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See why.Silicone Food Covers
Silicone food covers are meant to be a low-hassle alternative to plastic wrap for covering bowls and other containers. Which set gets the job done?
By Published Nov. 13, 2020. Appears in America's Test Kitchen TV Season 22: Holiday Dessert and Salad
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What You Need To Know
When we need to cover a bowl for storage or transport, we usually reach for plastic wrap. Silicone food covers (often called "silicone lids" or "reusable lids") are heat-resistant, dishwasher-safe, reusable alternatives. They come in two styles: stretch covers made of flexible silicone that expand to wrap over and around the rims of the bowls, and flat covers that rest on top of the bowls' rims and create a tight seal via suction. We wondered which were best, so we put together a lineup of three sets of stretch covers and three sets of flat covers. Five were sold as sets; we assembled the final set by purchasing matching small, medium, and large lids that were sold singly. All told, the covers in our lineup were priced from about $9 to about $34 per set. We used the covers to seal metal, glass, ceramic, wood, and plastic bowls of various sizes. We tested the tightness of the covers’ seals by shaking and overturning the covered bowls that we’d filled first with grapes and then with water. To further gauge performance, we used the lids to cover bowls of fruit salad that we then stored in the refrigerator for three days. We also used the lids to cover and heat bowls of water in the microwave, deliberately smeared them with condiments to see if they stained, and both washed and stretched them repeatedly. We were looking for a set of covers that could form a strong seal on all types of bowls, keep food fresh, resist stains and odors, and hold up to use over time.
The Simpler, the Better
There were stark differences in how easy the two styles of covers were to use. The stretch covers were particularly difficult to wrangle onto bowls of all types for three reasons. First, each cover expands widely from its initial diameter, so selecting the right size from the pile was a guessing game. It often took us several tries to find the stretch cover that fit a given bowl. Second, holding the stretch covers in place on one area of a bowl’s rim while trying to cover the other edges was difficult—despite small tabs on the covers’ perimeters meant to assist in stretching. We didn’t have enough hands to both brace and stretch at the same time. We found ourselves having to brace the bowl against our torsos and stretch with both hands, worrying about spilling food the whole time. Even once we thought we had a good seal, the covers would sometimes pop off a few seconds later. Two of the stretch cover sets were especially hard to stretch and prone to slipping off the bowls’ rims; the remaining set had a bit more give, making it slightly easier to stretch and hold in place. Finally, the sizes in each set weren’t always compatible with the st...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
These covers excelled by easily creating tight seals with only the slightest effort and resisting stains and damage throughout our durability testing. They stored fruit salad as effectively as plastic wrap did, and their nearly round shapes covered bowls nicely and sealed our winning 12-inch skillet well when we used it to cover the skillet and steam broccoli. They even maintained their seals in the microwave. The covers are available in 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12.5-inch round models.
Recommended
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
Using these covers was easy, and they performed well with bowls of all materials. They stored fruit salad as well as plastic wrap did, and they resisted stains and deterioration in our durability tests. They even held strong in the microwave instead of popping off like the stretch covers. Our only quibble with these covers was their attractive but odd lily pad shape: The scalloped edges didn’t align well with the edges of our large skillet, occasionally leaving small gaps that prevented a strong seal.
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
These lids couldn’t have been simpler to use: They had large, round handles on their tops, which made gripping them easy. Their seals weren’t quite as strong as those of their fellow flat covers, making them fly off faster in the grape-shaking test, but they still kept fruit salad fresh over three days in the refrigerator and effectively covered bowls of boiling water in the microwave without letting too much steam escape. They stained slightly, but the stains came off after a few washings, and they made it through our durability testing unscathed.
Recommended with reservations
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
These were the easiest to use of all the stretch covers in our lineup, but they were still quite difficult to stretch over bowls most of the time, and they sometimes had trouble staying put. That said, they clung well during our food storage tests and kept fruit salad fresh. These were also the only stretch set that included a cover big enough to fit a large mixing bowl. But they popped off bowls of boiling water in the microwave and let steam escape—not a dealbreaker, but frustrating nonetheless.
Not Recommended
- Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
Using these covers was a hassle: We had trouble stretching them to fit various bowl sizes and getting them to cling to rims, and we felt like we needed at least two more hands to hold them securely in place while stretching and sealing. Though they preserved food well, these covers weren’t worth the effort.
- Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 1 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
Struggling to seal bowls with these stretch covers was extremely frustrating. They didn’t cling well to bowls’ rims, making it difficult to brace them in one area and stretch them to another simultaneously. They popped off throughout testing, both in the refrigerator during our storage tests, which led to dry fruit salad, and in the microwave, which let steam and hot air escape.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Chase Brightwell
Chase is an associate editor for ATK Reviews. He's an epidemiologist-turned-equipment tester and biscuit enthusiast.
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