Food Jars: How to Use Insulated Food Containers
If you like a warm meal in winter, or a warm meal any time, you probably already know about insulated food jars. If you haven’t heard of them, then welcome! If you have heard of them then I guess you’re here to learn a bit more.
Either way we’re here to help you get the most out of insulated food jars. Whether it’s summer or winter, hot food or cold food, you can prepare your food container so that it keeps your meals at the temperature you like without needing to visit a microwave to reheat or keep it in the fridge to keep cool.
How to keep food warm in a food jar
A key part of keeping food warm is to preheat the insulated food container. Fill the food jar with freshly boiled water from the kettle. Let it sit for around 5 minutes, empty the water out, fill with HOT food immediately and place the lid straight on.
Make sure the food is piping hot when it goes into the pre heated food container. You want the food to be hotter than if you were serving it ordinarily.
Some more tips to keep your food hot for longer:
Fill the insulated food container all the way to the top. For example if you filled it half way, then the air in the empty half will allow the food contents to cool faster so fill the food jar as much as possible.
Stick with hot, liquid foods as much as possible if you want it to retain heat best. Foods like soups, stews and noodles are much better at retaining their heat than boiled eggs and pastries.
You’ve spent all this time preparing your insulated food jar with boiling water, you’ve added piping hot food all the way to the top, and you put the lid on as quickly as you could to trap all that heat in the jar. It's now ready to go - just make sure you're not storing/packing the insulated food jar next to an icepack or in the fridge as it will cause it to cool down faster.
Can I put boiling water in an insulated food jar?
Yes! That’s the preference for making sure your food container is prepared for the food you’re storing in it. Make sure you let the boiling water sit for 5 minutes, and then empty it out of the insulated food container before you place your hot food inside it.
How to keep food cold?
Similarly to how to keep food hot, we want to prepare the insulated food jar before putting food in it. Add ice water to the container for 5-10 minutes, then empty out and fill with your preferred cold food. Fill as much as possible, and close the lid ASAP.
Another option is to put the insulated container into the freezer (chest freezer if you’ve got one as they’re colder) for 5-10 minutes and then fill as above.
Feel free to store the food container in the fridge or in an insulated lunch bag with ice packs to keep it cool for as long as possible.
Do insulated food jars work?
We have so many customers who love insulated food jars, and we know they love them most in winter for those hot comfort foods.
A good idea with any insulated food container is to test it out at home before taking it out in the wild. That way you’ll be able to figure out how hot you need to pre-heat the food before it goes into the food jar and be the ideal temperature come lunchtime.
As we mentioned above, some foods will retain their heat differently. So take some time to find out which of the foods you make work best in your insulated containers, and take note of the timeframes on each product listing as a guide.
Will liquids stay inside a food jar?
Liquid foods such as stews, yoghurts, and those thicker liquids will be fine in any of the insulated food jars, as well as watery liquids like thin soups, and broths. Some favourites are the all in one OmieBox Bento Box or generously sized Oasis Insulated Food Pod.
How to clean an insulated food jar
First, make sure you hunt down those food containers from lunch bags and backpacks at the end of every day so that you don’t have to battle with bad odours from forgotten lunch boxes.
Second, check the instructions for the specific insulated food jar you purchase, but in general it’s recommended to hand wash your insulated food containers. Use hot water and dishwashing liquid and a non-abrasive sponge.
As long as you’re cleaning them at the end of each day, there shouldn’t be much difficulty with stubborn sticky foods. If you happen to forget a food jar for a few days then just soak in hot water for 5 minutes before washing up.
So, is it worth it?
We think so! As we’re getting closer to winter, having an insulated food jar is perfect for giving our kids warm meals for school lunches and not just having to serve the same cold foods as summer time.
Then again, when it gets closer to summer again, we love using these for keeping noodle salads cold, and any other dressed salads for a delicious fresh cold lunch.
Our customers tend to agree. We get an influx of orders for these insulated food containers especially around autumn, in preparation for colder weather.
Try them yourself, and let us know what you think!
If you’re looking for more insulated lunch accessories check out:
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