By Lyndsey from Recycle for Wales
The easiest way to make food last for longer in our home is by freezing it. I usually make batches of food so I can be lazy in the week, and defrost it when I need it. Making a few small changes to how we store our food such as freezing it, making it into a jam etc can make it last longer. In the long run, this means we get to eat more of the food we buy, throw away less and save money.
Here’s a few ideas, tips and recipes from the Love Food Hate Waste team to help you preserve your food.
Keep it cool – use your fridge
- Make sure your fridge is running below 5OC. If your fridge is too warm favourites such as fish, chicken or salad won’t last as long as they could. These items will typically last for another 3 days if a fridge is running at 5OC or lower.[1]
- Foods can be preserved fresher for longer by keeping them in their original packaging, in the fridge. Much modern packaging has been specially designed to preserve fresh food and keep it at its best. Apples, oranges, carrots and peppers will all be better off and last much longer in your fridge.
Get friendly with your freezer
- The faster food freezes, the better the quality it will be. So larger amounts of food should be divided into smaller portions, packets or slices. This will also help with defrosting and also allows you to defrost precisely the number of helpings that that you want.
- Air trapped in packets can affect colour, taste and texture of food so wrap food well and expel any air before freezing. Tightly wrapping food well also prevents freezer burn (seen as dry, grey patches on frozen food).
Read more: http://www.wasteawarenesswales.org.uk/news/make-your-food-last-longer
