There is nothing more annoying than opening the fridge and seeing that the food you just bought has gone bad. Given that the price of living only seems to be increasing, making your food shop last longer is becoming a priority for people all over the country.
Here are some of our top tips on making your food stay fresher for longer.
Fruit
Fruit is one of the most expensive parts of a food shop (even more so than meat usually). So you want to make sure that it stays fresh for as long as possible. In order to preserve the freshness of berries, you can wash them in a 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1 and 1/2 cups of water before you put them in the fridge. This kills mould spores and bacteria.
Another way to make sure that your fruit lasts longer is to not store all your fruit together. Fruits such as bananas, avocados and peaches produce ethylene, which acts as a ripening hormone. Essentially this means that, by putting your bananas next to other pieces of fruit, you cause them to ripen much faster.
To keep them fresher for longer, apples should be kept in the fridge, ideally in the crisper drawer. Make sure to keep them in a plastic bag with holes, or place a paper towel on top of them.
To reduce browning on sliced apples, toss them in lemon juice.
Bread
Unsurprisingly, the best way to store your bread is in a bread box. Atlanta chef Jennifer Hill Booker is a big fan of bread boxes and told Insider:
‘I would say that a bread box works better than an airtight container because it’s breathable and creates the perfect balance of airflow and humidity, so your bread won’t get soggy, which can happen in sealed plastic and it won’t get dry and stale as it would if left unwrapped.’
If you want your loaves of bread to last longer, consider freezing them. Frozen loaves can last from three to six months. To defrost, just take the bread out of the freezer (if the bread is sliced you can just pry apart the frozen slices so you don’t have to take out the whole loaf if you only want one or two pieces) and put the slices in the toaster.
Many toasters have a defrost setting. If you don’t want the bread toasted, you can place it in the oven. A whole loaf of bread can be defrosted in the oven at 325°F for 20 to 30 minutes, according to the Epi Test Kitchen.
Vegetables
Bagged salad can last longer if you transfer the leaves into a container and place a couple of sheets of paper towels on top. You also can wrap them in wax wrap or cling film to let as little air get to them as possible. This will help the leaves stay crisp and prevent wilting.
Mushrooms should actually be kept in a paper bag in the fridge rather than a plastic one. This is because mushrooms have a high water content. As this water evaporates it can become trapped in a plastic bag, causing them to turn slimy.
Soft herbs like parsley, coriander, dill, mint and basil should be stored upright at room temperature in a glass with cool water to prevent them from wilting. Meanwhile, hard herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage, and chives, will stay fresher for longer if they are stored in the fridge. Just wrap them in dry paper towels before putting them into containers or resealable bags.
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