• Where can I find high-quality kitchen hoppers?

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  • (This was submitted by Dave Atkins)

    I am looking for high-quality kitchen hoppers for dry goods in my kitchen. By hopper I mean a storage bin that you fill from the top and empty from the bottom (kind of like the bins used for bulk foods at some supermarkets).

    I would use them for beans, rice, flours, sugar.

    Zevro makes one, but I have used them in hotels and they are very flimsy, and leak.

    This idea was inspired by the standard rice dispenser so common in Asian homes.

    Ideally, they would be stainless and glass (I'd like it to be something that lasts), and would be as airtight as regular kitchen canister, and it would be something that looks nice on the counter top.

    6 0
    Question by Oliver Hulland
    10/02/2011

What's wrong with a regular container you fill and empty from the top?

Answer by peter rabinowitz
10/02/2011

@Peter, the point is to achieve automatic rotation: the oldest flour (on the bottom) gets used first. Otherwise, refilling needs a third bucket, whereby you dump the dregs into it, then fill the old container with the new stuff, then put the dregs on top. For people who are too lazy to rotate, the bottom stuff will get pretty stale and end up affecting the flavour and sanitization of the newer stuff on top.

I used to work in a bulk food store, and this kind of rotation was a PITA, messy part of the job. Most modern bulk stores are equipped "first-in, first-out" dispensers, as in those the OP is looking for. The oldest stuff always gets sold first (from the bottom).

Answer by jar240
10/03/2011

This is what many commercial kitchens use: http://www.rubbermaidprosave.com/

They're neither pretty nor cheap, but they are well made (sturdy, convenient) and have dividers to achieve automatic rotation.

Answer by chrish
10/05/2011

http://www.tradefixtures.com/products_bins.htm

Might be what you're looking for.

Answer by courtney ostaff
10/10/2011

For what it's worth, just this year I looked for fill-from-the-top-dispense-from-the-bottom hoppers for my home kitchen, and came up dry. Ended up buying a box-like container with two flaps, one in front, one in back, so I can fill from the back and scoop from the front. Not ideal, but cheap. I'd love to hear if others have found a cooler tool for this need.

Answer by nathan
05/11/2013
Answer by ren
08/21/2014
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