Anchor Hocking Bake N’ Keep 5 Cup Dish: Review

I am slowly replacing all of my plastic storage food containers with glass. There is a lot of controversy right now about how some plastics will leach toxic chemicals into their contents, so I am always thrilled to find food storage products made of glass. Just this week I read two articles in our local paper about this health concern. A chemical called BPA (Bisphenol A), is in many plastic containers, and the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has warned that this can leach into food and liquid, and has the potential to “alter human development”. The Canadian government has already banned BPA from being used in the manufacturing of plastic baby bottles. So this is a real concern of mine.

I am thrilled that WalMart is carrying a wide variety of “green” products that are earth friendly, and they sell these Anchor Hocking storage dishes in a variety of shapes and sizes. My husband loves meatloaf, and when I spotted this loaf shaped food storage container, it looked perfect for storing leftover meatloaf. Of course, it helped that Anchor Hocking actually has a picture on the cardboard band showing it being used in exactly this fashion.

Description

This is called the Bake n’ Keep, and is made entirely of glass. It holds 5 cups, or 1.18L, and measures 8 1/2″long, 4″ tall, and 4 1/2″ wide. The lid is also made of glass, and has a 1/2″ lip that slips down into the base, holding it on securely. It looks like a bread pan, just a tad bit smaller. Since the glass is clear, you can easily see the contents when this is sitting in your fridge.

I Love This!

This is one of my favorite food storage containers. I have some made by Pyrex, but they still have the plastic lids. It’s hard to find any that are made entirely of glass, and these remind me of some containers that my grandmother used to own, which she used for years. The dish is safe to use in the freezer, oven, microwave and can be washed in the dishwasher.

I can actually bake my meatloaf right in this glass container, then store the leftovers in it as well. No mess, no clean up, no dirtying any other dishes! How great is that? I love it! Although this can be kept in the freezer, the insert that comes with it does caution you not to take directly from the freezer to the oven, you should let your food thaw first. It’s not one of those brands that can go “from the freezer, to the oven, to the table” (as the jingle used to go).

Clean up is easy, I use either a nylon non-scratch pad or a brush, and this comes out very clean. If I have any baked on foods, I just let it soak in hot soapy water and that usually does the trick. The company also warns that sharp knives may scratch the glass surface, but I don’t use anything sharper than my flatware on this, and have not had any scratching issues. I often spray it with a non-stick spray like Pam before adding my meatloaf mixture to it, and this works quite well to prevent any stuck on foods.

One thing you cannot do with this dish, however, is to use it under the broiler, on the stove top, or in an oven hotter than 450 degrees. You are also not supposed to use metal utensils with it, but I do and it hasn’t hurt it at all. Anchor Bakeware backs this purchase with a 5 year warranty. If it cracks, chips, or breaks in 5 years, they will replace it for you.

Although I use this for baking and storing meatloaf, you could really store any leftover foods in this dish. It would be perfect for cooking and storing any kind of vegetable, salads, jello, etc. It’s great glassware. If you are trying to replace your plastic with glass, Anchor Hocking is a great choice.

This retailed for $11.00.