According to research, on average in American households, 20% of food that is bought goes into the bin. For a normal family that is $1,500 worth of food every year! Shocking isn’t it? Chill, no need to worry as we are here with our 8 easy food storage tips to save your food from getting wasted.
By getting knowledge about food storage you can easily save your food as well as money. It isn’t rocket science, you just need to store your food properly. Healthy storage is not like you’ll pack the food just put it in the refrigerator. Various kinds of food need to be stored differently. We will be updating you about how to store dairy products, fruits, and veggies, meat and eggs, etc.
Easy Food Storage Tips for 5 Different Type of Food Items
Storing food properly is ensuring that your food is fresh. You can eat your food as long as no fungus or bacteria is growing on it.
If you end up with a surplus and want to share it with someone else, here’s How To ship Frozen Food.
Following are simple storage tips to ensure that your food stays fresh as long as possible.
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Dairy Products
Always store your dairy products at the back of the refrigerator. The reason as it is the coldest section in the fridge and thus your dairy products will remain fresh for a long time. Now let us see some product-specific tips. Usually, you put the milk in the jug and then store it in the door. Stop doing that as it is the warmest place in the fridge and can ruin your milk within days as suggested store it in the main part instead of door shelves. Next Wrap the cheese in wax paper to allow airflow and to seal out moisture. You can rub butter on the cut part to keep it fresh. Store shredded cheese and used butter into the freezer bag.
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Fruits and Veggies
First of all, not all fruits and vegetables need to be stored in the refrigerator. Citrus, bananas, nectarines, pears, peaches, avocados, onions, tomatoes, and potatoes can all be stored at room temperature. Only if some fruits and veggies are ripe and you’re not eating them immediately should be stored in the refrigerator. Crunchy veggies like carrots or radish should be stored in a water container. Store green veggies in the glass of water with their stems and cover loosely with a plastic bag. Fruits like Apples should be stored separately as they give off ethylene gas that can ruin the other food. To know in detail about the storage of many other veggies and fruits checkout limitlesscooking.com.
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Meat, Fish, and Eggs
Store your meat and poultry on the bottom shelf. Any kind of meat be it pork, chicken or beef drips juices from it. So to avoid juice to drip on other food items and ruin them. It is best to store meat on the bottom shelf. If you want them to store for a week or two instead of a few days, wrap them in tin foil or stick them in a ziplock bag, then store them in the freezer. To store fish, keep the bag on top of a bowl of ice inside your fridge. Though fish should be eaten immediately and should not be stored for a long time. Store fresh eggs in their original carton itself. To know if your egg is fresh or not, place them in a bowl of water. Fresh eggs should sink, while old eggs usually float.
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Bread and Pantry Staples
Bread should not be stored in the fridge as it can make it go stale faster because of its moist nature. Store bread in a closed container on the countertop instead. If insects have caught your flour. Store the flour in the refrigerator for 48 hours to ensure that all the insects are killed. After that transfer it to a sealed container and store in a cool, dark location. You can freeze the coffee beans to keep them fresh in an airtight and opaque container. And lastly to help dry foods such as pasta, cereal, etc, to keep it fresh for longer, store it into an airtight container or mason jars.
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Fresh Herbs
To keep the herbs fresh for at least over a month follow this simple tip. Store them in a whole bunch instead of separating. Rinse the herbs properly, put them in the ziplock bag and just keep it in the freezer. You can take them out whenever you want, chop them up and use them to enhance the taste of your dish. You can store it for up to a month or two. Also, you can store fresh herbs, asparagus, and green onions upright in a tall glass of freshwater.
Common Tips To Keep Your Food Fresh
Now let’s look at some common tips that you can use to keep your food fresh. It is not limited to certain food items and is done to ensure the good food storage of all the food.
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Double-check Your Refrigerator’s Temperature
Finally, after wrapping and placing your food items correctly, make sure that your refrigerator is set at the right temperature. If it is not then all your precautions are wasted so double-check it quickly. The temperature of the refrigerator should be set to at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit that is five degrees Celsius, or a few degrees lower than that. This temperature will prevent food from spoilage and also will keep it as fresh as possible without freezing it.
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Check The Expiry Date Of The Food.
This is the most important tip you must follow no matter what. Eating expired food makes you end up in the hospital. Make sure to check the expiration date of every packed food in the store itself. And even if you buy food with an expiry date that is due make sure you are eating it within that time.
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Wash The Food as You Go
There is this huge mistake everybody does that is rinsing the vegetables and fruits right away after coming from a grocery store. Don’t do that unless you are going to use it immediately. Wash food items only when you’re ready to eat right away or soon after. This decreases the chance of mold growing on damp produce. Also wash your food when you are ready to eat it, even if you’re going to chop up your food in advance to save time.
Final Thoughts
These simple tips given above can save a lot of your food and money at the same time. By storing your food properly you will be reducing wastage of food in your household in no time. These tips and tricks help you to keep your food fresh for a long period. Also, these really easy tips are not even costing you anything, you just need to follow a simple pattern and organize food items properly. Hope the article was helpful for you and all doubts relate to food storage.
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