The Struggle is Real: Finding Affordable Food Storage Solutions
A good food storage system ensures you have good food to eat while saving money. A great Food storage container will allow you to store food for quite some time without the worry of moisture, air, and pests spoiling the food. If you're already on a tight budget, finding affordable reliable food storage containers can be difficult due to all the paid for reviews on everything, everywhere.
The Hunt for Affordable Food Containers: My Review Process
I am not paid by any manufacturers or retailers big or small to write about any of these food storage containers.
The only one who owns me and pays for me is the Holy Father. Since one of the gifts I am blessed with is the ability to write, I try to repay and show my appreciation for his sacrifce by trying to help others in the ways I have available to me.
I have wasted money on several products over my lifetime due to false review claims, and advertising during hard financial times on products, or services, so I write various reviews as to try to help others not to not waste money on a product that is supposed to help them save money, and or live better.
I know how important it is to get the truth on a product that is supposed to keep food safe from pests, air, and moisture. If the food storage system doesn't do as it claims, then you can be putting your freshly bought food staples at risk of attracting pests and moisture maybe more than they would have done before decanting them.
From Mississippi Pests to Safe Food Storage
When I first moved to Mississippi, I learned really quick that you cannot just leave your flour or any other baking staples in the original package due to the millions of pests that the warm wet climate of Mississippi allows to thrive. So because I seriously needed a flour and sugar container, I read through the two, three, and four star reviews on Amazon for several different air tight food storage containers. After hours of searching and reading reviews, I purchased some food storage containers made by Chef's Path. I know that many people say that glass containers are a better food storage option, which I totally agree. If only I wasn't so clumsy and the size of containers I was looking for weren't so expensive in glass form.
Price Comparison on Airtight Food Storage Containers
I didn't know exactly what food items other than grains and sugar would need to be decanted, so I went for a relatively large set of 14 food storage containers. At that time I paid about $45 dollars through Amazon for them. I managed to get lucky and bought the container set from the Chef's Path seller on Amazon, especially since I've purchased from a few scammers on Amazon and did not receive the product. Though selling scams are everywhere nowadays, so do try to vet the seller by reading real reviews if available. If the review seems like a copy and paste, or nothing was said about the product but a thumbs up, it was probably paid for.
Since the Mississippi humidity will warp a box of noodles in a heartbeat, and grow some weird rice creatures, I realized I was going to need a few more containers. I soon learned that I could find Chef's Path food storage containers at Walmart.com for a good price. A set of 2, 6.5L food storage containers I found for $30, gave me the opportunity to switch out the flour into a larger flour container since I use so much flour. I was then able to reuse the old containers as pasta and rice containers.
It turned out that because I dehydrate fresh produce that can be used for seasonings as I worry they might turn before I get a chance to use it, I ended up needing several more containers.
Due to affordability, I decided to try the Vtopmart brand as they were similar to the Chef's Path, and though product images of the PantryStar containers appears to be just as similar, they didn't have as good of a deal as the Vtopmart set of 10 for a few cents over $30 at Walmart.com. The largest containers in the Vtopmart set of 10 hold the same 6.5L as the last set I bought from Chef's Path.
PantryStar did have a better deal than Chef's Path on the set of 2 large 6.5L containers at just a few cents over $18. If you decide to take up that deal please stop by here and let me know how PantryStar does at protecting food, then together we can help others make a more informed purchase.
Now that you have an idea of about how much these food storage containers can cost, let me tell you a bit about the two brands I purchased.
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| Chef's Path and Vtopmart food storage containers side by side. |
Vtopmart Food Storage Containers Pros and Cons
Looking almost identical to Chef's Path, Vtopmart containers only visibly noticable difference is the lid latch design and added measurments on one side of the Vtopmart container, which I'll discuss those features in more detail in just a bit. These food storage containers are a foggy clear, allowing you to see the food they contain, but also come with the cool chalkboard label stickers and marker for the food staples that look similar to the ones Chef's Path provided. However, the stickers from Vtopmart do have a bit more texture than the stickers given with the Chef's Path.
Vtopmart: Clever Features with a Catch
Vtopmart food storage container latches may look solid in the picture of the product online, but they are not solid. The latches actually have slots not only where it clasps onto the container but also in the hinge. These slots not only make cleaning the container lids a bit more tedious, but may lead to the latches breaking off quicker.
Another Vtopmart detail that you might be surprised about as it's not shown in the product pictures online, is that the containers have a measurement scale on one of the sides. This is a neat feature, but could have been implemented better. The scale is on the outside of the container so it may collect dust and need to be wiped clean often.
The Seal Test: Testing the Watertight Claims
Since all the food storage container manufacturers mentioned in the pricing segment claim their containers are water tight, I think that would be a key factor to look at. Vtopmart food storage containers are not truly water tight containers. Yes you can have liquid in them and tip them over like the picture shows without it dripping, but give it a few hard shakes while it's tipped and the liquid starts to pour out.
Though the design of the food storage container seal is exactly the same as Chef's Path, the silicone Vtopmart used is not as thick as the Chef's Path which allows it to give in easier and is most likely why the container will leak with a good hard shake.
I've been testing the Vtopmart storage containers to see how well they do at keeping pests out. Though I haven't had that brand for very long so I'm not sure it will be very fair since I've had my Chef's Path containers for almost 4 years (which you'll learn how well they do on keeping the pests out below).
As for the Vtopmart storage containers, I placed sugar in one and closed it up to see how well they can fend off an ant invasion. I also placed some flour in another to see how well it fends off weevils. Last but not least, I left two of the latches that oppose each other unlatched for a time as my family will often do with the Chef's Path container after grabbing some sugar.
The results are... Sad to say, but one of the container's lid latches to the Vtopmart containers did not survive the chaos that is my familys. More unfortunately, my sugar is clumping, and my flour has a stale smell to it, having been in the containers for only four weeks, that just won't cut it, even if I haven't found any bugs in them.
Chef's Path Food Storage Containers Pros and Cons
The claim that Chef's Path has made about the water tight seal is actually true. I placed the same amount of water in the Chef's Path container as I put in the Vtopmart then tested it the same by first tipping it over and then giving it a few hard shakes. Since there was no leaking yet I decided to take it a little further by shaking it vigorously. Not even one tiny drop came out.
I've had moths and other bugs on the outside of my Chef's Path containers, but have never seen any indication that they made it into the container, thanks to the thick silicone seal that Chef's Path containers use. In fact the silicone seals look just as good as they did when I first got them.
The food storage containers made by Chef's Path are very durable, as I have accidentally dropped a couple of them more than once. On all occasions the container happened to be full of sugar or full of some other baking staple that would have made a tremendous mess had the container broke. Granted, after a year and a half of taking my abuse, I managed to break the corner of a lid, however it held on tight and I didn't have to clean up any messes.
The latches on the lids are solid, including the hinge, which I feel make them easier to wash and may give the latches a longer lifespan.
From my observation and experience with these food storage containers, Chef's Path will definitely keep the moisture and bugs out longer, than Vtopmart, and may hold up to chaos, and clumsiness better.
Please feel free to share your experiences and ask questions in the comments below! Let's create a community discussion around finding the perfect food storage solutions! Thank you for reading, and I you hope your day is blessed. Much love!