For most of my life, I considered myself well-versed with the basics of returning Tupperware. They had to be cleaned and of course, they had to be returned. Then, last year after my son was born, a friend who is half Korean thoughtfully gifted me some home-cooked meals in Tupperware. When I gave her back her containers, I learned that in Korean culture it is custom to return Tupperware that had originally been given with food, full not empty. She wasn’t offended but I was mortified, and the idea of returning Tupperware full stuck with me. I loved it.
Karima-Chloe Hazim, founder of the Sydney-based Lebanese cooking school Sunday Kitchen, has been returning Tupperware with food in it since high school. “I would never give someone their Tupperware back empty,” she says.
