15 Food Storage Tips to Keep Your Food Fresher For Longer

Food storage tips to keep your food fresh for as long as possible

It's easy to waste food when you don't know the correct way to store it. Have you ever bought a bag of mushrooms then forgotten about them before it's too late? Or a bunch of spinach that goes wilted and stinks out your fridge? We’ve all been there.

Having to throw away food is money straight in the bin and bad news for overconsumption and our environment. Knowing how to store your food properly ensures maximum freshness, lower energy bills, and reduces food waste. 

Here are our top food storage tips:

1. Store herbs in glasses of water

Fresh herbs, asparagus, and green onions all last longer when they have their bottoms trimmed and are put in a glass of water. For extra care, wrap a damp paper towel around them to prevent wilting.

2. Keep carrots in a container of water in the fridge

Cut the green tops off your carrots and place them in a glass of cold water in the fridge to keep them fresh. The green tops absorb moisture and will suck up all of the water if you do not cut them off. The cold water preserves the crispness and crunch of the carrots.

3. Store mushrooms in a paper bag

Mushrooms contain a lot of water and need to be able to breathe so that they do not get slimy and mushy. Placing them in a paper bag helps preserve freshness and keeps them firm and full of flavour. 

4. Keep cheese in a wax wrap

Cheese needs to breathe! Placing cheese in a plastic bag or clingfilm is not ideal for maintaining freshness. It can become dry and gain a strange flavour when it is not able to breathe. Wrapping your cheese in a wax wrap or parchment paper is ideal for preserving its flavour.

5. Wrap greens in a paper towel

To prevent and reduce slime that accumulates when greens begin to go bad, place a tea towel or paper towel inside the bag of greens to soak up the moisture and keep your lettuce fresh.

6. Put potatoes in a storage bag and keep in a cool dark place

Potatoes left in a hot place can make them turn mouldy. When kept in the correct conditions, potatoes can be stored for up to a few months. We use a cotton produce bag. 

7. Store potatoes with an apple

The gas that apples release keeps potatoes fresh and prevents them from sprouting. Never keep your onions and potatoes together as this encourages the potatoes to sprout.

8. Cover leftover bowls with airtight stretch lids

Uncovered leftovers can go stale and dry out in a fridge. Covering leftovers with plastic-free stretch lids maintains the texture and flavour of food. Not to mention, you don’t want everything in your fridge to smell like that stir fry you made yesterday!

9. Use airtight containers for avocados

As soon as avocado is cut, it begins to oxidise and turn brown. You can prevent this by storing it in an airtight container. An airtight lid prevents the avocado from oxidising too much and keeps its green colour. Keep the pit inside the avocado or in your guacamole to help prevent browning as well!

10. Wash berries with one part vinegar and three parts water

Berries seem to get fuzzy and mouldy really quickly. This vinegar and water trick kills bacteria and prevents mould. Make sure to rinse your berries with cold water afterward to get rid of any lingering smell or taste of vinegar.

11. Freeze chilli peppers in silicon zip lock bags or glass jars

With chillis, sometimes a little goes a long way and you could be stuck with a handful of chillis that you won’t use very quickly. Instead of letting them go bad in the fridge, put them in a glass jar or silicon bag in the freezer to keep them fresh for as long as you need.

12. Wrap banana stems in a wax wrap

Wrapping banana stems with a wax wrap prevents the fruit from releasing a gas that helps them ripen. If you want to keep your bananas for longer, this trick will prevent them from ripening before you can eat them. Another trick - if your bananas have gotten too ripe, put them in the freezer and make a delicious vegan-friendly ice cream out of them!

13. Store nuts in the freezer

Did you know that nuts can spoil when exposed to heat and sunlight? For such an expensive snack, you don’t want to have to throw away your nuts before you get to savour them. If you buy your nuts in bulk, keep out a bag that you will eat within a few days and put the rest in the freezer to keep fresh.

14. Wrap celery in aluminium foil

It can be a real shame when you go to enjoy a celery stick and it is all soft with no crunch. To prevent this, wrap the celery in aluminium foil before storing it in the fridge to keep its crispness. If it does go mushy, you can always use the celery for making homemade veggie broth.

15. When you need to defrost something, put it in the refrigerator

If you know you will be using something that you have stored in your freezer, put it in the fridge to defrost for a day or overnight. Putting a frozen item in the refrigerator helps cool the appliance down and then it doesn’t need as much energy to keep the rest of your food cold. This helps lower your energy bill and defrost your food at a healthy speed so it does not spoil. 

When you learn that 3.6 million tonnes of food are wasted per year in the UK, it's worth reconsidering the importance of storing your food correctly. To store your food the eco-way, choose from our range of eco-friendly food storage products and get saving food waste!

Do you know of any other food storage tips? Let us know in the comments below!