When you’re in the supermarket, or your local grocery store, do you find your hand going to the back of the fridge storage to get the longest dated product? You’re not alone! We all want our food to stay beautifully fresh for as long as possible, so that we can minimise wasting our food, and save money.
One aspect which can have a dramatic effect on how long your food lasts is how you store it. TV’s favourite morning double act Philip Scofield and Holly Willoughby recently discussed how to store food on ITV’s This Morning and it caught a lot of attention.
Cadbury Australia broke thousands of hearts by tweeting that chocolate should be kept in a cupboard, not the fridge. A topic which had divided households for many years, and something that thousands will still debate about as they refuse to accept the ‘correct’ way.
If you thought that was a shock, wait until you discover where the following foods should be kept in order to keep them at their freshest.
Orange storage
Do you have a beautifully filled fruit bowl in your home? Most people do, but one common fruit you shouldn’t place in there is oranges!
Oranges naturally start decomposing as soon as you pick them, which means you should keep them cool in your fridge. By storing them in the fridge you will slow down their natural decaying process and they will last much longer in your home – although they won’t be part of the pretty ornamental fruit bowl.
Cucumber storage
We love our cucumbers nice and fresh and juicy! As a common addition to our salads, you would think they belong in the salad box in your fridge. Plot twist – they don’t!
Scientists discovered that cucumbers thrive when they are stored at temperatures around 10 degree Celsius, but when stored below this, they suffer. Some of us will refuse to accept this change. We understand, it shocked us too! If you feel you MUST store your cucumber in the fridge. Keep it towards the front where it is slight warmer. The cooling system is at the back and outside air can seep through the seals on the door making the front warmer than the back of your fridge.
Nuts
We’ve found that this one has sparked debate amongst the team, but nuts should go in your fridge!
Nuts naturally store a lot of oil, it’s why we’ve seen some great alternative oils such as almond oil hit the shelves in recent years. However, their oily nature means that they do not like warmer temperatures, making the fridge a perfect natural home.
Nuts have a long shelf life as it is. But to prolong that, store them inside an air-tight container in the fridge. Alternatively chuck them in the freezer and extend their shelf life to a year!
Tomatoes
Trust tomatoes to create another debate, as if the whole ‘fruit or vegetable’ thing isn’t enough for them! Our troublesome favourite is also very particular about where it is kept.
A perfectly ripe tomato should be kept in a cupboard and stored stem down, away from heat and sunlight, in a similar place to where you keep your cereal boxes. However, if a tomato starts to become limp and soft to the touch, quickly put them in the fridge to extend their very last days of ripeness!
Bread
This food item is one of the top culprits for being tossed out as waste each week. Making your bread last longer can have a huge impact on reducing your food waste so storing it correctly is essential. You can store bread in the freezer, and some people do this to make it last a long time and use it for toasting but to keep it soft, fluffy, and fresh keep it in your cupboard.
Although a bread bin is a common storage method, if it is metal it is detrimental to the bread. The best method is to keep your bread in a tote bag in your cupboard. Not only will is help protect your bread, it’s a great way to reuse sustainable items in your kitchen!
A great way to reduce your food waste is to store
it properly.
We know we’ve certainly discovered a few shocks to our storing habits recently. Do you think you’ll be changing some of your food storing habits? Or do you need more information on a food item we haven’t mentioned? Message us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter if you want to discover more!
