Thrifty food storage & fridge hacks to reduce waste.

Every year the typical UK household wastes hundreds of pounds worth of food. Knowing how to make fresh food last longer has become essential especially with the cost of living rising. With less food waste there is ultimately less cost.

10 Expert tricks to make your weekly shop go further!

1. Add salt to your milk once opened:

Depending on the sort of milk you use, it can be refrigerated after opening and last for four to ten days. However, you can extend that period of life by immediately after opening, adding a pinch of salt to the carton. This is because salt is a preservative and prevents germs from forming. But make sure to shake the carton well and put it in the refrigerator as soon as you can.

2. Store your milk in the coolest part of the fridge:

It's also advised to stay away from putting milk in the refrigerator door. Due to its distance from the cooling system, the refrigerator's door is really the section that gets the warmest. To maximise cooling and increase the shelf life, store your milk near the rear of the middle or higher shelves.

3. Wrap hard cheese in parchment paper:

Instead of wrapping hard cheese in plastic wrap it in parchment or baking paper. This allows the cheese to breathe, preventing drying out, it also stops any additional moisture from accumulating and prevents the growth of mould. Hard cheese often keeps for up to four weeks if stored properly in the refrigerator.

4. Vinegar bath your veggies:

Giving all of your fruits and vegetables a vinegar bath is a fantastic method to clean them. In a bowl or your clean sink, make a vinegar solution with a 1:3 vinegar to water ratio. Fill the solution with your produce, then let it set for 15 minutes. After that, rinse and completely dry your produce before putting it in the appropriate storage container. The vinegar solution sanitises, purifies, and eradicates any germs from the vegetables that could hasten the breakdown of them. Your vegetables can last up to two weeks and the solution is not so potent that you can taste it on the produce afterwards.

5. Store berries with a paper towel:

Berries should be kept in airtight glass containers with a dry paper towel once they have dried. Any surplus moisture is absorbed by the paper towel, which stops the growth of mould. Changing the paper towel every other day will allow for maximum freshness and a shelf life of up to three weeks.

6. Keep your bananas separate from other fruits:

All fruits release a certain amount of the gas "ethylene," which has the effect of accelerating the ripening process. Fruits like bananas release a higher concentration of ethylene when they are ready to ripen. Apples, peaches, pears, melons, and avocados are a few other fruits that are major ethylene producers. Keeping the ethylene producing fruits, specifically bananas, away from your ethylene sensitive fruits will prevent excessive exposure to the gas, allowing the fruit to ripen naturally and therefore lasting longer.

7. Treat your fresh herbs like flowers:

For those who prefer fresh herbs to dried is to treat them like flowers. The herbs should be added to a jar with water, and the top should be covered with a plastic bag. The water helps to keep the herbs fresh whilst the bag acts as a barrier against any excess moisture. If your fridge doesn't have space for upright jars, you can alternatively store fresh herbs with a moist paper towel in an airtight glass container (or plastic bag, if you prefer). This will assist the herbs keep moisture and prevent them from wilting by preventing them from drying out too rapidly.

8. Freeze your fresh herbs:

You can also freeze herbs if you prefer fresh herbs but discover that you don't use them up quickly enough. For precise quantities, you can freeze freshly chopped herbs in olive oil in ice cube trays. The alternative to using oil is to use water. Fresh ginger and garlic can also be prepared this way too.

9. Ice your bread

If your bread appears to have gone bad, use an ice cube to refresh it before putting it in the oven for 10 minutes. As an alternative, you might alternatively wet the loaf. By rehydrating the bread, this makes it suitable for eating once more. The bread must then be consumed that day. 

10. Freeze your nuts:

The average nut and seed has a three to six month shelf life. They should be kept in cool, dark places to increase their shelf life; while the back of the cabinet is fine, keeping them in the refrigerator can help them stay fresher for longer. You'll be happy to know that nuts may be frozen, extending their shelf life to one year if you find that six months is not long enough to consume all of your nuts.

What tips to do you have for reducing food waste?