Tupperware

Many many many many moons ago I bought some Tupperware.

We were living with my father-in-law and were sharing a kitchen with him and his partner.  Gem was a toddler recently diagnosed with celiac disease.  We learned about the tricky evilness that is gluten cross-contamination and began the process of keeping, essentially, a separate kitchen within a communal kitchen.

There was a Tupperware kiosk at the local mall and I spent a small fortune on a set of kitchen storage containers.  In a way, it was money we didn't have.  I was years away from figuring myself out financially.  This was back in the days that we had credit cards and bought a lot of stuff.  (We cut our cards a few years ago and have never looked back.)  (Some of you may be thinking you bought more stuff than you do now?!  Yes.  Yes, we did.)

The dopamine ding I get from shopping isn't mindless.  I don't shop for the sake of shopping, per se.  I like nice stuff.  Quality matters.  I do remember, though it was nearly ten years ago when I bought the Tupperware, thinking that Tupperware was well made and that it would pay off later to spend a bit more in the present.

Well, you know the money story and so one could argue, no no no it didn't pay off later because I'm living under the shadow of massive debt.

But, in terms of pantry/fridge storage in a gluten-free kitchen?  It really has.

Rubbermaid items have come and gone.  Reusable/disposable plastic items (like Gladware) we are no longer buying.  For food storage, like leftovers, we are going the way of Pyrex and glass.  But, for storage of flours (and when you're gluten-free and kind of into cooking/baking like I am, there are a plethora of flours in your fridge at any one time), the Tupperware has stood strong.

We have some of the Oval and Square series with the dark blue lids.  One of the things I really like about Tupperware (and things in general) is their well thought out design.  These pieces are stackable and can be mixed and matched to suit your storage areas whether in the fridge or pantry.

Way back when, when we bought the Tupperware, kitchen space was at a premium.  So this design aspect really appealed to me.  The pieces are also strong.  They use a stronger plastic than less expensive brands and their seals are better designed.  Lids that are firmly closed stay closed.  No errant motes of flour are going to get in or out.

So, why am I blathering on about Tupperware?

Well, this year I bit the bullet and decided to give Authentic Foods' Superfine line of flours a try.  I'd read about the legendary quality of these flours (in the GF community, at least), how the grittiness that you sometimes get with baked goods using rice flours is completely smoothed out.  But, I am a bit of a stickler when it comes to paying for shipping, and the only way I could buy the flour was to pay for shipping, so I simply didn't try it for years.

With the attention I have been focusing on cooking and baking GFCF since the Spring, as I explored new recipes and broadened my experiences, I decided to plunk down the coin for shipping and gave these flours a go.

Wow.  For me, there's no going back.  These flours are superfine in more ways than one :-)

I will now be buying these flours in three varieties: brown rice, white rice and sweet rice, for the next ten or so years.  The smallest bag they come in is 3 lbs.  Our tall oval Tupperware, the #4 is a good size for this bag.  And it fits well on the bottom shelf of the fridge.  But, we only have one.

Google led me to eBay and there are two new #4s heading our way as I type.  I love history.  I love a story.  I love the connection that the internet can bring.