These essential tips teach how to keep food fresh and make it last longer. If you are like me, you hate to throw away food that has gone bad. By incorporating these simple tips, you will extend the life of your expensive groceries, save money, and reduce waste.
With the rising price of groceries, we all need more ways to stretch our food dollars. We found 13 kitchen hacks to save money and avoid grocery waste. Take a look and let us know if you have any tips to keep your food fresh longer.
Does this cycle sound familiar?
Buy what you think your family will eat that week. Plans change, meals aren’t prepared as planned, and food is thrown away because it spoiled and went bad before you could eat it.
If it does, you are not alone. These stats from the National Resource Defense Council are pretty alarming:
- About 40 percent of all food in the U.S. goes to waste.
- The average American wastes about $28 to $43 in food each month, roughly 20 pounds of food.
- Broken down, about 17 percent of dairy, 20 percent of vegetables, 15 percent of fruit, 18 percent of grains, 25 percent of seafood, and 33 percent of the meat you buy goes to waste.
I’ll do the math for you. That’s about $516 you could be throwing away every single year.
How do you keep your food fresh and your groceries last longer? Here are 14 tips to help you save the food you buy from spoiling quickly.
Temperature is Key:
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Temperature is Key:
- Know your zones: Your fridge isn’t a one-size-fits-all unit. Dairy products like milk and cheese thrive in the coldest parts (near the back), while veggies prefer crisper drawers with controlled humidity.
- Chill it out: Aim for a fridge temperature between 36-38°F (2-3°C). Invest in a fridge thermometer to ensure optimal coldness.
- Thaw wisely: Thaw meat in the refrigerator, not at room temperature, to avoid bacterial growth. Consider using the “thaw” setting on your microwave if in a hurry.
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How to Keep Your Food Fresh Longer
Make Fresh Herbs Last Longer in a Plastic Bag
- Herbs: Store fresh herbs upright in a glass of water like mini bouquets, cover loosely with a plastic bag, and refrigerate. Alternatively, chop and freeze in oil for more extended storage.
When you get home from the grocery store, keep the fresh herbs in their thin plastic bag. They will also last longer in the vegetable crisper section of your fridge.
Do this when you get home to keep your fresh herbs fresh:
- Wash and dry the herbs
- Put them back inside the plastic bag
- Seal the bag closed with a twist tie
Following those three steps, the herbs will last an entire week.
You can also freeze herbs. Hardier herbs like rosemary, dill, thyme, bay, and sage can be spread on a single layer on a baking sheet and then placed in the freezer. Once frozen, remove them and put them in an airtight container.
Tender herbs like mint, parsley, and cilantro can be frozen in ice cube trays. Just remove their stems and cover them with a bit of water. Transfer the ice cubes into an airtight container and have single-serve herbs in your freezer as needed.
How to Make Onions Last Longer – In Pantyhose
I learned this trick from my mother. She would buy a bag of onions, put one onion in the foot of a pair of pantyhose, seal it off with a twist tie, add another onion, and repeat until it was packed. Then she hung the hose from a nail inside the pantry. Stored this way, the onions have more room to breathe and last a month or more.
How to Make Seasonings Last Longer – With Rice Inside
Do your spices and seasonings clump together? That’s a common problem in places with high humidity and can cause you to throw out otherwise still-tasty spices. But this classic trick will prevent clumps for good – add four to ten grains of dry rice to the bottle and shake it.
With the rice inside the bottle, you can keep your seasonings on the shelf for at least six months.
Invest in airtight containers.
What makes food stale? Air. To prevent the following items from going bad too early, keep them in airtight containers.
- Cereal
- Chips
- Crackers
- Oatmeal
- Rice
- Other Grains
These Rubbermaid Brilliance Storage 14-piece containers are BPA-free, Leak-Proof, and highly rated on Amazon.
Store bread in the breadbox
Do not store your bread in the fridge, it will dry out and become stale. Keep the air off your bread in a plastic bag with a twist tie. Bread will last about 7 days after it is opened. If I know I won’t use the bread in time, I freeze some of it and toast it when needed.
This stainless steel breadbox is the top seller on Amazon.
Throw Away Bad Apples
Apples are one of the fruits that stay fresh the longest, but did you know that the rot can spread when one apple goes bad? Yup! The rot in just one apple can make a bunch of food rot. Look closely at apples before you buy them. And as soon as you see a rotten apple, throw it away. Your fruit will last a lot longer. Don’t let the apples touch each other to prevent damage; store them in the refrigerator. One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch!
Before throwing away apples, check out these Apple Recipes to Make With Your Extra Apples.
Store cheese in wax paper
Store cheese on wax paper to keep it fresh. The wax paper allows the cheese to breathe better, keeping it from molding or turning slimy.
You can keep the paper wrapped tightly around the cheese in the fridge. It will last almost twice as long – about two weeks – before it starts going bad.
Make Buttermilk and Cream Last By Storing Them In Cubes
How often have you had to buy an entire pint of heavy cream to use half a cup? Then, the rest of the cream goes to waste.
Instead, freeze the leftovers in small quantities to use later.
Pour the cream or milk into an ice cube tray (each section holds two tablespoons), freeze it, toss it in a plastic container, and label it. When ready, pull out just enough for the recipe and let it thaw.
Keep Lettuce Fresh
Wrapping your lettuce in a paper towel will keep it fresh and crisp for up to a week. You may need to change the paper towel along the way.
The following kitchen hack will keep your lettuce fresh – no more soggy lettuce! After you buy lettuce from the store, wash, dry, and chop all the lettuce as soon as you get home. After it is chopped, store it in mason jars. Then, you have ready-made salads that will last up to 10 days.
Soak Fruits and Vegetables in Water and Vinegar
Produce really will last longer if you soak it in a mixture of vinegar and water. Here’s how:
- Fill your sink with water and 3/4 cup white vinegar.
- Soak your freshly purchased fruits and vegetables for 10 minutes
This vinegar solution will remove dirt, wax, and bacteria, which helps it last much longer.
Berries
Don’t wash until right before eating. Store unwashed in a ventilated container lined with a paper towel.
Wrap Celery in Foil
Does your celery turn soft when stored in the fridge? Wrap opened celery in aluminum foil, and the stalks will stay crisp for at least a week.
Wrap Bananas Before You Store Them
Bananas last the longest if stored in a warm, dry place, but they still turn brown more quickly than I can eat them. A friend suggested wrapping the top of the banana bunch tightly with plastic wrap. I tried it, and it works. My bananas last another three days or so before they start to brown.
Before you throw away bananas, check out these great recipes using bananas.
Use Paper Towels to Preserve Asparagus
Asparagus needs water, or it will dry out within a few days. The best way to store asparagus is to wash and dry it first. Then, wrap the bunch in damp paper towels. That will keep it fresh without cutting off the oxygen and stay crisp longer. Try these Asparagus Recipes!
Bonus Tips:
- Plan your meals: Create a meal plan around the ingredients you have on hand to avoid impulse purchases and food waste.
- FIFO (First In, First Out): Rotate your fridge and pantry regularly, using older items first to prevent them from expiring in the back.
- Embrace freezing: Freeze fruits, vegetables, and cooked leftovers for extended storage. Remember to label and date everything!
- Paper towel power: Line your crisper drawers with paper towels to absorb excess moisture that can lead to spoilage. Replace them regularly for maximum effectiveness.
- Ethylene awareness: Some fruits and veggies, like apples and bananas, emit ethylene gas that speeds up ripening. Store them separately from ethylene-sensitive items like leafy greens and herbs.
Kitchen Gadgets To Make Cooking Easy
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More Home Hacks & Tips
Which of these kitchen hacks will you be using? If you enjoyed these kitchen hacks, here are some more home tips that will help you save money and time.
Do you have any tips to keep your food fresh longer and avoid grocery waste?
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