday containers that we could easily use in our fridge to store small quantities of leftovers from meals - and, if they were cute, that would be an added bonus! 



Then one day I changed my approach and instead of looking specifically for food storage containers in the food storage container aisles, I searched for containers shaped like food storage containers.  Do I have you totally confused by now?  I really do have a point - promise!

Sometimes when we need a particular item, we don't think outside the box (or is it just me?).  Many times an item has a specific purpose, but can also be used in other ways, if we just look at them a bit differently.

I kept in mind that I wanted clear glass, preferably rectangular shaped, with a glass lid, stackable, and food and refrigerator safe.  

When I tried this new approach, it happened!   I stumbled across just what I was looking for at a price I could live with.

Clear glass covered butter dishes!  They're the perfect size and shape and really cute, too.   Found them at Home Goods for $5.99 each.




To convert a glass butter dish into a food storage container, just flip it over - the deep butter dish cover becomes the container and the shallow butter dish base becomes the container lid!  





And, they're stackable!




NOTE:  There were no markings on the packaging to indicate if they are microwave, oven or freezer safe.  We will be using them only to store food in the fridge - will not place in the oven, microwave or freezer.

My only concern was that the glass lids are not airtight - would food odors be a problem?  To find out, I tested them with the strongest smelling food item I had on hand - tuna salad.  After the end of a full day and a half in the fridge, there were no lingering smells.  Yay!


They remind me so much of the vintage, retro containers that were so popular in decades past - before plasticware was invented. 

For some really interesting facts and photos on the history of the evolution of cold food storage, check out the Smithsonian Institute's blog article, "Keeping your (food) cool: From ice harvesting to electric refrigeration."



Have you found refrigerator food storage containers that work really well for you?  Do you prefer plastic or glass?  Lots of options out there!




Shared with:
Joyful Homemaking


8 comments:

  1. Carolyn, you are a genius! What a great idea to covert the butter dish into a different type of food storage container! I had been searching for a glass butter dish after mine fell and broke! But I hadn't been able to find one. Now I know where to look for one - just need to find that store in my area.

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    1. I hope you're able to find one, Bless! This one is advertised to hold two sticks of butter and I believe it does. Is definitely large enough to store a 15 oz can of fruit. Good luck!

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  2. How smart.... They are beautiful.
    I love glass containers, but Unfortunately I have a bunch of old plastic containers to house left overs.ha

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  3. Carolyn, I decided to investigate your blog after Bless's comment about it on hers, and I was impressed by your idea of using the butter dishes for storage in the fridge. I must tell you something funny. We have had a butter dish just like yours for years, and I always use it "the wrong way up". The reason is that the lid is heavy and likely to slip off when I'm handling the dish, and it just seems safer to put the butter in the lid and invert the whole thing. Well, we had some friends come and live in our house for 3 weeks while we went away, and they commented on the butter dish and we had quite a time trying to figure out how it was really meant to be used, because we had used it upside down for so long, and some e-mails went to and fro with jokes about it afterwards. But the things we own are meant to serve our particular needs, just as those dishes are serving your needs by being inverted.
    I'm sure I shall check back from time to time. Still have to look at your previous postings, too.
    Best wishes, Bushlady

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    1. Hi! So glad you stopped by! Many of the covered butter dishes I've seen did not have the fitted covers and bases - the covers simply sat on top of the flat base. These were so different because when you use them as containers, the little "lids" have a ledge that prevents them from slipping off. So nice! So fun to repurpose things, isn't it?

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