No one likes to see food go to waste, as it’s good food and money literally being tossed in the garbage! While it can be difficult to preserve food on a budget, it can be done with a little ingenuity and creative thinking.
Treat herbs like flowers
Putting herbs inside of a glass of water and covering them with a baggie can create an environment that keeps the herbs fresher longer.
Wash berries in vinegar and water
For any berries and fruits, be sure to wash them in a mixture of three parts water and one part vinegar prior to putting them in the fridge.
The vinegar will kill off any extra bacteria and stop it from growing in the fridge, and the water will ensure that you don’t taste the vinegar when the fruit is brought out and eaten.
Use the fridge for avocados
The avocado – the fruit that is so elusive when it comes to when it is ready and when it is bad. However, there is an easy trick to circumvent this.
The first is recognising the fridge as a preserver, so use it like one! Keep the avocados out of the fridge until they are ripe, and then store them in the fridge until they are ready to eat.
Use cooler bags for lettuce
Much like with herbs, you want to keep lettuce as cool as possible and keep it dry, so using a plastic container or bag to store the dried leaves in the fridge can help. Even better, you can use reusable cooler bags that are environmentally friendly. Many websites are offering cooler bags that you can look at for more info to find the right type for you.
Keep bananas together
The stalks of bananas produce a lot of ethylene, which can cause them to ripen quickly if they are not kept together, so wrap the stalks tightly and keep them fresh.
Use Water bottles for spring onions
Drying out spring onions and placing them in a frozen water bottle will keep them fresh for months.
Use tin foil to preserve broccoli
Going back to Ethylene again, tin foil lets it get out of the plant, while also keeping the broccoli fresh and crisp.
Use tights to store onions
It sounds weird and might get you a few looks from the neighbors, but hanging onions inside of tights can make them last for months.
Use water to preserve guacamole
Using a layer of lukewarm water on the top of the guac can keep it preserved for several days.
Store eggs on the shelf
Opening and closing the door to the fridge causes some temperature fluctuations. The eggs on the door will suffer that the most, so keep them on the shelf.
These easy food hacks will save you time, money, and might even spark your creative side to see what other hacks you can discover to keep your food fresh. For more information, have a look here.