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Cook’s Illustrated rates Cookie Jars

Cookie Jars

You might put out a tray of cookies or other baked goods when entertaining friends and family, but to keep them at their peak they should be stored in airtight containers to preserve their freshness if they’re not going to be eaten within a few hours. I used to have a few ceramic cookie jars (and I’m sure that I’m not the only one) that were beautiful to look at but didn’t keep my cookies fresh. Since then, I’ve kept a few cookie jars for decoration and switched to storing my cookies in large tupperware-type containers that I know are airtight. Cookie jars have a much more appealing look to them than plastic boxes, no matter how airtight, so when Cook’s Country Rated Cookie Jars in a recent issue (Feb/March 2012) I was interested to see how they worked out and whether it would be worth adding one to my collection.

Cook’s Country looked for jars that would keep their cookies fresh, intact and easy-to-grab, and they chose jars that had at least a four quart capacity with strong seals and wide openings. Their tests included tasting cookies stored over a period of days and monitoring how much moisture the jars let inside. Their top pick was the OXO Good Grips Pop Storage Container, which had a completely airtight seal, was made of clear (BPA free) plastic and was easy to clean. The container had a four quart capacity, but was available in other sizes, as well.

Recommended jars included the Oggi Jumbo 9.5-inch Ceramic Cookie Jar and the Anchor Hocking 1 Gallon Heritage Jar, both of which worked well but did not provide the same airtight seal as the Oxo.

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2 Comments
  • Stephanie P.
    January 19, 2012

    While I don’t (yet) use the OXO Pop containers for cookies, I do use them for many other things like flours, sugars, crackers, homemade croutons, coffee, dog foods, and can’t say enough good things about them.

    They are the most airtight, well-sealed containers I’ve ever used, and I usually find myself needing to buy more.

    I did laugh when I saw Emeril have to get help from Mario Batali trying to open an OXO POP container on Iron Chef, he just couldn’t figure it out, Mario hit the button with a finger and up it went.

  • Sondra
    January 19, 2012

    I have several of the OXO Pop containers in different sizes and LOVE them. They are airtight and easy to open with just one hand.

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