In our advice column, “Ask the Strategist,” we take your most burning shopping questions and survey friends, call up experts, and draw on our own personal experience to answer them. If you have an online-shopping question of your own, please send it to strategist@nymag.com with the subject “Ask the Strategist.” We’re here to help.
“Is there ever a time where plastic is what we should be using? For example: I don’t want to cut raw chicken on my wood cutting boards because they’re hard to sanitize properly. (Or I guess a sub question here is, What type of cutting board, if not plastic, can we use for raw meats?)”
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In fact, it’s totally fine to cut raw meat on a wood cutting board. (Cleaning it thoroughly with dish soap, plus the occasional deeper sanitizing, should be fine, along with oiling to help maintain its integrity.) Wood is also naturally antibacterial (and kinder to the edge of your knives). If you really don’t want to use wood, consider Material Kitchen’s newly released MK Free Board. It’s made from natural clay minerals and biodegradable biopolymers derived from plants.
“Is there such a thing as a first-rate salad spinner made entirely without plastic?”
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Sadly, there isn’t. I did manage to find this model from Williams Sonoma that has a stainless-steel perforated basket. This is better than the (somehow much more common) options that have the inverse (a stainless steel or glass bowl with a plastic interior that touches the lettuce). Alternatively, wash your greens in a big bowl and lay them out to dry on a kitchen towel (this method takes time, but just make it your first to-do as you start cooking). Or tightly pinch the corners of that towel together, head outside, and spin it around and around.
“We want to buy a wooden cutting board, but they are all so thick! I don’t know where we would store them in our small apartment kitchen. Recs for a thin but nonplastic option would be so appreciated.”
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Wooden cutting boards are often thicker than plastic — but they certainly don’t have to be as hefty as the perennial favorite Boos Block. I recommend one from Caraway. I have the medium-size version myself. It’s in great shape after several months of use and lightweight enough to clean easily. Or if you buy the set of three, it comes with a handy stand for your countertop that keeps them upright and out of the way. And though I haven’t used it, this option from Joseph & Joseph looks nice too; the boards are relatively thin and it comes with a storage container.
“I wonder about blenders (big and small) that have steel blades housed in some sort of (usually) black plastic and whether or not microplastics are getting in the blended mixture — or start to after several months of use. I also wonder about this ‘compostable plastic wrap’ I bought that practically melts in your hand! I can’t even get it off the roll most of the time.”
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Unfortunately, blenders are just one of those items that are made with plastic parts. There’s no getting around it. However, if you avoid blending hot ingredients, that can help ensure fewer microplastics are leeching into your food.
As for the compostable plastic wrap, I can’t say for certain what yours is made out of, but we have some helpful swaps in this story. Muslin fabric, beeswax wrap, parchment paper, cloth bowl covers, and reusable silicone covers are all viable alternatives.
“I would love to find a drip coffee maker that doesn’t pour hot water over black plastic! I have a French press and other metal coffee-making devices, but I work very early and drink lots of coffee, so I really love the convenience of setting up the pot the night before. I have tried looking into this a few times with no luck.”
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Like blenders, automatic drip coffee makers are a very tough category. Machines without any plastic parts simply don’t exist. That said, my colleague Michael Zhao did a deep dive into the best alternatives. The best drip option he found is the Ratio Eight Series 2, which is currently available for preorder. Except for the Tritan water tank, all components that come into contact with water or coffee are made of glass or stainless steel.
If your main priorities are convenience and volume (two things I very much relate to), I think the stovetop percolator he mentions is also a solid bet. Coffee snobs say the brew it produces isn’t as nuanced as other methods, but I used one myself for years and loved it. You can set it up the night before, and all it requires is a tiny bit of heat maintenance in the morning.
“I use two black plastic turner/spatula things to brown ground beef (and chop it up small as I brown it). I would love to replace them with something not plastic and have two wooden spatula/turner things, but their edge is not as thin and they just don’t do as good of a job. Any suggestions for what I could use?”
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I have a few suggestions for you! GIR makes our favorite silicone cooking utensils, including a quad chopper that works fantastically for ground meat. The wooden Earlywood Large Flat Sauté is quite thin (though the edge is shorter than a typical spatula, so it would likely take longer to chop). And finally, you can use a standard fish spatula if you’re browning in a carbon-steel or cast-iron skillet.
“Are there fully nonplastic Tupperware alternatives? Lids included. What are the best nonplastic containers for packing lunch to the office? I’m spill anxious.”
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For Tupperware alternatives, I called out some favorite sets in this big story summarizing all our picks from this week. I like them because they all come with containers of different sizes and shapes. Ticking all of those boxes you mentioned is a tall order, but the containers in my colleague Dominique’s favorite set from Black+Blum are very lightweight, have an airtight seal (good for transport), are microwaveable, and, crucially, nest together.
“New Yorker here, small fridge/freezer, small apartment. Easiest to freeze sauces and soups in the cylindrical plastic takeout lidded containers. What’s a solution for freezing stuff that replaces them?”
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Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang loves Souper Cubes, which makes silicone trays that freeze portions of two cups, one cup, half a cup, and two tablespoons. They’re stackable and even more modular than deli containers. The lids are plastic but aren’t meant to touch the food inside anyway. Just make sure the sauces and soups you make cool down before you cover.
More From This Series
- Welcome to Plastic-Free Kitchen Week
- Replace This With That: An Exhaustive List of Plastic-Free Kitchen Swaps
- Very Pleased With My Teflon-Free Ceramic Waffle-Maker
- All the Best Non-Plastic Tableware and Utensils for Kids
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
