Glass, vented, and shallow—that's the whole answer.

For microwaving leftovers at work, get a glass container with a vented lid and a wide, shallow shape—it reheats better than anything else.

Plastic feels lighter and cheaper, but it heats unevenly, stains, and absorbs smells. Glass like Pyrex or Glasslock handles the microwave like a champ and doesn’t leach anything into your food.

Wide and shallow is the part people skip. Microwaves only penetrate about an inch into food, so a flat, open container heats evenly. Tall narrow containers leave you with a lava center and cold edges. And the vented lid is there for a reason: it lets steam escape so your food doesn’t get soggy while still keeping the microwave from looking like a crime scene.

The only real downside is weight. Glass lunch containers are heavy, and they can be annoying if you’re hauling them across town. But for a desk microwave situation, that’s a tradeoff worth making.

Your leftover curry will thank you.