Containers

One of the biggest challenges to making lots of different foods to send out to all my friends and family is containers.  There are myriad containers both for baking in and for storing in that are available.  And yet sometimes when I'm preparing a new food for the menu, I can't find the right size or shape that I want to use.  One would think that with all the options out there, it would be an easy task.  But it's not always easy.

I often end up deciding on portion sizes based on the availability of containers rather than by what I would like to offer.  And cooking times have to be adjusted as well if I'm going to use a cooking container that can remain with the food when it goes out door and if that container size is not the same as what a recipe is originally designed for.  So I'm very careful about keeping the right containers on hand.

Even getting a substitute container if one is temporarily unavailable is tricky.  For example, I use baking cups for one of my brownies and those cups have a specific thickness that, if changed, would affect the cooking time.  So it's important to keep a good supply of those on hand.  

Bread bags, especially, are tricky to find in the exact sizes I want.  But when it comes to bread, I don't vary my loaf sizes to fit packaging.  If I'm sending out a loaf, I want it to be a specific size that I think is good for a person or family to have.  It's not like with cookies where you can order 2 or 12, easily changing your quantities.  You can't order 1 loaf plus 1/4 loaf of bread without cutting into a loaf.  So I try to make loaves a good size and worry about the packaging later.  

Wouldn't it be great to be able produce on-demand sizes and shapes of containers right here in my own kitchen!  That would be fantastic!  Or at least it would be good to have an assistant who could take over the task of sourcing packaging among other things.  I'd much rather spend my time on the food.  But for now, I do both.

Well, I'm heading into the kitchen now to make a couple things today.  Brownies and lemon poppy seed muffins.  Have a great day, a great weekend, and a great Easter.