There’s one key negative to fresh, homemade foods and healthy eating that many of us are all too aware of: their unforgiving shelf life. Wilted leaves, brown skin and growing mold are a common sign of wasted money and nutrition-loss. Luckily, there are 10 fantastic solutions to this grocery problem. You’ll never waste your produce again!
1. Knot Your Onions
Got a bunch of white or red onions? Put them in panty hose and tie knots in between each onion to preserve them for up to eight months! Also, avoid storing onions with potatoes.
2. Buy An Ethylene Gas Absorber
A set of these pods has three and costs $16. They absorb the ethylene emitted by fruits and vegetables in your fridge to keep your vegetables fresh three times longer! Also, try to keep ethylene-producing produce away from ethylene-sensitive ones. Ethylene-producing fruits and vegetables include:
- Avocados
- Bananas
- Cantaloupes
- Kiwis
- Mangoes
- Pears
- Plums
- Tomatoes
Ethylene-sensitive foods include:
- Apples
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Green beans
- Lettuce and other greens
- Potatoes
- Watermelons
3. Treat Your Herbs and Asparagus Like Flowers
Store delicate herbs like parsley, basil, cilantro and chives, and asparagus in jars with some water like you would with flowers. Then, put a plastic bag over them, secure the bag with a rubberband, and refrigerate your herbs.
However, if you have oily herbs like thyme, tie them loosely together with string and hang them in the open air. You can also freeze and preserve fresh herbs in olive oil. The herbs will infuse the oil while freezing, and the resulting cubes will be very handy for cooking as the base of a dish. This process works best for rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano.
4. Get Your Berries Swimming in Vinegar
Prepare a mixture that is one part white or apple cider vinegar, and ten parts water. Swirl your berries around in the mixture, drain and rinse them, and then put them in the fridge. Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries can last almost two weeks without getting moldy or soft. Plus, the solution is so diluted that you won’t taste the vinegar!
5. Add An Apple To Your Potato Supply
Storing one apple with your potatoes will help to preserve the potato’s shelf life by keeping them from sprouting.
6. Dab and Wrap Your Cheese
A dab of butter on the cut side of cheese can keep it from drying out. Also, wrap cheese in paper or wax paper and then place it in a plastic bag. Keep your cheese in the warmest part of the fridge i.e. the vegetable or cheese drawer.
7. Wrap The Crown of Your Bananas
By wrapping the crown of your banana bunch with plastic wrap, they’ll keep for three to five days longer than usual. Bananas also produce more ethylene gas than any other fruit, so keep them away from other fruits and vegetables!
8. Put Paper Towel On Your Salad
Place a paper towel over salad and then wrap it in plastic. The paper will absorb excess moisture from the salad, thus preserving it longer. No more wilted leaves!
9. Let Your Tomatoes Breathe!
Store ripe tomatoes and room temperature on the counter and not touching each other. Don’t keep them in the grocery bag!
Sources:
www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/27-ways-to-make-your-groceries-last-as-long-as-pos
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