Tired of throwing away perfectly good food that you never got round to eating? Or maybe your perfectly good bag of rice is now crawling with weevils?
This post is going to show you how to keep food fresh longer so you can enjoy your fresh food for much longer.
This post is quite long so it’s broken down into sections. Fruits and vegetables, Dairy products, Meat and Eggs, and finally pantry items.
How To Keep Fruits and Vegetables Fresh Longer
Keeping Vegetables Fresh
#1 – Stop lettuce leaves from withering too fast by wrapping lettuce in a paper towel. Doing this should keep your lettuce fresh for a week.
#2 – Line the crisper drawer with paper towels to absorb excess moisture and keep vegetables fresh longer.
#3 – Another great way to absorb excess moisture in the crisper drawer is to place one or two new sponges at the back of the drawer. When the sponge is half full of moisture, squeeze out liquid over the sink.
#4 – Store lettuce in a large paper bag to keep leaves fresh longer.
#5 – Revive limp lettuce by soaking the leaves in a sink of ice water for 5-20 minutes. Dry and use immediately in a salad.
#6 – Got any stale bread? Store lettuce with a slice of almost burned toast. The toast will absorb excess moisture. Simply replace the slice of bread when it becomes soggy.
#7 – Keep spinach and kale and other leafy greens fresh longer by storing them in the fridge with a stainless-steel fork.
#8 – Storing your greens and herbs in a glass jar. The greens will not wither, and herbs won’t lose their aroma.
#9 – Keep carrots and celery fresh by chopping them up and storing them in a container of water in the fridge.
#10 – Keep spring onions and celery in a glass of water. Not only will it keep them fresh longer, but they will continue to regrow.
#11 – Prolong the life of asparagus by standing the bunch in a small glass of water in the fridge.
#12 – Store fresh herbs in a glass of water on the kitchen counter to keep them fresh longer.
#13 – Another great way to preserve fresh herbs is to freeze them. Wash and dry the herbs then place in a zip-top bag or container.
#14 – Another great way to preserve herbs for future use is to chop them up and add them to an empty ice cube tray. Then fill the tray with olive oil and freeze. To use simply pop out a frozen herb and oil ice cube and add to the pan while cooking.
#15 – Store mushrooms in a paper bag with a paper towel to prolong the life of them and keep them from turning slimy.
#16 – Keep potatoes from sprouting by storing them with an apple. Apples release ethylene gas which helps keeps potatoes fresh and firm.
#17 – Store carrots in sand. Sand reduces water evaporation and helps stop carrots from rotting so quickly.
#18 – Store onions in panty hose (tights for those in the UK). Place one onion in at a time and then tie a knot, and then add another onion, repeat until filled. Then store in a dark and dry place until needed.
#19 – Store potatoes with fresh ginger root in a dark and dry place to keep potatoes fresh longer.
#20 – Keep squashes fresh for months by rubbing vegetable oil over the whole uncut squash. They will stay good for months!
How to Keep Fruits Fresh Longer
#21 – Don’t store tomatoes in the fridge. Storing tomatoes in the fridge makes them lose flavor. Keep tomatoes on the counter.
#22 – If your tomatoes are starting to go bad, roast them and add the roasted chunks to a small container of olive oil. They will keep for another week in the fridge this way.
#23 – Turn overripe tomatoes into a sauce and freeze for future pasta or pizza sauces.
#24 – Wrap apples in a piece of newspaper and store in the fridge. They can last for over a month like this!
#25 – Turn old apples into apple sauce and freeze for up to 3 months.
#26 – Don’t separate bananas when you buy them. Keep them in a bunch to last longer. You can also wrap some aluminum foil over the top of the bunch to keep them fresh longer.
#27 – For overripe bananas, peel and freeze in a zip-top bag in the freeze. These can be added to smoothies in the future or to make banana bread!
#28 – Let avocados ripen at room temperature. Once the avocados are ripe, keep them in the fridge to slow down the ripening process.
#29 – Use up ripened avocados by turning them into guacamole. Squeeze lime or lemon juice into guacamole to stop it going brown and freeze in portion size bags.
#30 – Wash strawberries, blueberries and other types of berries in vinegar before storing. This helps to prevent mold on the berries and keep them fresh. Just make sure to dry the berries before storing as moisture will make them rot faster.
#31 – If you only need a few drops of lemon or lime juice, simply puncture the rind with a toothpick and squeeze out the drops you need. Then place some tape over the hole and put it in the fridge for later use.
#32 – If lemons and limes are on offer but you don’t need the juice now, simply squeeze out the juice and freeze in ice-cube trays for later use when needed.
How To keep Dairy Products Fresh Longer
#33 – You can keep fresh milk by freezing it. Simply pour out a little bit of the milk from the bottle to allow for expansion in the freezer.
#34 – If you don’t have space in your freezer for lots of fresh milk you can lengthen the shelf life of your milk by adding a pinch or two of bicarbonate of soda. This lowers the acidity of milk and will slow down the rate at which the milk goes off. Don’t add too much though or you will taste the soda.
#35 – Keep cheese fresh by wrapping it in a clean soft cloth dampened with vinegar.
#36 – You can also wrap cheese in wax paper to keep it fresh longer.
#37 – Keep cut cheese fresh by rubbing butter over the cut edge.
#38 – Make your own frozen shredded cheese for later use, by grating the cheese either by hand or with a food processor. Then toss the cheese together in some cornstarch, place in a freezer bag and freeze.
#39 – Freeze butter for up to 6 months.
#40 – Store sour cream and cottage cheese upside down to keep it fresh for twice as long.
#41 – Don’t keep milk in the fridge door, store it in the main area of your fridge to stop temperature fluctuations from spoiling it faster every time the door is opened.
How To Keep Meat, Eggs and Fish Fresh Longer
#42 – Freeze eggs for future use. Simply crack open the egg and put it in an ice cube tray together with a pinch of salt or sugar (to preserve the texture).
#43 – Prolong the life of fresh eggs by rubbing the shells in vegetable or olive oil before storing the eggs in the fridge. This will help keep them fresh for an extra 3-4 weeks.
#44 – Check if eggs are fresh by placing them in water. Fresh eggs should sink to the bottom, while older eggs should float. If the eggs are old, crack them open and discard the white and yolk then rinse the eggshell. The eggshells make excellent slug and snail repellents in the garden and add calcium to the soil.
#45 – Keep fresh fish fresher longer by storing it in a bag on top of a bowl of ice in the fridge. You can also freeze fresh fish for a later date.
#46 – Store poultry and meat in original packing on the bottom shelf of the fridge. If you won’t be eating the meat within the next two days, remove from the packaging and place inside freezer bags in the freezer.
How To Keep Pantry Items Fresh Longer
#47 – Store honey in a dark glass jar with a tight-fitting lid in order to stop it from oxidizing.
#48 – Stop raisins or dried cranberries from going dry and rubbery by keeping them in an airtight container. If they do shrivel up you can revive them by soaking them in hot water for 30 minutes to an hour.
#49 – If you honey is cloudy or has crystals don’t throw it. Simply microwave the honey in a microwavable bowl on medium heat until smooth again.
#50 – Place flour, pasta, rice and oatmeal in the freezer for 48 hours after you buy it. This will kill pests lurking in them. Yes as gross as it is these items usually have weevil eggs in them, by placing them in the freezer before storing them in the pantry you can kill them off before they hatch. You may like How To Get Rid Of Weevils Naturally
#51 – Keep soft cookies soft by placing a slice of apple skin side down in an airtight container with the cookies. Replace the apple slice every 2 days.
#52 – Keep bread fresh for longer by placing a small, fresh stalk of celery in the bag with the bread. While celery is dry on the outside, it has high water content and provides moisture to the bread to stop it drying out so fast.
#53 – If you made too much tea or coffee put the leftovers in ice cube trays, that way when you make a hot cup of tea or coffee you can cool it down with one of the ice cubes without diluting the flavor.
Those are some ways on how to keep fresh food fresh for longer! If you enjoyed this post or think someone you know would benefit from it don’t forget to share!
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