Anyone else fed up with plastic food containers staining and warping?

[BusyWeekPlanner]

I batch cook quite a lot and no matter how much I wash them, my plastic food containers never quite smell clean. Tomato sauces seem to stain everything and some lids don’t seal properly anymore.
Has anyone switched away from plastic completely? Did glass actually make life easier or was it just heavier and more annoying day to day?
Interested in real experiences before I replace everything.

I bought some of the Ikea glass containers. They still have a plastic lid, and they are quite heavy, but it means that I can store tomato based stuff and curries without them being stained. I use the plastic tupperware for non-staining stuff like leftover veg. My lesson was to spend a bit more to get a heavier duty plastic (rather than my bargain B&M storage which was brilliant until I actually used it, and then it buckled and warped!).

Can you freeze glass containers? I would have thought they would crack.

My plastic ones warped when I put them in the dishwasher. They stay fine if hand washed.

Yes these ones can be put in the freezer. You can't 'flex' the container in the way that you would a plastic one, if you are trying to get something out! However a minute or two in some tepid water does the trick, to loosen off the food inside so that you can decant it.

www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/ikea-365-food-container-with-lid-rectangular-glass-plastic-s89269071/

I save takeaway containers to reuse. They also stain but are 'free' so it doesn't bother me. It's disappointing when containers stain, everyone has this problem I'm afraid. Glass containers are very strong but also heavy and bulky so take up more space in the freezer.

The ikea glass containers are good, and they don’t stain, but they are slippery little devils when you get them out of the freezer. They don’t bounce when they slip out of your hands and hit the ceramic tiled kitchen floor. Ask me how I know……

I saw the title and raced here to tell you all about the Ikea glass containers and see that others beat me to it. They're great. They freeze, go in the oven (lid off of course!) and dishwasher, are inexpensive and just look pretty when they're all stacked up with food in them.

I use the plastic takeaway containers and some other plastic Tupperware-but-not style pots for freezing batch cooking and here’s a tip for getting the stains out:

Put about a quarter of a kitchen towel sheet in the container, add a small squirt of washing up liquid and some hot water (doesn’t have to be lots), put the lid back on and while holding the lid firmly onto the container give it a bit of a shake. It really doesn’t take much shaking but the stains will disappear.

I’ve never tried with glass containers but assume that it would work too.

I’ve gradually been switching to glass containers, to reduce exposure to microplastics. I love them, though you do need extra space to store them. If I didn’t have the space I’d go for the best quality plastic I could find, and get rid of it the second it begins to smell plasticky or degrade in any way.

Glass is amazing! Only use plastic for things that need to be carried around (eg packed lunches). Easy to clean, looks much nicer and goes in the fridge, freezer and oven. In fact I often use them in the oven to cook things when I want a mini oven dish!

I have glass ones from Costco , they are much better .

These are great. They come in different sizes. www.robertdyas.co.uk/pyrex-cook-freeze-4-piece-set-1-5l?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=20998781679&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21008825656&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6sjKBhCSARIsAJvYcpPSe4tCHqLryULdZCKbsG17N9EFYTDwCb2t5fyNH9q7jIyV8X_TOKkaAvD9EALw_wcB

Pyrex with glass lids is fine in the fridge. I have a few tupperware pots or reused takeaway pots from ages ago I still use for dry stuff like storing herbs but made the switch to glass about 20 years ago.