Food is one of the biggest expenses in most people’s budget next to their home and cars. So, it makes sense to not waste it and find ways to make it go further and last longer. Other than storing it in the refrigerator in containers, what else can you be doing to make your food last as long as possible before spoiling?
Tips for Making Food Last Longer
Make sure where you are storing is clean. This means regularly cleaning your fridge and storage bins. If your food storage area is dirty, you can be sure there is more bacteria there and more bacteria means your food spoils faster.
Freeze things you don’t think you need to freeze. Did you know you can freeze bread and it will last weeks in the freezer and still taste just as fresh? It thaws in as little as an hour or two as well. Buy cheese in a brick and shred it yourself and pull out just what you need for meals, especially if melting the cheese is part of the cooking process.
Practice FIFO. FIFO is a restaurant term and it means “First in, First Out”. Simply put, whenever you go grocery shopping, put the older food in the front on your fridge (or pantry) so you use it up first. This will cut down on nasty, spoiled food surprises.
Do not store tomatoes in the fridge. It makes them go bad faster. Instead, store them in a cool, dry place.
Keep a slice of stale bread in with your brown sugar to keep it from clumping.
Keep your milk in the coldest place possible. This means NOT storing it on the door like most people do. Instead, store it in the center of the top shelf. Also, buy your dairy organic. The dollar or two more you spend will add up as you see you have longer “use by” dates.
Keep mushrooms out of plastic packaging. If you buy your mushrooms in a plastic container, take them out and put them in a paper bag. They will last twice as long.
Hang your bananas. That investment in a banana hanger is really worth it as your bananas will not ripen as fast.
When you put food away, do not put it away hot. Putting a hot dish in your fridge changes the temperature of all the other foods in there and makes them spoil faster. Instead, allow it to come to room temperature in an ice bath in your sink before storing.
