How do you store your left overs?

Edward Norton wrote:Excellent suggestions. I did a little more reading last night and discovered you can put glass jars in the freezer so long as you leave room for expansion. I was a little wary, so tried one jar last night, wrapped in newspaper incase it exploded. Worked a treat. I didn’t think about using canning / masonry jars for left overs. They sound like a great solution. I have some nice widemouth ones that I use for fermenting. I know what you mean Melonie about plastic lids and I have many because the two part metal ones are great for preserving but not so good for daily use.

Yes, you can freeze mason jars. Just remember never to fill it past the shoulder aka the narrowing place between the top rim and the biggest part of the jar. The reason is that the jar can break after freezing if you fill it too high. 2” is a minimum headspace for freezing. The shoulder are smaller for wide mouth jars, so for this reason I only use wide mouth jars when I freeze in mason jars.
I make a lot of pickles, but we don’t like them too strong (the vinegar ratio), so I make some with less vinegar and freeze them. These are the best pickles we have. I also store lemon juice, lemon/orange zest, garlic, garlic confit, ground fresh herbs like dill, chives and parsley. When we get a lot of oranges I will also store that in the freezer in mason jars. I find that we like fresh pressed frozen juice the best.
Leftovers, I fill into small silicone containers, and freeze. When I have enough meals, I take them out of the silicone container and freeze dry them. They make for easy grab and go meals.

We just bought used silicone bags and I'm using them to store veggie scraps (for stock) in the freezer. We got tired of the paper bags we were using because they'd rip. So far, so good.

Almost anything can be found used on ebay and you avoid consuming new and especially the evil Amazon.

If your glass containers have a sharp chip, just file with a fine metal file, or you can use sandpaper so you don't get cut.

I've frozen semi-liquids and liquids not past the shoulder in quart Mason jars, and they've cracked.

I have been steadily transitioning my leftover containers from the classic Tupperware style to glass from brands such as Anchor Hocking and Pyrex. Glassware does have a bit of a monetary cost to it, so it has been a gradual transition for me. I really like the square dishes the most as the organize nicely.

I have learned how to utilize mason jarware to help store leftovers and staples as well. I found several style of screw on lids that make short term storage a breeze.

Timothy Norton wrote:I have been steadily transitioning my leftover containers from the classic Tupperware style to glass from brands such as Anchor Hocking and Pyrex. Glassware does have a bit of a monetary cost to it, so it has been a gradual transition for me. I really like the square dishes the most as the organize nicely.

I have learned how to utilize mason jarware to help store leftovers and staples as well. I found several style of screw on lids that make short term storage a breeze.

I've been using ceramic dishes with Tupperware style lid's that keep things fresh longer. My new habit of becoming a big softy and letting the dog do dishes and me using less soap/water has made the dog and my wallet fat.  Dog is happy, I'm happy the well is happy, the septic is happy... Let's call this behavior modification a win.

I’ve been using those stackable glass containers lately, total game changer for fridge space!

I use stainless steel divided trays and store extra leftover meals in the freezer well marked.  These trays have lids as well and can stack.

We invested in these stainless steel plates and bowls. One set has a plate and a bowl and one covers the other to go right into the fridge. They fit tight to each other and work great for any storage, in or out of the fridge. If you have food on the plate, the bowl goes on top and stays together. If you have food in the bowl, the plate goes on top and stays together.

They have been great for us.

We bought them back in 2020 and they have increased quite a bit in price since then, like everything else I suppose.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HKD3RZM?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1

I use a bit of everything described here. I used to love freezing produce on a tray and transferring to plastic bags for long term storage. Unfortunately, even freezing can result in microplastics and I think the same may be true for plastic containers. Acidic and salty foods may leach metals from stainless steel. We really have quite a mess. I'm plant-based based but perhaps our ancestors' use of animal products for storing food was the least toxic.

We use mostly glass with snap-lock plastic lids. The oldest of the lids have hung in there for at least 7 or 8 years. I look for them in thrift stores regularly. We also have a good collection of silicone food bags that have replaced ziplocks for us. Not as easy to use or clean, but I don't care. I haven't bought a ziplock bag in about 10 years, longer for plastic wrap.

If I put a large mixing bowl in the fridge, I use a plate to cover. Then something can be put on top of it also. Cut veggies, like onions, go cut side down on a small plate. Does that mean something else in the fridge might get tainted with a whiff of onion? I guess so. Do I care? Nope. It will get used in the next day or two anyway.

I should add that I almost never cook anything in a 13x9 dish, as I am normally cooking only for 2. I don't know what I would cover that with...a cookie sheet maybe? Doesn't seem practical, space-wise. I guess I would transfer leftovers into something smaller.

Some people would point out that silicone is a kind of plastic. I have looked into that a bit, and not come to a strong conclusion. I decided that the environmental harm from manufacturing is better when weighed against the manufacturing and throwing away of disposable options. I would love to hear some real science on that point.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Edward Norton wrote:Excellent suggestions. I did a little more reading last night and discovered you can put glass jars in the freezer so long as you leave room for expansion.  

Yes, you can freeze mason jars. Just remember never to fill it past the shoulder aka the narrowing place between the top rim and the biggest part of the jar. The reason is that the jar can break after freezing if you fill it too high. 2” is a minimum headspace for freezing. The shoulder are smaller for wide mouth jars, so for this reason I only use wide mouth jars when I freeze in mason jars.

With just the wife and I a gallon of milk will often go bad before we can consume it all.  
We take quart mason jars, (both small and large mouth) and freeze the extra milk in them.  We only fill to the shoulder of the jar also.
Works great for us.  Just take out a jar the day before you run out and it thaws perfectly in the fridge.
We now have a freeze dryer and will get and extra gallon of milk when on sale and FD it.  Reconstitutes perfectly.