Zojirushi SL-XCE20HG Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Tiffin Box – Initial Review

Since I’m an Amazon Prime member, I only had to wait two days to receive the Zojirushi SL-XCE20HG Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Tiffin Box.

Of course, I tested it shortly after it arrived. I realized that I didn’t need to wait for my daughter to give me a report. My daughter  still wants to give a review (I’m thrilled) and she most likely will post it on this site. Besides, I honestly wanted to make sure it did an effective job of keeping her food warm. I didn’t want her to be disappointed if it did not work, but based on the reviews and the fact that I followed the suggestions I honestly didn’t think I’d be disappointed.

I’m happy to say that after four hours, the food stored in the Zojirushi soup bowl was still hot! Yeah, that means the that her homemade school lunches will be heated!

Totally stealing the above .gif from Nicole , a talented fiber artist. Check out her Christmas themed stitch markers! The above .gif describes how I’m feeling now that I’ve found the answer to sending my daughter to school with hot lunches that don’t have to be microwaved!

What’s included?

• Three Soup/Rice/Curry Containers – 9 oz. each
• Bread Container – 10 oz.
• Insulator
• Carrying Case

How do I stack them?

The box showed a diagram on how they are supposed to be stacked inside the insulated container.  I took a picture so you can see how it appears.

Recommendations on keeping food warm in your Insulated Zojirushi insulated Tiffin Box

From my research, I knew that to achieve the best results one should pour boiling water into the insulated stainless steel container and let it set for a few minutes. I let the water set in the stainless steel container for about 10 minutes. Afterwards, I dumped out the water, wiped the container dry and added heated food to the spill proof soup bowl container. I stacked the two remaining soup bowls, added the insulator and placed the bread bowl on top. I then closed everything.  The insulator acts as a divider so your hot food below stays hot, and food above the insulator won’t be affected. I’ve read that some have been able to keep cold foods in the top container. I haven’t tested out cool foods in the top container, but I will.

I decided to include photos of what the food looked like, four hours later. It’s some of the leftover vegetable and black beans. You’ll see condensation on the side of the bowl. Yes, it’s still hot! 🙂

Insulated Zojirushi Soup Bowl ; gasket

These Zojirushi food storage containers are made of plastic; polypropylene, but they are not microwavable. If you look closely, you’ll see why… the ‘yellow ring’ is the gasket and the yellow circle in the center is the ‘valve packing’.  They’re both made of the same material. The containers would be damaged if you put them in the microwave. As you can see in the above picture the screw top lid for the soup container has a lot of condensation build up also.

Cute carrying case

My daughter (sort of)  likes the carrying case for her Zojirushi lunch jar. She asked me could I add embroidery to it and perhaps add some fabric to brighten the gloomy bag. I told her that I could do that, but she’d have to wait until the weekend when I have more time. The bag is roomy and it has space for a few additional items such as a small drink and eating utensils. It also has a side pocket. I really like that it zips up the side.

Hot School lunches from home

Seeing and tasting the results of the food stored into her brand new Bento Box has put a smile on my daughter’s face.  She’s thrilled that she can actually eat hot home cooked meals at school.

Insulated Zojirushi Tiffin Box; Not Microwaveable or Dishwasher Safe

If you want a product that is microwaveable or dishwasher safe you’ll have to look elsewhere since you’re not supposed to put the bowls in either of them. This does not effect us since my daughter can’t use a microwave at school. I don’t own a dishwasher because I actually like hand washing our dishes.

Initial Thoughts

My first reaction is that I’m thrilled that the Zojirushi SL-XCE20HG Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Tiffin Box lives up to its claims; it definitely keeps the food hot!

Upcoming Scheduled Posts

I’d originally had another post scheduled for today, but I rescheduled that for a future date so I could slip in this advanced post. I most likely will push Fridays scheduled post to a future date so I can post what was included for my daughter’s first hot meal with the Zojirushi lunch jar.