50+ Ways to Store Your Food to Save Freshness and Funds

Have you ever gone on a health kick only to end up tossing out a large portion of the fruit and veggies you purchased? As you throw out delicate cucumbers and bags of shriveled mixed greens, you can’t resist the urge to think about all the cash you are squandering. Feeling upset, you think, “surely there’s a way of making food last longer.” Well, you’re in luck.

Have you ever wondered whether you could utilize the unpalatable pieces of food? It may seem unbelievable, but there are plenty of fruits and vegetables that you can regrow easily from the comfort of your home. 

Fresh herbs can transform any meal, but it’s so hard to keep them fresh. Cooking with herbs such as thyme, sage, rosemary, or oregano can make food tastier, but if you don’t utilize them immediately, they always seem to wilt so quickly. 

If you utilize onions regularly, this trick is something you should know. Yes, it looks odd, but it works! When you purchase a lot of onions and don’t use them immediately, you may think that it is difficult to keep them from decaying. 

Did you know that sour cream and cottage cheese are difficult to keep fresh, even if stored in the fridge? These dairy products can be used in many ways but do not last long when you only need a limited quantity for one dish. Worry no more because this hack will assist you with delaying their demise. 

Bananas are a sensitive fruit – perfect for a brief moment, and a little while later, they are bruised and excessively sweet. Although you can utilize over-ripe ones for banana bread, this doesn’t help if all you want to do is eat a delicious, ripe banana. 

Most people are used to putting milk in the refrigerator door, not realizing that this makes it turn sour rapidly. Note that when you store milk in the door of your fridge, you’re placing it in the spot that experiences the greatest variations in temperature.

From cold remedies to DIY skin inflammation care, ginger is a huge help around the home. While it can be used in many recipes, and cultures all around the world adore it, few people know the best way of storing it. Did you know that the best spot to keep your fresh ginger is in the freezer? 

Despite the fact that our mouths are watering simply contemplating avocado toast, there is one significant issue with this food. You usually only use about half at a time, and the part you place in the refrigerator always seems to go brown far too quickly. 

Needless to say, cleaning your fridge regularly is a must. Unfortunately, many people don’t follow this basic rule. Aside from hygienic reasons, there are plenty of benefits to cleaning your fridge. 

Mushrooms are delightful in almost any meal. From Asian to Italian food, they make everything more delicious and can be utilized as a substitute for meat in many vegetarian meals. Notwithstanding their versatility, they can expire quickly. 

Ice cream usually gets eaten up and doesn’t remain in the freezer for too long. The people who have self-discipline may get a tub of ice cream and fail to remember it is even in the freezer. The next time they open the ice cream, however, it has freezer burn, and the scrumptious treat is ruined. 

Honey’s countless purposes include sweetening your tea, soothing sore throats, and creating DIY facial masks. It truly is a staple everybody should have. Sooner or later, some types of honey will form crystals. However, that doesn’t mean it needs to go in the rubbish. What should you do instead? 

While some people think it’s best to put bread in a box to prevent it from molding, others believe keeping bread in the fridge is the better option. Truth be told, the latter will make the bread go stale.

Nobody knows the right spot for a tomato, and as of recently, neither did we. The standard answer would be in the refrigerator since that is the place where most fresh items go; however, that answer is inaccurate. Tomatoes should never be stored in plastic bags because the captured ethylene gas will spoil them.

Green onions are a popular vegetable in many Asian dishes. Be that as it may, if you purchase a bundle for a specific recipe, you will have too much, and they can turn bad rapidly. Rather than squandering cash, there is a way of rescuing your extra green onions. 

Have you ever been left with a bag full of withered lettuce just a few days after purchasing it? Nobody enjoys the flavor of wet, wobbly greens when they could be enjoying crisp, fresh lettuce. It is an issue that torments people – albeit mildly – all over the world.

Spices can change a dish completely and add that kick of flavor to even the dullest ingredients. Contrary to popular belief, spices can go bad if they are not stored properly. They can also lose a ton of their flavor over time. 

If apples aren’t stored correctly they can rot fairly quickly, especially in warm climates. Bruised apples are pretty common and most of us are fine with cutting out a bruise to enjoy the rest of the apple.

Aside from adding color and flavor to foods, fresh herbs are utilized to decorate plates. For the most part, when you purchase a bunch of herbs, they turn sour within two days. With that said, treat your herbs with care like you would with fresh blooms.

The definition of disappointment is opening a bag of berries to find that they all went bad before you got an opportunity to enjoy them. To keep your berries fresh for a week, combine ten parts water with 1 part vinegar. 

Cucumbers aren’t the most thrilling vegetable, but they go beautifully with dips, and if you add cucumber slices to water or cocktails, your drinks will taste extra fresh. Have you noticed how rapidly they spoil, though? As it turns out, the trick is to keep them on the counter. 

If you keep carrots in your refrigerator for quite a long time, you can usually look forward to fishing them out in a floppy and unappetizing state. If you wish to keep them in good condition for quite some time, we have ways of making them last.

Attention maple syrup lovers! You will need this stunt to make it last longer. Pure maple syrup is expensive, so it’s essential to avoid squandering even a drop of it. If you discover that it is marked down, get it in bulk and use the trick below to make it last a long time.

Ethylene gas is emitted as produce ages, but it has no color or aroma, so it is impossible for us to notice it in the air. It is a natural, harmless gas that helps fruit and vegetables grow at a healthy rate.

Unless you are cutting lemons for shots or making lemonade, you likely will not utilize a whole lemon in one go. If you regularly end up throwing out lemon halves because they were left too long in your fridge, then you should know there are numerous ways of making them last longer. 

Due to the ethylene gas we referenced before, grapes ripen rapidly, and you often end up discarding half of them. One easy tip is to put them in the freezer since frozen grapes are amazing on a warm summer day. 

Remember that potatoes left in the wrong spot for a long time will spoil or sprout. Though potatoes are one of the most flexible foods, they require specific conditions if you want them to last a long time in your kitchen.

Kids have a talent for making messes. When you attempt to quiet a shouting youngster with a juice box, they may squeeze it too aggressively. Most parents know the frustration of cleaning up after a juice box explosion. Usually, the kid is also covered in sticky juice, so you have one more wreck to tidy up! 

Regardless of whether you are a kid or an adult, raisins are a much-loved snack. This dried fruit goes in everything from cookies to trail mix. Like other produce, raisins get dry and hard, but don’t toss them out just yet! We have a simple solution for you. 

We don’t know anyone who doesn’t love a pleasant cut of cheese directly off the wedge. Indeed, even lactose-intolerant individuals will endure the painful aftermath because cheese truly is irresistible. In any case, when you cut cheese, the end can get dry, and nobody wants to eat that part. 

Peanut butter enthusiasts all know the frustration of reaching the bottom of the container to discover that the oil is all gone, and you’re left with hard, dry remnants at the bottom. It began with oil on top, yet that oil did not stick around until the end. 

Are you aware of the purpose of the dent in the plastic milk carton? Many people don’t give it a second thought, but it really fills a valuable need. This dent can assist you with deciding whether the milk is good or not without doing the feared smell test.

Unless you are attempting to grow a potato for a science experiment, you want to avoid having them sprout new roots. Sprouting potatoes implies they are spoiled, and you can’t eat them. Potatoes are so simple to work with, so they ought to be easy enough to keep fresh.

Got a bottle of liquor that’s been sitting on your rack unopened for a couple of years? Don’t stress over hurrying to drink it. While most things in the kitchen have an expiration date, liquor can keep going for quite a long time without turning bad. 

Nuts are an excellent resource to have on hand when you want a nutritious snack. They can be added to numerous dishes, so it is a great idea to have them available consistently. Though fresh, crunchy nuts are a delight, nothing is more terrible than soft nuts that have been sitting in a cabinet for a really long time.

Contrary to popular belief, all herbs cannot be treated alike. There are various sorts of herbs, and they have distinctive storage rules designed to help you get the most flavor out of them. They can’t all be tossed in the fridge because each kind of herb has its own unique properties. 

From sealing leftovers to wrapping vegetables, aluminum foil is a valuable staple for the kitchen. It is the duct tape of kitchen fundamentals since you can fix any issue with aluminum foil, including your veggie stockpiling. 

Most people either don’t notice the bottom part of their stove or assume it’s for stockpiling muffin pans and casserole dishes. Since it isn’t recommended to store things inside the stove, we presumed the manufacturers made this cabinet to create extra storage space. 

When you’re on a family road trip or a picnic and you’re packing your essentials you’re probably thinking you should take the butter. If you aren’t it just means you haven’t heard of this hack yet. Using a Ziploc bag when storing your butter in a cooler for on-the-road travel is life-changing. Coolers are great for helping to make sure your foods make it to your destination safe and sound but it can be temperamental at times since you only have a short time before the temperature in your trusty cooler drops. Butter does not do well in this situation since it can turn into a liquid mishap no one wants, but do not fret, we have a solution.

Those flimsy plastic bags you get at the store don’t stay shut unless you tie a knot. But what if you want to open it rapidly? Rather than tying the bag, cut off your bottle tops and put them to use with this handy hack.

Carrots can last up to 6 months if you store them in sand. Yes, sand. All you have to do is take a box or wooden crate then pour about two inches of sand inside of it. Place your carrots in a line, ensuring they are not too close together.

So you just baked a fresh batch of cookies and you place them in a glass jar thinking you’re protecting your baked goods from going stale. Well, if you don’t add a slice of bread to that jar or container, your cookies may go bad sooner than you think.

When it comes to storing rice, many people keep their rice grains in a plastic container in their pantry. However, did you know that this storing method is prone to attracting bugs?

This next tip isn’t for long term storage of course, but when it comes to proofing breads, where you store or put your dough matters. If you don’t have a proper proofing drawer or if your oven is unavailable, you can simply use your dryer to achieve a similar result.

While eggs don’t need to be stored at all times inside water, putting them in water before using them does offer an interesting test. It tests for freshness!

Mashed potatoes are often a staple for holidays and home cooked meals. Especially if you’re looking to feed a lot of people, you may end up left over with way too many mashed potatoes for one person to consume, but don’t throw them out!

Beets can be a trouble to correctly cook, but if you do it just right they can be incredibly healthy and delicious. However, the next time you buy beats, remember to remove their leaves before storing.

Did you make too much guac? Before you put it back in the fridge, remember to spray it with cooking spray. When the avocado in the guacamole oxidizes, it turns brown and becomes less appealing.

When you think about freezing green beans, you might consider blanching them beforehand. Blanching is a cooking technique where you boil your produce then dunk it in cold water to help your food last longer. However, it can also be time consuming to do.

Buying fresh herbs can be complicated as they often come in larger packages and quantities than you ever need. You use these herbs for a few meals then before you know it, these fresh products have already gone bad.

Keeping leafy greens fresh is one of the most difficult tasks of any homeowner. We buy all of these fresh veggies and they seem to wilt before we even get a chance to make a delicious salad.

Avocados are one of the most versatile ingredients that we’re always reaching for to add to toast, a salad, or a sandwich. Unfortunately, it seems like the second you cut into this delicious fruit it turns from that lovely green color to brown.

Putting a bay leaf in flour or cornmeal can help keep your kitchen free of any unwanted visitors. We’re talking about the creepy crawlies and not the in-laws!

We’ve taken a look at how to store lemons to preserve them before but this trick is a great alternative if you don’t have the necessary materials. Be sure to rinse and dry the lemons thoroughly before storing them.

If you want to put that leftover tomato paste to good use next time you’re making pasta, this is a simple way to keep it fresh for longer. If left in the fridge, it will likely only last a few days before going bad.

Sometimes, when produce is out of season, they have a bland taste. But, sometimes we crave the flavors of that produce all year round. So, how can we make sure we have those delicious flavors whenever we want them?

For those of us who like to go fishing or just the ones that enjoy a delicious fish meal, this is the best way to keep your fish stored and keep it fresh until you’re ready to enjoy.

You’ve probably noticed that when you store butter in the fridge it gets more firm. This can make it difficult to cut at times, or at least to get an exact cut if you’re using it to cook a meal.

Cheese is one of the finicky foods that tends to mold quickly. And you certainly don’t want bitter or even rotten flavors in your pizza or on your crackers.

We are all trying to do our part to be less wasteful, and this is one way you can save the chicken broth that is about it go bad and use it in dishes later.

When the vegetables start to wilt most of us give up. What can you make with wilted spinach or arugula? It seems not much. However, this genius hack is a great way to repurpose those greens, even if they are wilting.

Most of us probably don’t think about what temperature our fridge is at because as long as it’s cold, we’re good. But, as it runs out, the temperature of your fridge actually has a huge impact on how long your food lasts.

Obviously, canned goods are the foods that tend to last the very longest. However, once you’ve opened that can, you should not keep the food in it. For example, when you crack open that can of beans and scoop some out, don’t just leave the rest of the beans sitting in the can in the fridge.

While it’s important to always wash your produce, there really is a time and place. Some of us might wash the produce right when we take it home from the grocery store. This method is fine if you thoroughly dry the fruits and veggies.

To start with, the refrigerator ought to be set to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) to forestall the growth of bacteria. This is also the temperature you want in the vegetable drawers. One more guideline is to separate meat, fruits, and vegetables. That way, they won’t ruin one another. 

We all love butter and we probably encounter it more times during the day than we care to admit. Although, how you store your butter is just as important as where you use it. If you are impatient and don’t have time to wait for your butter to soften and become spreadable, pasteurized salted butter is the only kind you should leave out of the fridge at room temperature. However, you should only leave small amounts out and for a short time. This storing hack is for butter that you are expected to enjoy in the near to immediate future.