Best Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless Steel Lunch Jar

Over All Rating Reviews :

Ever since the reports about the risks of chemicals leeching from plastics that have been microwaved, I've been wary of carrying microwaveable lunches to work. I was very happy to find this lunch jar. I chose to buy the Classic Lunch Jar instead of the four-container Mr. Bento because I wanted the larger volume, but I have found that the Classic Lunch Jar can hold more food than I can eat (I'm a woman who can put away a large prime rib for dinner, but not in need of huge quantities for lunch). The middle container for the Classic Lunch Jar, which stands about 3.5 inches deep and 4 inches wide, is cavernous, and can alone hold more than a modest dinnerplate's worth of food.

I've found that putting soup into the bottom container is essential to keeping the middle container hot. It acts as the heat pack for the middle container. I usually heat canned soup in the morning in a pan, and pour it near-boiling into the container, and drop it into the bottom of the jar to start off. After 4 hours, the soup will still be too hot to eat!

Then, for the middle container, I heat up some leftover starches (rice, potatoes, etc.) and some sort of entree. I put the starches on the bottom, and pile the entree on top. The lid of the middle container has a hollow space built in to insulate it from the top container. The food in the middle container is still quite hot after 4 hours.

The top container should be reserved for something that would be eaten at room temperature. I think it was designed that way, judging by the pictures on the packaging. I can't read Japanese, so I was only able to guess. The picture shaded the jar from red to orange to yellow to white, starting from the bottom, which accurately corresponds to the temperature of my food after 4 hours (red being hottest, white being room temp).

I've tried putting an entree in the top container, to separate it from the starches, but it had cooled to near room temperature by the time I opened it 4 hours later. On the other hand, I've also put salad in there, and the salad was unmarred by the heat of the bottom containers after 4 hours.

If you're going to put cold food into the top container, I would recommend that you leave the top inch of the middle container empty as a heat buffer.

The only awkward thing about the container is that the soup container has a rubber ring gasket and a tiny dime-sized rubber vent cover, both of which need to be popped off and cleaned after each use. Otherwise, gunk will get into the gaps and get really gross. I've found that sticking the pointy end of the chopstick into the gasket groove will pry the thing out easily, and the valve cover is easy enough to take off. My only concern is that I swear that I'm going to lose or break either of them one day soon. But if that's the secret to being able to keep soup boiling hot for hours in a container that screws shut without leaking, then I'm willing to put in the extra effort.

Needless to say, I love this lunch jar, and would recommend it to anyone.

Check out the Zojirushi Lunch Jar fan club in Flickr. People have posted pictures of their lunches each day for all to admire. It's entitled Mr. Bento Porn.

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