Skip bamboo for lunch boxes — it soaks up smells like a sponge

If you don’t want your lunch box to smell like yesterday’s curry, go with glass or polypropylene (PP) plastic — bamboo absorbs odors.

Bamboo is the worst choice for this. It’s porous, so it drinks in oils, sauces, and smell molecules the way a cutting board does. Use it for a sandwich once and a spicy tomato sauce will linger for days. Bamboo also hates moisture and can crack or warp in the dishwasher. It looks nice, but it’s really a dry-goods container, not a lunch box.

Plastic is much better, but not all plastic is equal. Look for the recycling code 5 (PP / polypropylene). It’s non-porous, so it shrugs off most smells, and it survives microwaves and dishwashers without melting. Cheap code-7 plastics and some silicone can still hold onto odors, especially after fatty or spicy foods.

Glass is the gold standard. It doesn’t absorb anything, ever. The trade-off is weight and breakability, so it’s only worth it if you’re eating at work or school, not hiking with it.

If your plastic box does pick up a smell, a paste of baking soda or a vinegar soak usually fixes it, and sunlight kills most lingering odors fast.

Your lunch box should not have a memory.