Culinary School Lesson: Take-Out Containers FTW

In my “What I Learned in Culinary School” series, I’ll be sharing tips and tricks that I learned from two years of working with some of the country’s best chefs. This will include big things like learning to work efficiently, and small things like how to cook bacon perfectly. All of them will be applicable to your home kitchen, making you a faster, better, and more confident cook.

If culinary schools and restaurants bulk two things in bulk, it’s butter and plastic deli containers. The butter part is obvious, as it’s basically the foundation of classic French cooking. But the deli containers? They’re just plain convenient.

Ask any chef you know – they LOVE deli containers for many reasons. They’re see-through, making it simple to quickly find and grab what you need. They’re stackable, so they’re perfect for organizing crowded pantries and refrigerators.

They’re re-usable, recyclable, microwavable, freezer- and dishwasher-safe. They’re also cheap (or even free), meaning you can use them to send leftovers home with family, and you don’t have to worry about getting them back. To my friends’ amusement, I even occasionally use them as drinking water cups.

And the benefits don’t end there. They can be used as improvised measuring cups in a pinch. The most popular sizes – quart, pint and half-pint – equal four, two and one cups, respectively.

My favorite alternative use for these little containers is using two of the lids to quickly halve grape tomatoes. Place 5 to 6 grape tomatoes between two lids. While gently pressing down on the top lid to hold everything in place, carefully slide a serrated knife between the lids to quickly cut all of the tomatoes in half. Fun party trick, right?

Deli containers can be purchased at most restaurant supply stores and bulk food stores. Containers and lids are purchased separately, and prices vary based on amounts. The lids are interchangeable between all container sizes. A set of 50 half pint containers and their lids can usually be had for under $10. You can also simply wash and re-use containers you receive from delis, restaurants and grocery stores.

Make like a professional chef and get a stack of these for home use. Come to my house, and you’ll see them throughout my fridge, freezer and pantry. I use them to store prepped ingredients and dry grains, freeze homemade ice cream, package up homemade soup and just about everything else!

For more tips and tricks from my school days, be sure to check out my culinary school archive.