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

By: Lisa Lee | Last updated: Apr 08, 2024

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.

There’s a decent chance that you’ve been storing fresh foods in entirely the wrong way for a long time without knowing it. Switching around the way you store these foods won’t just help them taste better but will also help them last longer, save you a lot of money on wasted food, and add a lot of value.

Regrow Your Scallions

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. 

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Rather than discarding the white ends of scallions, put them in water and watch them grow. Did we mention that if you put them in soil, their flavor gets stronger? You could soon have a lifetime supply of scallions. You’re welcome!

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Freeze Herbs in Olive Oil for Easy Cooking

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. 

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Rather than throwing out these herbs (which is the equivalent of throwing money in the trash), put them in an ice plate with olive oil and stick them in the freezer. This hack keeps them fresh for longer and makes food prep easier.

Store Onions in Pantyhose to Prevent Rotting

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. 

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Put them in pantyhose and tie knots between each onion. Next, hang them so they look like the onions in the image above. This will keep them fresh for as long as eight months. Since onions aren’t in season all year, you can get them when they are ideal and save them with this stunt.

Keep Sour Cream and Cottage Cheese Fresh

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. 

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After you use your cottage cheese or sour cream, secure the cover, and turn the container upside down. This makes a kind of vacuum seal that will delay the development of bacteria and help them last longer. 

Wrap the Tops of Bananas

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. 

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Rather than allowing them to become brown, fold aluminum foil or plastic wrap over the tops of the bananas to keep them fresh for up to five days. You should also keep them away from other fruits since they radiate ethylene gas, which makes bananas ripen rapidly.

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Don’t Put Milk in the Refrigerator Door

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.

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This spot doesn’t remain reliably cold since people are continually opening and shutting the door. With the temperature of the milk constantly changing, bacteria can quickly multiply. So, place your milk deep inside the fridge if you want it to remain cold and fresh.

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Keep Ginger in the Freezer

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? 

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Aside from making it last longer, this will also make it easier to peel and grate. Ginger parts can be difficult to peel since it comes in irregular shapes. However, frozen ginger is far easier to peel, grate, and crush.

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Keep Leftover Avocados Fresh

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. 

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Avocados become brown rapidly when their flesh meets oxygen. It is ideal to leave the pit in so it oxidizes more slowly. Likewise, brushing the uncovered parts with lemon juice and olive oil will keep it fresh until at least the next day.

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Clean Your Refrigerator

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. 

Source: The Home Depot

After something turns sour or develops mold, spores are sent out, ready to invade the other foods in your fridge. If you discover something rotten, discard it, and sanitize the fridge to dispose of the extra particles that could destroy different things in the fridge.

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Don’t Keep Mushrooms in Plastic

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. 

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To keep your mushrooms fresh, put them in a paper bag in the refrigerator or in any cool, dry spot. If you keep them in a plastic bag, it will trap their dampness and cause mildew to grow.

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Store Ice Cream in Plastic Bags

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. 

Source: thekitchn.com

Rather than allowing the freezer to demolish your favorite dessert, store the tub in a plastic bag to forestall freezer burn and keep it soft and creamy.

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Melt Crystallized Honey

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? 

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Source: Real Simple

Put the glass container in a water bath and set the water to a light simmer. Once the pot has warmed a little, take it off the heat and stir until the crystals are melted.

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Don’t Keep Bread in the Fridge

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.

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That’s why it is ideal to leave it where it can be at room temperature or get a bread box for excellent bread storage. This is perfect for homemade loaves, but some store-bought loaves of bread are best stored in the fridge (or even the freezer if you only ever use it for toast).

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Store Tomatoes in a Paper Bag

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.

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If you have unripe tomatoes, store them stem side down in a paper bag and keep it in a cool spot until they become red. Remember, tomatoes should be at room temperature before being cooked or added to salads. 

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Where Should Green Onions Go?

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. 

Lunchinabox.net

After washing and dicing them, dry the excess dampness, and place them in a dry water bottle. Close the bottle, and keep it in the freezer. That’s all there is to it!

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Keep Lettuce Crispy and Fresh

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.

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Once you open your bag of lettuce, keep a paper towel in the bag to keep it fresh and crispy for a whole week. This trick works with ordinary towels too. The towel absorbs the extra moisture and prevents the lettuce from going limp. 

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Keep Red Spices in the Fridge

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. 

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If you want your red spices to stay fresh and tasty, they ought to be kept in chilly places. Your fridge, for example, will keep them flavorful for an extended period. Make sure to never put your spice rack close to the stove because the heat will ruin the flavor.

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Keep the Bruised Apples Away

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.

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However, you should keep the bruised apples away from your good ones. This is because they are ethylene-producing. Ethylene causes premature ripening, which makes the fruit spoil. This is also true of other fruits such as bananas, kiwis, and mangos. The phrase “one bad apple” is actually very true!

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Treat Your Tender Herbs with Care

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.

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For basil, parsley, and cilantro, put them in a container filled with fresh water, cover them with a plastic bag, and secure them with an elastic band. Change the water each day for the best outcome. Bonus tip: fresh herbs are easy to grow directly on your windowsill. 

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Use Vinegar to Make Berries Last Longer

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. 

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Twirl the berries around in the blend, then drain, flush, and store them in the fridge. The water weakens the vinegar enough so you will not taste it. This trick keeps strawberries fresh for nearly 14 days.

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Keep Your Cucumbers at Room Temperature

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. 

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A neat trick for remembering how to store fruits and vegetables is to follow the lead of the store you bought them from. Cucumbers aren’t sold from the refrigerated section, so they shouldn’t be put there when you return home.

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Store Carrots the Right Way

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.

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When you purchase your carrots, eliminate the green stems if they have them, and submerge them in water. Eliminating the green stems prevents the carrots from drying out. Change the water every four or five days when it begins to appear cloudy.

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Put Your Maple Syrup in the Freezer

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.

Source: video.news24.com

Did you know that maple syrup should go in the freezer? Yes. If you put it in the freezer instead of a cupboard or the fridge, it will stay fresh for years without going bad. Fluffy pancakes, anyone?

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Ethylene Gas Absorbers Will Transform Your Fridge

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.

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While ethylene gas is fundamental for the development of fruit and veggies, it can also lead to over-ripening when there is an excess of it in the atmosphere. Apples and pears emit the most ethylene, so they can cause any other produce around them to ripen faster. Ethylene absorbers suck up the gas, helping your produce last longer.

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Keep Lemons From Going Bad

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. 

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When you cut a lemon, don’t discard the end. Instead, use a toothpick to attach it back onto the half you didn’t utilize. You can likewise plunge lemons in paraffin wax to seal them off from the oxygen that will make them go bad.

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Keep Grapes Fresher with a Polyethylene Bag

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. 

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If you would prefer not to freeze grapes, you can instead put them in a polyethylene bag. This is a special type of bag that keeps fruits fresh and crisp. Now, you can have fresh, delicious grapes on hand every day of the week! 

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Keep Apples and Potatoes Together to Stop Sprouting

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.

Storing potatoes with apples will prevent them from sprouting because of the ethylene gas produced by the fruit. Apples emit the most ethylene, so they are best for forestalling sprouting.

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Avoid Juice Box Messes

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! 

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If you would love to say goodbye forever to exploding juice box messes, open the folds on the lower part of the box without tearing them. This helps kids clutch the juice box without pressing it so hard that it bursts.

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Rejuvenate Raisins in Hot Water

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. 

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Rather than disposing of rock-hard raisins, drench them in hot water for 1-2 hours to rehydrate them. Wipe them dry and store them in a sealed compartment, so they don’t dry out once more. Problem solved!

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How to Prevent Cheese From Drying Out

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. 

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To stop the exposed cut of cheese from drying, rub a bit of butter on it. Yes, this does sound odd, but it will bestow moisture upon the cheese until you are ready to cut off another delicious wedge.

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Store Peanut Butter Upside Down

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. 

It’s not fun trying to spread the dried-out peanut gunk on bread, but at the same time, you don’t want to waste so much peanutty goodness. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way. After opening and blending your natural peanut butter, store the container upside-down. That way, the oil stays at the bottom of the jar.

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The Importance of the Dent in the Milk Carton

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.

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If the dent grows outwards, that tells you there is a lot of gas inside the carton, and the milk has turned sour. One more use for the dent is to absorb the shock if the container fails. This dent is the reason milk jugs don’t burst if you drop them (unless you’re really unlucky).

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Keep Potatoes in Dark Places

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.

The trick is to find a dry and dark spot, so the potatoes aren’t exposed to moisture. You will know that there is an excessive amount of light in their storage space if the potatoes become green.

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Certain Alcohols Last for Years

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. 

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One thing to recall is that they shouldn’t be exposed to sunlight or excessive heat, so keep them in cold and dark spots. Indeed, even something like a decade-old beer is good to drink. Although, the flavor probably may not be all that appealing!

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Roast and Freeze Nuts to Keep Them Crunchy

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.

Rather than bottling them and putting them in your pantry, roast them in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Let them cool on the bench, and then freeze them. This will preserve their flavor and crunch for quite a while. 

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Why Oily Herbs Are Loosely Tied Together

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. 

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Oily herbs like thyme come tied together so they can be hung outdoors. This will ensure they have the best flavor when you cook with them. As a bonus, this makes for beautiful green decor.

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Aluminum Foil Is a Lifesaver for Vegetables

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. 

Wrap stems of celery, broccoli, and lettuce in aluminum foil and store them in the refrigerator. This will keep them fresh for about a month so you can enjoy your delicious veggies longer.

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Your Oven Probably Has a Secret Warming Tray

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. 

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Well, the bottom cabinet is actually intended to help you keep food warm while you’re preparing other elements of a feast. When you have numerous things to cook, you don’t want some dishes to sit out and get cold while others are cooking. So, just stick them in the warming cabinet, and the residual heat from the oven will keep them toasty warm.

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Butter that's Cooler than You

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.

Source: Illustration / Family & Pets

When storing your butter in your cooler using a Ziplox bag can help prolong the event of liquidation. If your butter is securely wrapped it can last about two weeks in such an ice cooler. You can even go the extra mile for some extra credit and cut your butter sticks into quarters and wrap them separately before placing them in the Ziploc and then cooler providing an added layer of defence from additional smells in the cooler. This extra layer of protection helps minimize the oxidation effects in the cooler during transport.

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Use Plastic Bottle Tops to Seal Plastic Bags

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.

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Pull the top of the plastic bag through the bottle top and then lay the plastic over it. Once you’ve done this, you can screw the cap on, and you’ll have a perfect seal. Instead of fiddling with a knot in the bag, you can simply screw off the lid to access its contents. Easy! 

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Store Carrots in Sand

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.

You can then repeat the process of layering sand and carrots until your container is full. The sand will help the carrots maintain their temperature and proper humidity levels in order to last longer than if they were in a fridge for example. This tip works for root vegetables in general.

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Bread in the Cookie Jar?

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.

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With bread in the cookie jars, the cookies will remain soft and chewy by absorbing the bread’s moisture. This ensures your cookies stay fresh and don’t become hard and stale faster than they should.

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Storing Rice Can Be A Challenge

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?

If you’re looking to avoid having bugs invite themselves into your rice containers, try putting a few unpeeled garlic cloves inside the container and mix them about. You can change out the cloves once they dry out, but this should keep pests at bay.

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Proofing Dough

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.

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BEFORE adding your dough, run the dryer for about three minutes with nothing in it. Once the three minutes are done, put in your dough and wait for the proofing to occur as the dough doubles in size. Proofing dough needs a warm environment so a slightly warm dryer can in fact do the trick.

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Why Put Eggs in Water?

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!

PoultryKeeper.com

Simply fill a glass with cold water and drop in an egg. If it sinks to the bottom and lies flat, it is fresh and ready to consume. If it sinks to the bottom but stands upright, it is a slightly older egg but still good to eat. However, if the egg floats to the top, this means it isn’t fresh and shouldn’t be eaten.

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Don’t Waste Your Mashed Potato Leftovers

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!

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Instead freeze them! Try storing your leftover mashed potatoes in a cupcake tin, cover it, then freeze it. Freezing your potatoes can keep them good for up to a year. When you’re ready to enjoy some, defrost them in the fridge first then heat them back up!

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Remove The Leaves From Your Beets

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.

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The leaves end up removing water from the beets, causing them to dry out much faster. Thus, chopping off the leaves keeps the beets fresher for longer. If you don’t want to waste a single aspect of your beet, you can also use the leaves in your next salad.

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Spray Your Guacamole with Cooking Spray

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.

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Cooking spray however will act as a protective layer from the air around it and thus keep it fresher for a little bit longer. After you spray your guac, put it in the fridge to enjoy later.

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How To Easily Freeze Green Beans

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.

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Instead of blanching your fresh green beans, remove their ends then cut the vegetables in half. Wash them then dry them for about 20 minutes before putting them in a plastic zip bag. Now you can freeze them, and they will last quite a long time.

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Freeze Your Fresh Herbs

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.

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Instead of continually buying and wasting your herbs, try placing them inside an ice cube tray with water and freezing them. When you need them for a recipe, simply defrost the cube and your herb will be fresh and ready to go!

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Store Spinach in a Salad Spinner

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.

Source: Unsophisticook

One way to make sure that spinach stays fresh is to store it in a salad spinner. This gives it plenty of circulation to keep the greens from wilting. A stainless steel salad spinner is particularly beneficial because it keeps the greens cold.

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Keep the Avocados With Cut Onions

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.

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There are a couple of strategies you can put in place to prolong the life of your avocado. One of which is to store the avocados with cut onions. The onions release a gas that keeps avocados green for an extra couple of days. Enjoy!

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Keep the Critters at Bay

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!

Source: WikiHow

If you’ve ever found a little infestation of bugs in your flour, you’ll know it’s no fun! Keep them at bay with this super simple trick.

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Lemons for Life

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.

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Then keep them in an airtight bag to prevent them from going bad quickly. This is especially important if you live somewhere with hot weather because that increases the likelihood that it will become moldy.

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Freeze Leftover Tomato Paste

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.

Source: YouTube

Instead, put the paste into some resealable bags and freeze it in the freezer. This will keep it fresh until you’re ready for that next pasta dish!

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Freeze Your Seasonal Produce

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?

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When that produce is in season, pick up some extra so that you can freeze it and use it when it’s out of season and harder to find.

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You’re storing fish wrong!

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.

Source: Pinterest

Always be sure to rinse and dry the fish. Then, refrigerate the fish in airtight containers to keep it fresh for as long as possible. Fish is one of the most sensitive foods so it’s important to take care of it!

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Why Leave Butter on the Counter?

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.

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As an alternative to storing it in the refrigerator, you can leave the butter in a dish on the counter. The soft butter will be much easier to cut through and you can thank us later.

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Wax Paper to the Rescue!

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.

Source: Packaging of the World

Soft cheeses are especially difficult to keep because it seems as soon as you open them they are turning bad quickly! Wrap your soft cheese in wax paper before storing it in the fridge. This helps prolong the shelf life and makes it tastier for longer.

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Don’t Let the Chicken Stock Go to Waste

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.

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Source: Pinterest

These frozen cubes can be mixed in with a liquid like pasta sauce to add some flavor later! It’s all about the way you store it.

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Puree Your Wilted Veggies

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.

Source: Urban Farmie

Puree them up and freeze them. Mix them into smoothies for a little bit of green later on. It doesn’t matter if they were wilted because you won’t be able to tell the difference once they’re pureed and frozen.

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Double Check the Temp

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.

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No matter how well you store your food or how well you learn the different zones of your fridge if the temp is too hot or too cold, you won’t be doing yourself any favors.

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Don’t Leave the Canned Foods in the Can

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.

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Most of us are guilty of this. Take the leftovers out and put them in a separate container. The can will actually affect the taste of the food and no one wants a metal aftertaste while trying to enjoy their food.

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Don’t Wash Your Produce Just Yet

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.

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However, you might prefer waiting to wash them until it’s actually time to eat them. The more moisture, the easier it is for them to mold and none of us want to see that fluffy greens tuff when we go to take a bite of our strawberries.

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How to Organize Your Refrigerator

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. 

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Store meat and fish on the base rack so it doesn’t trickle on different things. Note that filling the fridge too much keeps air from circling, and this can ruin food. Don’t forget to clean out your fridge before grocery shopping so you don’t miss something that could be decaying.

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Only Salted Butter in the Room

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.

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Salt is the worst environment for bacteria to flourish so your butter is not at risk for unwanted surprises. This said, you shouldn’t leave it out for more than one or two days at a time.

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