Its Golden Week here in Kamakura, the one week of the year the overworked people of Japan get days and days of time off to go put up a hammock and breathe the blossom-laden warm air. As soon as I've made this precious guide of the best containers for you, I'll wander out to the mountain for a dappled enchantment time, feeling like a hero.
When I do my declutter workshops this month, it really is liberation day for my clients who soldier along in kitchens without one bit of free bench space. they have to negotiate every time they want to put down a coffee cup. Its so common. The first thing I do with them is subtract a shelf from their fridge, and replace it with 'Towers of Power'. The tower is a modular set of containers that let you see all your food at a glance, with plenty of room left over for magic to happen. Then the pantry, and then the world.
イノマタ ドライフードキャニスター220ml ホワイト ５個セット
Inomata Range seems to stack well, and is modular. The overhang lid design makes them easy to wash and dry, open and close. The gap between side-by-side containers isn't a bad trade off.
￥1,350 set?
Yoshikawa clear with white lid.
Modular, Seeable. Gap when side by side.
￥2,400 for a set (how many?)
Hokari-ss
￥1,265
Freshlock containers by Takeya From ￥629?
Clear, white lid, only a small gap when side-by-side
Some sizes stack, but it's not a fully modular Set.
Avoid 'similar' but not 'same' size variations, or you'll be living a life of mismatching lids.
Lustrowear Micro-clear food case
This Microwear container is made of Triton plastic, which has the benefits of both glass and plastic, without certain drawbacks.
I don't recommend 'nested' sets, as they cause lid-finding confusion, and waste vertical space when stacked in diminishing sizes. Same-size sets seem to be available. However, they may not stack snugly inside each other when empty, as the sides look super-straight.
from ￥701
The Inomata-k range has a very easy-to-clean lid design, and is a low-cost choice. This set of 9 is priced from ￥1,100, depending on which site you buy it from.
They aren't modular and the protruding lid wastes space when side by side. I like the visual 'politeness' of the cloudy translucency, and the harmony it creates from a distance.
イノマタ化学(Inomata-k) 保存容器 楽ちんパック クリアーホワイト 角型９個セット 日本製 電子レンジ対応 フタ付き 冷凍 冷蔵 解凍 フードコンテナ 収納 無地 シンプル おしゃれ 食品 パック 小分け 1830
The Iwaki heat-resistant glass set is modular for efficient stacking, and will probably stack neatly when empty too, with its gently sloped sides.
It can go directly from fridge to oven to the table, if you like. I wonder if the clip-on lids are easy to use. It's important. They have a variety of colours and patterns. Cool Grey seems the most invisible, and my recommendation. I presume the lids are plastic. The lids with clips will be a bit annoying to store separately, it seems the only drawback of this attractive set. It's around ￥3,680 for a set of Seven.
I love the mauve color lids from this Iwaki supplier. Link
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