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Until a week ago, my refrigerator had always been an obstacle course of bowls sealed with plastic wrap and stacks of storage containers: leftover chili from the night before, premade sauces and dips, diced onions unused from a previous recipe, quinoa to toss in salads. Anyone who cooks knows this all-too-familiar scene.
It wasn’t an ideal one by any stretch of the imagination. I felt a pang of guilt every time I tore off a square of clingy plastic to cover a dish, and my tiny New York kitchen cupboards had become overrun by mismatched containers. Needless to say, when I received an email from Food52 about its airtight silicone lids, my curiosity was piqued.
I was immediately seduced by the vibrant hues—terracotta, blush, French blue—but even more so by the pitch: a replacement for saucepan tops, an eco-friendly way to store leftovers, a tool to keep dinner warm from the oven to table, and (best of all) a substitute for plastic wrap. They are even safe to use in the dishwasher, freezer, oven, and microwave (goodbye, pesky splatters and spills).
As a New Yorker with a limited number of cabinets, I immediately imagined all the space I would save by swapping Tupperware for these stackable lids. Then: Would I even need the bulky array of matching covers that came with my pots and pans anymore? Would I finally rid my kitchen of cling wrap forever? I just had to try them.
A week or so later, the colorful assortment of silicone toppers was sitting on my counter. It was Sunday night and I was prepping a few meals for the week. By the end of the evening, surplus lemon garlic vinaigrette was sealed under a tiny pink cap and a freshly baked quiche Lorraine (my very first!) was safely transferred from oven to fridge with a deep blue cover.
Cling wrap saved: approximately two square feet. I still had to use a container the next day to transport my lunch to work (and I haven’t had the heart to throw away the covers of my pots and pans just yet), but inside my refrigerator, things are looking 100 percent better—not to mention more sustainable.