Tired of throwing out moldy bread or wilted veggies? It’s time to step up your food storage game. These hacks will help you preserve your food, reduce waste, save some serious money and also help the environment.
Proper Storage Techniques
Refrigerator: We all know that refrigerating food helps with preservation but do you know that how and where they are kept in the fridge contributes to how long they last? For proper preservation in the refrigerator you have to do the following:
-Store fruits and vegetables in the crisper drawers.
-Keep raw meat and poultry on the bottom shelf to prevent juices from dripping onto other foods.
-Cover leftovers tightly to prevent food from drying out or absorbing odors.
-Use airtight containers for storing cooked foods.
Freezer: Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage. Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness.
Freeze foods in airtight containers or freezer bags.
Label and date all frozen items.
Freeze leftovers within a few days of cooking.
Avoid overfilling freezer bags or containers.
Pantry: Traditionally, a pantry is used to store dry goods, such as flour, sugar, and grains, as well as cans and jars of food. To properly store foods in the pantry, you have to follow the list below:
Check expiration dates regularly.
Store dry goods in a cool, dark place.
Store flour, sugar, and rice in airtight containers.
Tips for Preserving Food
If you have bananas that keep turning brown faster than you can say “peel.” The solution is to wrap the stem in plastic wrap, a simple polybag wrap will do. This slows down the ripening process and keeps your bananas yellow for longer.
Are your Avocados going from rock-hard to mushy overnight? Simply store avocados in a paper bag. The ethylene gas released by the fruit will help it ripen faster, but the paper bag will prevent it from over-ripening.
To prevent tomatoes from turning soft and mushy quickly you should store the tomatoes stem-side down. This helps to prevent moisture from accumulating and causing rot.
General Preservation Tips
It is best to ripen fruits and vegetables at room temperature. This will help them taste better and last longer.
Cut fruits and vegetables only when you’re ready to use them. This will prevent them from browning or drying out.
Blanch vegetables before freezing. This will help them retain their texture and color.
Use a food dehydrator to preserve fruits and vegetables. Dehydrated foods can last for years.
Can fruits and vegetables. Canning is a great way to preserve food for long periods of time.
Reducing Food Waste
Plan your meals ahead of time. This will help you avoid buying too much food.
Use leftovers creatively. Turn leftover bread into croutons or use leftover vegetables in a stir-fry. Make banana bread with that overripe banana.
Freeze food that you’re not going to use right away. This will help you avoid food waste.
Donate food. If you have excess food, don’t let it go to waste, share with others and donate to those in need
Salting and sun drying, smoking meat may be considered as old methods of preservation but they are still effective ways to keep foods from going bad.
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By following these simple tips, you can extend the life of your food, reduce waste, and save money. So next time you’re about to toss something out, remember these clever hacks and give it a second chance. Share other preservation techniques that you know with us in the comments.
