Product Description

Zojirushi's Classic Stainless Lunch Jar in Metallic Gray is unique and functional. Durable stainless steel construction and vacuum insulation. Three microwaveable inner bowls and washable container. Also includes carry strap for easy transport.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50350 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Color: Metallic Gray
• Brand: Zojirushi
• Model: SL-XB20HG
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 6.00" w x 9.38" l,

Features

• Includes convenient carry strap for easy transport.
• Easy-to-clean container washes quickly
• Microwaveable bowls measure 26-2/3, 13-1/2, and 9-1/2-ounce
• Vacuum-insulated stainless-steel construction keeps food warm
• Round jar with 3 food bowls for hot or cold lunch storage

Amazon.com Product Description
Most folks have fond memories of their old-school metal lunchboxes, but sometimes a lunchbox just doesn't cut it, especially when hot or cold food is involved. Enter the Zojirushi Classic lunch jar, which comes with a series of microwaveable bowls that keep food hot while you're working. The bowls come in 26.7-, 13.5-, and 9.5-ounce sizes, perfect for rice, a main dish, and a side dish. The bowls also stack conveniently inside the washable container, which employs vacuum-insulated stainless-steel construction to preserve the temperature of its contents for hours. If the bowls aren't necessary for your meal, simply use the jar by itself to keep other foods hot or cool. The bundle even comes with a convenient carry strap for easy transport.

Customer Reviews

best lunch box ever - hot food stays hot for hours !!!
I had seen my Japanese coworkers carry this thing to work. It's a great lunch bag! Beats brown bagging, because hot foods stay hot, and cold foods stay cold. I finally bought one because of the ease of use, didn't want to keep paying $$$ for hot lunches, and I can always bring my favorite foods. The bottom container is the only leakproof container. (That is my only gripe.) I usually put soup in here. The other containers will hold things without sauces very well. It's great because it allows for a large variety of foods (better nutrition). I have used bento lunch boxes since I was kid, and this is the best for adults. I like asian food, and this type of lunch box accomodates the best.

If you want to fill hot food, then pour in hot water in the containers for 10 minutes, let it get warm. Pour out the water, dry. Then fill. If you want ice cold food, put in freezer for 10 minutes, then put food in.

They also make bigger versions for larger appetites and another smaller one for small appetites. They really do stay hot. Once I had to take a very late lunch, I packed it at 7am, and at 2:30pm the food was still hot. No more waiting in line to microwave your lunch !!!

Keeping food hot and cold at once
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 this 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, 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.

Zojirushi make great and very useful product
I brought 1 of these and I am buying second one for my road trip. I didn't get Mr Bento because this one is bigger. Company's lunch cost about 7-8 bucks. I use this for 2 weeks, it already pay me back. Usually every morning I fill them up and microwaved the food. Use hot sink water to heated it then dump the water. Then put the food inside and at lunch time food are hot like just come out of the microwave oven. Sometime I didn't have time pour hot water in in in the morning but the hot food I put inside still stay hot at lunch time. I normally carry it in my briefcase, I don't know how they made it fit perfectly so small. I normally leave it vertically in my car on the passenger seat, once I left it horzontallly but it only leaks couple drops of liquid from top container, not big deal! The middle container is rice and the bottom is sealed tight, no leak at all. I brought anther one for my dad. I'm buying 2nd one for myself since I normally drive from chicago to michigan once a month. This will save me lot of $ at MacDonald or any other fast food place alone the road. Hot food on the road! save$! I love it!