Today I want to share some simple tips that you can use in your kitchen to help make your food last longer. These tips are geared toward making sure that the groceries you buy last longer and you are able to enjoy them instead of having to toss them before eating them.
I'm going to be real honest here and tell you that this Sunday, when I cleaned out our refrigerator, I threw away a ridiculous amount of food. I felt so ashamed tossing so many things that we had let go bad. I had a long talk with my family after my trip to the garbage can and we talked about ways to stop wasting so much food. We talked about ways that we could use leftover items from meals, ways to keep from wasting things like berries and greens, ways to make sure things didn't get stuck behind other items in our refrigerator and how lucky we are to be able to afford to afford to eat as well as we do. We are not the kind of people that take what we have for granted, but we are they type of people that get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and make convenient choices like grabbing something quick to eat instead of using what we have at home. That is about to change around here.
Here are a few simple tips to help make your groceries and food items last a little longer...
Place fresh herbs in a vase or jar like you would fresh cut flowers. This will keep them from wilting, drying out and turning to mush. You can also just use scissors to snip the amount you need for a recipe and leave the rest of your herb bouquet in the water. You may also find yourself using herbs a little more in different dishes if you actually have them out where you can see them. Plus, they are pretty too ;)
Store onions, garlic and shallots in a cool, dry area for long life. Onions can last months if stored correctly. Never store onions in the refrigerator, because it will soften their texture and the onions can actually permeate other food items. Do not store onions and potatoes together either...they give off gasses that don't work well together. Don't store onions in plastic bags, because it will accelerate sprouting and spoilage because of the lack of air circulation.
Store potatoes in a cool, well ventilated space. Colder temperatures lower than 50 degrees, such as in the refrigerator, cause a potato’s starch to convert to sugar, resulting in a sweet taste and discoloration when cooked. Perforated plastic bags and paper bags offer the best environment for extending shelf-life.
Rinse berries in a mixture of 4 cups of water and ½ cup of distilled white vinegar to . I put all of the berries in their containers in my sink with the drain open, open the tops of their containers, and pour the berry washing mixture over top of them, making sure to move the berries around so they all get clean. Once I have covered all of the berries, I let them drain for a bit. Once they are drained, close their lids and give them an extra little shake so any excess water gets out of them. The pH in the vinegar kills any spores that are on your berries so they won’t mold so quickly. And…if you are worried that your berries will taste and smell like vinegars, have no fear! The vinegar is so diluted in the water that you won’t be able to tell you used vinegar at all…except that your berries will actually last longer. Also, don't cut berries up until you are ready to eat them. While cutting strawberries ahead of time sounds like a great, time saving idea, it will make your strawberries spoil faster.
Store different fruits and vegetables separately when possible. Apples (and other fruits like pears, plums, and apricots) naturally release ethylene gas, which greatly speeds ripening and freshness of vegetables stored with them. So, when you can, store your fruits and vegetables separately.
Added note...reader, Mary Johnson shared an amazing tip with me! She said that storing green onions and celery in aluminum foil in the refrigerator helps keep them fresh longer! Thanks for sharing, Mary! And...if you have any tips you'd like to share, feel free to email them to me at [email protected]!
Watermelon is the exception to the rule when it comes to cutting fruit up early...it actually tastes better and sweeter after being cut up and stored in the refrigerator. I try to cut my watermelon as soon as I get it home and store it in a large, lidded bowl for up to a week. You can find a super old post I did showing How To Cut a Watermelon Perfectly, HERE!
I hope these tips will help you waste a little less food. I'll be posting a meat storing guide soon to help with that as well. Because, nobody wants to have to throw out expensive meats, am I right?
Ivory says
Thank you so much, I love your tips and plan to use these tips to. Don't know if you have already given this tip in the past, but if you know how to keep bananas for each longer, please let me know.
Lucy Wynne says
Buy bananas as green as possible, separate them carefully keeping skin intact.
wrap stalk end in tin foil (aluminum?) they can be kept together once wrapped.
Last Christmas my bananas lasted for 3 weeks doing this.
Cyndee says
Put them in the refrigerator in a green bag. The peel will turn dark, the banana stays fresh longer. I have heard that the brown spots on the fruit is better for you than a ripe fruit.
Saher says
I hope your grandma is well and thank you for the valuable tips
Lyn says
Buy bananas slightly green on end. Wrap them in newspaper and place them in the crisper in frig.
Frances says
I wrap my refrigerated vegetables in paper towels and they seem to last longer (lettuce, celery, green onions) I also place 4 dry sponges in the bottom of the vegetable crisper and It seems to absorb the moisture very well.
Jessica says
What great tips, Frances! Thank you so much for sharing them with us! ~Jess
Floy Aspinwall says
Thanks for all the good tips .I will be trying them.It's not very good to throw away food.
Mary says
I love spinach, but within a couple of days it gets mushy I have to throw it away, I have used paper towels in the container, but that doesn't seem to help. Can you help me?
Kelly Cofield says
Keep them coming!
CAT says
I am loving your tips for storing fruits and veggies! Do you have any tips for storing fresh greens (spinach, chard, dandelion greens, etc) for more than a couple of days?
Charlotte says
I took an old (thrift store) tablecloth and cut it into squares. By trial and error, I found that 24" square works well. I wash my greens, spin dry, dump into the square, roll up and put in a zip lock bag. the more delicate the green the shorter the storage time but kale, romaine, endive, etc will last up to 3 weeks.
Nancy Dillon says
Hi Jessica - Thanks for sharing all of your great tips and wisdom. When I’m cleaning up after dinner, I often make up single meals with the leftovers in plastic containers then pop them in the freezer for a future quick meal or bring to work for a yummy lunch. Saves on waste and you get to enjoy the meal again another time. Also saves space in the fridge not having multiple containers holding different items.
Jessica says
Thanks for sharing, Nancy! I love this idea!
Vee says
I have found after all these years that in order for onions to last longer that if I store them in a brown paper bag and punch a few holes in it--they do not begin to go bad. Don't know why it took me so long to learn this. Wish I would have known this a long time ago.
Carmen says
In my opinion de best way to save all kind of greens is when you come home take them out of the plastic bag and folded or wrapped in a dish cotton towel, Then you can put it back in the plastic bag. It will last more than a week. The cotton towel absorbs all the water from the produce.
Another tip is if you buy cilantro, oregano, thyme, etc. or any other herb, you can put it inside of a brown bag. With time they will dry out, but when you want to use them, they will come alive again like in the soups, etc.
Sharon says
I too use paper towels around my veggies but I make sure it is the brown unbleached kind so foods do not come into contact with bleach! Also, instead of using plastic bags, store (washed/drained etc) veggies in the wax paper bags up cycled from cereal/cracker boxes. The combo of unbleached paper towel/wax paper bags really makes a difference.
Jessica says
I have found that if you store apples in a paper bag on a shelf rather than the crisper they last several months.
Lisa Binse says
I enjoyed reading your suggestions. I'm trying some thing I read about green onions which I use often. so I thought I would try it. It said if you cut off the root end you can plant it in a pot and it will start to grow indoors. So now I have 8 green onions growing ,approximately 3-4inches in 3 weeks ,in my Kitchen window. Now I will have them as I need them. I don't know if I cut them off above the root if it will regrow. Fun to experiment. They mentioned lettuce as well by placing the core in water or soil and that it would start growing..Have to try that as well. Thanks again for the tips
Jessica says
How fun is that? I think I'll give that a try too! Thanks so much for sharing, Lisa! xoxo, Jess
Judi Keller says
I enjoy your tips as well ~ I have one to add & that is to sore your unused head of lettuce in foil also. I usually wash it, real it in half & wrap individual halves in foil ~ I swear this keeps it fresh for longer than two weeks!! It does NOT however work with lettuce that is loose leaf from a bag ~ for some reason I have not had any luck with that!!