We Can’t Quit the Ziploc

cheryl

cheryl

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We Can’t Quit the Ziploc - Taste

The flimsy Ziploc bag is a remarkable feat of design. When you pull your thumb and index finger along the strips near the top, a thin ridge on one side magically clicks into the tiniest groove between a pair of ridges on the other side, sealing the halves of the now-watertight bag together. A proprietary chemical recipe keeps out odors and “locks in freshness.” That seal will stay firmly shut, unless you lightly tug the two pieces of plastic part from the top. The unthinking ease with which you can open or close the bag to drop in a turkey sandwich or tomato sauce to freeze for another night is the product of concentrated decades of research and development, and the relentless determination of engineers, inventors, and entrepreneurs.

No wonder we can’t stop buying them.

Resealable bags comprise a $1.6 billion industry today, and it’s growing in size and variety. There are sandwich bags, miniature snack bags, gallon storage bags, and freezer bags. The brand Ziploc has taken out hundreds of patents for bags. Like Kleenex and ChapStick, the name “Ziploc” has become synonymous with resealable plastic bags, but plenty of other brands, like Glad and Hefty, offer them, too. Not all resealable bags perform equally—Ziploc is the winner of Cook’s Illustrated’s food-storage bag tests for its superior performance in preventing freezer burn, and Good Housekeeping’s poll dubbed it a game-changing product readers couldn’t live without.
 
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