As the strain on household finances continues to diminish due to the cost of living crisis, making the most of every penny spent is a must.
And that also means that your groceries last as long as possible after purchase.
Tessa Clarke is the co-founder of the food sharing app oilhelping people to offer surplus food to their local community for free.
She’s shared some clever techniques for minimizing the amount of food that ends up in the bin – because it benefits no one.
So, here are Mrs. Clarke’s 14 hacks on how to properly store food in your home…
It is important that we take good care of our food and avoid waste and in turn cut costs as the cost of living crisis grips many families (File image)
A survey by Discarded Spirits found that 56 per cent of Britons are guilty of throwing away fruit left to rot in fridges and bowls, with bananas the most likely to be thrown away
The average British family throws away £730 worth of food each year that they could have eaten.
While we collectively throw away 4.4 million potatoes, 2.7 million carrots and 1.2 million tomatoes every day, reports Savings expert.
But while we do our best to use up leftovers with our zero waste recipes, it’s often challenging to know which foods will go bad first.
So, here’s how UK households can properly store their food to reduce costs and food waste.
Tomatoes
These should be kept in a bowl on your counter instead of in the refrigerator.
This is because they tend to get a little ‘chewy’ in the fridge.
And there’s also a surprising solution to keep your tomatoes fresher for longer that has gone viral on TikTok.
Apples
These fruits do well in a fruit bowl, bruised apples should be removed quickly as they release more ethylene.
And this speeds up the ripening process and makes them spoil faster.
Lemons
Your citrus fruits should not be left outside on the counter top, they will only last for about a week (File image)
If you store your citrus fruits on the counter, they will only last about a week, especially in the heat.
Therefore, if you store them in a sealed plastic bag or container in the refrigerator, they will last four times longer.
And a TikTok video by @brightly.eco has gone viral, with over 20,000 views, after she revealed how to avoid food waste by keeping your citrus fruits fresh for more than a month.
Banana
They also release ethylene, which accelerates their maturation.
To slow this down, you can cover the top of the bunch with beeswax wrap or aluminum foil. And this gives them a few extra days.
Avocado
To prevent avocados from turning brown or spoiling quickly, place a slice of onion in a plastic container with the opened fruit (File Image)
They are a brunch favorite, but they go brown or go bad so quickly.
To avoid that, place a slice of onion in a plastic container with an opened avocado.
You can also rub the open side of the avocado with lemon juice.
And once you’ve made guacamole, simply spray it with a thin layer of lukewarm water to prevent air contact and keep it fresh longer.
Bread
To ensure that your bread or baguette has a longer shelf life, it is best to buy whole loaves of bread instead of sliced ones.
If you buy your loaves this way, wrap them in cotton bags or plastic and store them in an airtight container on the counter.
And according to experts, you stored bread WRONG in the summer.
Cake
According to the connoisseur, cake does not belong outside, but in the fridge with a slice of bread on it (File image)
We all love cake, but sometimes we don’t finish it all.
To keep it moist, it is best to store it with a slice of bread on top. This is because the bread dries out and your chocolate biscuit stays nicely underneath.
Wine
If you’re not going to drink it all, you can freeze the remains of a bottle of wine in a suitable container and take it out when cooking a risotto or making a stew or gravy.
But if you plan to drink the rest, it is better to pour the remains into a sealed container than to put the cork back in the bottle.
Berries
Berries always go bad so quickly, and often when we crave a bowl of strawberries, half of them have turned to mush.
To properly store them, simply give them a quick rinse in a solution of water and vinegar, which is one part vinegar to 10 parts water.
Then pat it dry and store in a container or Tupperware box in the fridge.
And a food TikToker recently shared a simple kitchen hack on how to keep your strawberries fresher for longer — and you only need two ingredients.
Dairy
Ms Clarke advises households to stop storing their dairy products in the door of their fridge – saying it should be placed in the back instead (File image)
You should not store your milk on the refrigerator door.
Instead, you should keep all dairy products in the back, where the temperature is coldest, for maximum shelf life.
And contrary to popular belief, milk and cream can both be frozen, but make sure the bottles are three-quarters full to allow for expansion.
Spices
Keep these like flowers – face up in a jar of water and on your work surface.
But if you find that this takes up a lot of space in your kitchen, you can store them in a plastic container with a damp cloth or paper towel in the fridge.
And if you want to keep them as fresh as possible, chop them finely and freeze them in an ice cube tray in some water or oil. It can then be easily unfolded and used for cooking.
Celery
Just wrap it in aluminum foil and keep it in the fridge.
This will keep it nice and crunchy.
Honey
When stored in a sealed glass jar in a cool, dark place, honey can be stored forever.
If it does crystallize, just dip the jar in some warm water and it will liquefy again.
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