30 Tips To Make Food Last Longer

13 June 2013

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If you put as much food in the bin as you do in your mouth, there's a problem. From bona fide research to old wives tales, here's how you can eek out a bit more time with your groceries…

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If the contents of your saltshaker or sugar pourer doesn’t seem to last longer than a minute without clumping, add some uncooked rice or beans into the bottom of them. They soak up any moisture in your kitchen, rather than the sugar or salt grains, prevent it going to waste in big clumps.
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If you live alone, or don’t drink ten cups of tea a day, you may find your milk goes off before you’ve finished. Pop a pinch of salt into the bottle or carton to extend its freshness by up to a week past the use-by date – just a pinch though, that way it does the job without ruining the taste.
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Want to know how to make your lettuce leaves stay crisp for longer? Wrap it in a paper towel, or alternatively place the paper towel in your salad drawer, to soak up all the moisture that is making the leaves wilt before you’re ready to use it. This method could give you a week’s worth of extra crunch!
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This one might surprise you but if you pop your raw onions out of their netting and into old tights or stockings, the theory goes that they will last for up to eight months! Hang the tights off hooks in a cool larder if you can, to up the effectiveness.

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You’ve gone to all that effort to bake a lovely loaf of bread (or the good bakers of Sainsburys have – we won’t tell) but now it’s as hard as your Shellac mani. Apparently, if you rub an ice cube over the bread’s surface and warm it in the oven for around 10 minutes, the freshness returns. Hoorah.
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That new Jamie Oliver knife set might be crying out to be used, but hold off cutting any fruit or vegetables until you’re ready to eat them then and there. By breaking stems or chopping the food, you damage its cells and give mould-inducing microorganisms free reign to grow.
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We haven’t tried this one for ourselves yet, but rumour has it that washing potatoes in antibacterial soap and then rinsing them very well makes the carby beasts last up to three times longer than usual.
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There’s been great debate here in the GLAMOUR office over whether eggs belong in the fridge or on the kitchen counter but the raised voices end here. Fact: storing eggs on the middle shelf of the fridge can make them last 3-4 weeks past the sell-by date. So there you are.

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Your summer strawberries are crying out for some vinegar. Honestly, it’s true. Mix one part vinegar with ten parts water and swish your berries in the solution. Then drain, rinse, stick them in the fridge – and enjoy for nearly two weeks longer than normal.
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It’s time to treat you – or more specifically, your fridge, to an ethylene gas absorber. Fruit and veg naturally give off ethylene gas which in turn accelerates their ripening, so it’s worth investing in one of these absorbers to reduce the amount of gas swirling around your fruit and veg drawers.
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If you’re a fan of asparagus, make like a florist. The best way to lengthen the storage time of the vegetable is to trim the bottoms of the stems, stand them upright in a glass of water and cover with a plastic bag before putting in the fridge – just like a vase of your favourite blooms.
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If you’re trying to make everything in your store cupboard last longer, chances are herbs are your nemesis. Fresh sprigs wilt quicker than a redhead in the summer sun. A genius tip: fill an ice cube tray with olive oil and add chopped herbs, whether it be parsley, rosemary or oregano, to each cube. Then you can simply pop one out any time your pan needs a hit of herb-infused oil.

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Bid farewell to dry lemon halves in the door of your fridge, friends. Whether it’s your morning hot water or a fish dish that’s demanding a squeeze of lemon, puncture a hole through the skin rather than cutting the whole fruit in half, which will help retain the juice for much longer.
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The key for keeping your cheese that bit longer? This. Wrapping cheese in wax paper rather than plastic before your put it in the fridge will keep it from drying out so quickly.
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If you already store fresh ginger in the fridge, half marks. To get a gold star, keep the root in your freezer instead. It keeps much longer and you can just grate it straight into your stir-fries or sauces as required.
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Don’t wait until cracker time for your cheese and butter to make each others acquaintance. In fact, spreading a thin later of butter along the cut side of your cheese helps it last much longer in the fridge by acting as a moisture seal.

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We all love a little shortcut but it pays to buy sweetcorn still in its husk rather than opting for pre-cut cobs from your local shop. Keeping the corn in its husk is the best way to help retain its natural moisture and looks more impressive in your fridge, too!
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When it comes to stocking your fridge, less is definitely more. Piling products high will prevent the cool air from circulating properly and cause spoilage to swoop in much quicker. You could see this as encouragement to eat more… or is that just us?
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Your countertop is the best place for tomatoes, and keeping the stem side unexposed helps them last days longer by helping to trap moisture in the flesh. Popping a square of scotch tape over the green top does the job too.
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Potatoes, meet apples, your new best friend. Storing the two together keep potatoes fresh for longer and prevents them from sprouting.

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An ice bath isn’t just for marathon runners, it can be the making of wilted greens too! If your broccoli, lettuce or asparagus is on the way out before its time, soak the leaves in a bowl of ice cold water and see their freshness return.
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Who came up with the rule about storing milk in the door of your fridge? Because they were grossly misinformed. Milk and other dairy items should make a home for themselves on the middle shelf of your fridge because it keeps the most consistent cool temperature. That there fridge door gets an injection of warmth every time you open it…
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It’s time to give your bananas the full head of highlights treatment. Wrapping the crown of the bunch in foil (or cling film works just as well too) can make them last up to five days longer.
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Forever finding your sliced meat is good for nothing before you’ve worked your way through half of it? Layer it with paper towels then cover it completely with an extra sheet and you’ll see that they should last at least a few days longer. We recommend changing the towels over every other day.

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Keeping carrots fresh calls for some green-fingered action. Rather than chucking the orange treats in the veg drawer of your fridge, you can actually get more out of them by storing them in flower pots where the roots are covered with clean sand. Don’t ask us why – just do it. Fans of this method claim it works with all root veg.
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The old greengrocers of yore had a point when they bagged all the veg up in brown paper bags. Things like mushrooms should always be stored in a cool dark place in paper, rather than plastic, to avoid trapping any moisture close to their surface.
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Newsflash: you should keep your olive oil in the fridge, you know? The cool temperature and dark environment will protect the golden nectar from heat and oxygen which tend to spoil it quicker, and refrigerating doesn’t affect the taste at all. Winner.
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There’s nowt better than a Mexican feast when the sun comes out, and that means guacamole. If you don’t finish it in one sitting (we’re not sure that’s ever happened to us but we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt), put it in a bowl, spray with a little olive oil or lemon juice and cover with cling film. It should last longer in the fridge without turning brown in the process.

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Your aim to reduce food waste should begin in the grocery aisles, not just when you get home. Choose whole fresh produce at the supermarket instead of bagged or pre-cut veg and prepped fruit and they’ll last longer without any more effort on your part.
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It sounds surprising but if your kitchen cupboards don’t keep flour or sugar too fresh, you can always transfer them to the freezer. Stick the bags in one of your freezer drawers and they’ll be happy as Larry for up to six months, plus they don’t actually freeze so there’s no need to thaw them out before use.