My water bottles, kids’ snack boxes and kitchen containers are all Lock&Lock. Not since Tupperware invaded my home have I loved another brand this much. The design of the water bottles are perfect because the grooves allow me to grasp pitchers without it slipping, even with wet hands. The various containers don’t just lock down on 2 opposite sides but on all 4 sides, making it virtually airtight and spill-proof.
So when Michelle told me there was a Lock&Lock event, my initial reaction was “There is an outlet aside from the malls where I can buy them???” Happy, happy, joy, joy! There indeed was!
Why do I pay particular attention to the kind of plastics brands I use? Safety. We know that there are more expensive plastics versus much cheaper ones. The cheaper ones are fine for storing non-edible items. But when it comes to storing food, I am very particular. Certain plastics are likely to leak chemicals into food. Lock&Lock products are made of eco-friendly PP and are free of Bisphenol A (more commonly called BPA), an endocrine disruptor.
In September 2011, OKO-TEST, a German independent consumer goods rating agency established in 1985, conducted tests on 15 airtight containers manufactured in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, China and other countries. The containers were judged on the basis of:
* Safety of material
* Airtightness
* Durability
* Ease of opening and closing lid
* Microwavable safety and convenience
* Ability to store heated food
* State of container after taking food out
* Discoloration resistance
* Ease and convenience of washing
Lock&Lock was the only Korean brand included in this test AND it received the highest rating, particularly in safety, airtightness and durability where it garnered the highest rating. And only Lock&Lock and Tupperware received the highest OKO-TEST rating. That’s my seal of safety right there. And while I still love Tupperware, which dominated the kitchen brands in our home as I was growing up, Lock&Lock is so much more affordable while retaining the same quality and safety features I look for in plastic, airtight containers.
Lock&Lock’s flagship store is located in Araneta Avenue. It’s not a huge place but on both sides of the walls were floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with everything Lock&Lock.
Here are displays of their containers and water bottles. There are actually more varieties in this place than you would find inside any mall. I know now where to go if I can’t find what I’m looking for in the mall’s home section.
If you thought Lock&Lock was all about plastic containers, you are in for a surprise just like I was.
Surprise #1: GLASSWARE!
Lock&Lock products are NOT all made of plastic. They have glass containers and bottles as well!
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| Boroseal glassware combined with the popular Lock&Lock plastic covers |
These Boroseal glassware lines are the perfect “Kitchen to Table” items. Boroseal is based on the borosilicate glass technology that addresses heat resistance so that they can be used with microwave ovens and withstand boiling water as well as open flame. Boroseal glass is found in laboratory equipment, proof of its being chemically stable and not posing any hazardous substance leak.
To illustrate the difference between the Boroseal glass and tempered glass usually found in Pyrex products, the Lock&Lock team showed us two samples of broken glass: one from common tempered glass, the other from Boroseal glass. Tempered glass apparently shatters into big and tiny pieces (we locally refer to as bubog) so it is harder to clean up; Boroseal glass, on the other hand, shatters into big pieces.
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| Tempered glass, when shattered, has small glass pieces |
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| Boroseal glass shatters but stays in big pieces (easy to clean up) |
Right there and then, I wanted to buy glass water bottles and containers, except that I had no car that day and was afraid the ride home might make me drop my heavy load and shatter them.
Surprise #2: COOKWARE!
Their COOKPLUS cookware comes in 3 different lines – with each line having different features so as to fit whatever the needs of a household would be:
COOKPLUS Vitamin Pans – a colorful array of frying pans, casseroles, woks and saucepans. This line focuses on three E’s: eco-friendly, economical and easy cooking.
COOKPLUS Ceramic-coated Pans – Unlike Teflon-coated pans which, over time, can peel and bring risks of health-hazardous chemicals leaking into food, ceramic coating does away with that worry. The ceramic coating is made of Ecolon, which is not harmful to environment or body because its main ingredients consist of dirt, sand and rocks.
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Those circular bumps prevent food from burning,
distribute heat more evenly and even conserve use of cooking oil |
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| White version of ceramic pan |
COOKPLUS Premium Grade Cookware – These are 18-10 stainless steel cooking pans and pots graded as one of the highest in quality and made with a longer lifespan. Pouring rims, ergonomic handles and a triple coating bottom structure for thermal dispersion.
Surprise #3: STORAGE BOXES, BINS & BASKETS!
Good news for those who have lots of stackable storage bins like me. Lock&Lock has them in different, bright and vibrant colors. They have stackables with and without covers, laundry baskets, cosmetic cases, rack baskets, and many more. I got myself a red soft basket. Here it is together with my haul for the day.
I thoroughly enjoyed my foray into Lock&Lock land that day and plan to go back to get the glassware I was not able to get the first time.
Find Lock&Lock here:
Lock&Lock Plus Store
G/F Megastate Bldg.
Araneta Ave., Quezon City
