Genius Hacks to make your favorite Foods Last Longer

Keepin' it fresh

There’s nothing worse than stocking up on ingredients and then finding they've quickly passed their best. Don't want to let good food go to waste? Try these handy hacks to make your favorite foods last for as long as possible.

Don’t keep onions and potatoes together

Ever wondered why your potatoes aren’t lasting very long? Start by storing them in a separate place to your onions. Both potatoes and onions release moisture and gases that will cause the other to spoil faster, so make sure you keep them apart.

Keep garlic out of the fridge

The worst way to store garlic is in a sealed container in the fridge, which can cause the bulb to sprout and develop mold. Instead, place your garlic somewhere dry and dark, and keep the bulb together for as long as possible. Once you've separated the cloves, they won't last longer than a week.

Wrap the crown of a bunch of bananas

Much like avocados, bananas don’t have too long a shelf life. To keep them looking fresh, wrap the crown of each bunch with clingfilm. This will slow down the ripening process and they'll last three to five days longer.

Don’t wash fresh produce before putting it in the fridge

Washing fruit and vegetables before you refrigerate them will produce excess moisture, causing them to spoil faster. If you need to give your food a rinse, make sure you do it just before cooking or serving instead.

Don’t put your bread in the fridge

You might think popping your bread in the fridge will help prevent it from drying out, but it’ll actually go stale quicker than at room temperature. Cold temperatures cause the starch in bread to recrystallize more quickly than it would in a warmer environment (leading to staleness) – so dust off that bread bin and keep your loaf out of the cold.

Rinse berries in a vinegar solution...

Berries are delicious fresh, but they don't last for long. To help preserve them, wash them in a mixture that is one part vinegar and 10 parts water, then drain, rinse and pop them in the fridge. Don’t worry, the solution will be diluted enough that you won’t taste any of the vinegar. The berries should last one to two weeks without going moldy.

...and use the same solution to preserve hard cheese

You can also use vinegar to help rescue cheese. All you need to do is dampen a paper towel with the same mixture, wrap it around the cheese and store it in a plastic bag. Again, the solution will be diluted enough that the taste won't be impaired.

Store fresh mozzarella in water

Balls of fresh mozzarella can quickly become dry or turn sour once sliced. Extend their life in the fridge by storing them in water. If you ensure all the cheese is covered, it should last for around three days.

Freeze your fruits

If you’ve got fresh fruit you're not going to eat, bag up small portions and freeze it instead. You can use frozen fruit straight away in smoothies or cook it in crumbles, pies and jams. This method will work with everything from bananas and apples to blackcurrants and mangoes.

Store asparagus like a bunch of flowers

After a while, asparagus can start to look a little limp. To keep it fresher for longer, cut the stems off your asparagus, place them in water (not too much), and then put a plastic bag on top before refrigerating. This will keep them crisper for longer.

...and do the same with your fresh herbs

Just like asparagus, fresh herbs such as basil and parsley fare best when treated like a bunch of flowers. Cut back the stems and place them in a jar of fresh water. Ensure they get enough light and are kept away from extremes of temperature.

Freeze your wine

While wine will last for a long time unopened, it will quickly turn once uncorked. There is no real way of keeping open wine fresh for long –but you can save it for cooking. Just fill up an ice cube tray with any leftovers, freeze it and then defrost as needed to use in sauces or stews. You'll lose a little flavor, but it will still add depth to your dishes.

Don’t let a rotten apple sit with the rest

We’ve all heard the phrase “one bad apple spoils the barrel” and it’s true. As they ripen, apples, much like other fruits, produce ethylene, a ripening agent. When you store fruits together, the ethylene from each fruit causes the others to ripen faster too. So if you see an apple looking a little worse for wear, remove it straight away.

Buy an ethylene gas absorber

And on that note, if your fridge is constantly full of fresh fruit and veg, buy yourself an ethylene gas absorber. Costing around $5 (£4), the absorber sits in the fridge and helps to soak up all of that troublesome ethylene, extending the life of your fruit and vegetables.

Freeze pesto as ice cubes

Pesto is a great addition to pasta, but can start to spoil incredibly quickly. To keep it fresh, pour the remaining pesto into an ice cube tray and freeze it, so you’ve always got some on hand when you need it.

Freeze veg to make smoothie packs

It's not just frozen fruit that works well in a smoothie. Leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach freeze just fine and can easily be blitzed up to make a juice. If you’re a fan, this hack might just transform your mornings.

Put a paper towel on top of your salad

Lettuce is great on the first day, but after you’ve opened a bag of salad, you’ll see a quick decline. Placing a paper towel on top of the leaves will soak up all the excess moisture and prevent them from wilting as quickly.

Invest in a salad spinner

Alternatively, invest in a salad spinner and spin your leaves to remove all the moisture before storing. This will help them to last much longer without turning into one soggy mess.

Dry your herbs in the microwave

If you’re struggling to keep your herbs alive, try popping them in the microwave to dry them out. Place them in between two paper towels and zap them for one minute, followed by a few 20-second bursts until they’re completely dry.

Cut the tops off your carrots

Carrots might look pretty with their green stems, but those leafy tops are actually stealing nutrients from the rest of the carrot. Chop them off to keep your carrots for longer.

Freeze fresh herbs or chili in oil

Another handy hack for preserving fresh herbs and chili is to chop them up and pop them into ice cube trays with olive oil or melted butter. Hardier herbs (rosemary, thyme, etc) can also withstand being plucked from the stem and kept in jars in the freezer.

Freeze fresh pasta for quick meals

Cooked pasta can turn to mush (unless it’s frozen after being cooked al dente). But tightly wrapped fresh pasta freezes well for up to two months, so it's certainly worth keeping some for nights when you have a little less time.

Wrap vegetables in tin foil

Wrapping vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce and celery in tin foil helps to allow the ethylene gas to escape, while still holding enough moisture for the food to stay fresh. Storing them this way should keep them fresh for at least a week longer.

Freeze your milk

Freezing fresh milk is a great hack if you're going away. Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk can last for up to a month in the freezer. However, fat requires an extremely low temperature to freeze (lower than the average freezer), so this won't work as well with whole milk.

Pop some marshmallows in your brown sugar

If kept for a while, brown sugar can become dry, clumpy and hard – but there are a couple of quick fixes. Firstly, you should transfer the sugar from its bag to an airtight container (this will keep it from losing too much moisture). Next, pop a couple of marshmallows into it. It may seem strange, but the moisture from the marshmallows will help keep your sugar soft. Bread has a similar effect but can go moldy.

Make your yogurts into lollies

Yogurts have a short shelf life, but they’ll last much longer if they’re frozen into delicious lollies. Simply take a yogurt pot, stir the contents (mixing in some fresh berries if you fancy), pop in a lolly stick or plastic spoon, and freeze upright.

Store your peanut butter jar upside down

The oils in natural peanut butter separate with time. To help keep your spread to the right consistency for longer, store it upside down. This helps the oils distribute evenly, so you’ll not have to re-mix it every time you fancy peanut butter on toast.

Transfer flour to an airtight container

Leave your flour in the bag it came in and you’re shortening its lifespan considerably. You’re best off moving it to an airtight glass or plastic container, where it will retain its natural moisture. Most people don’t think of putting flour in the freezer either, but it actually freezes perfectly well. If you’re not a regular baker, keep it here until you’re ready to use it (just make sure you bring it back up to room temperature before you do).

Keep beer bottles standing upright

If you place your beer bottles on their sides, you risk shortening the life of the product. When laid flat, more of the beer’s surface area is exposed to air (rather than just the part at the slim neck of the bottle). The more the beer becomes oxidised, the less time it will last, so make sure you stand your bottles up straight.

Fashion an onion holder out of tights

A great way to store onions for a long period of time is in a (clean) pair of tights, as they let just the right amount of air and moisture in. Place an onion into the foot of the tights, then tie a knot immediately after it – repeat this until the tights are full up. You can then hang your makeshift onion holder in the kitchen in a cool, dry place. Stored in this way, onions can last up to six months.

Transfer your coffee to an opaque container

Whether your coffee is whole or ground, light is its ultimate enemy. It can impair the color and taste, and cause it to spoil faster. So, while it might be tempting to store your coffee in that Pinterest-worthy mason jar (or simply leave it in the glass jar it came in), coffee is best kept in an opaque container.

Use leftover orange juice for marinades

If you’re left with some orange juice at the end of the carton, it has no need to go to waste. While orange juice doesn’t last long once opened, it can be used as a base for homemade marinades. We recommend adding some soy sauce, honey and seasoning to the orange juice, and then marinating a chicken breast in it.

Cook your meals in bigger batches

If there’s no way you’ll make it through all the fresh produce in your fridge, batch cooking could be the way to go. Just double (or triple) the amounts in your recipe, and dole out the extra helpings into Tupperware containers. Choose dishes that freeze well (think chili, bolognese, lasagna or curries) and look forward to feeling suitably smug when dinner time rolls around.

Spray leftover guacamole with vegetable oil

There's nothing better than guacamole with your tortilla chips, but there’s little chance of it lasting the evening. According to experts, the trick is to spray leftover guac with a little non-stick oil. This creates an oxygen barrier around the mashed avocado and stops oxidation from occurring (which makes it turn brown). So get spraying, then wrap it in some clingfilm and store it in the fridge.