Sense-checking fruit and vegetable hacks to assist scale back meals waste
The hack: placing kitchen paper in baggage of salad to soak up condensation
The decision: the jury’s out on this one — it could in all probability work, however eliminating moisture is not the perfect aim in the case of salad.
Whether or not it is blended baggage of salad leaves or spinach and rocket, leafy salads are super-versatile. However, they will simply be misplaced in the back of the fridge or rot rapidly as soon as moisture is launched.
One well-liked TikTok hack suggests placing a sheet of kitchen paper in a bag of salad to soak up the moisture and maintain it brisker for longer, however our consultants say there are higher methods to make baggage final.
An important issue in the case of salad leaves is air flow, in addition to a little bit of moisture. Placing the leaves right into a well-ventilated storage container could be preferrred to verify there’s adequate air move. When you’re apprehensive about an excessive amount of moisture, we might counsel utilizing a clear tea towel on the backside of the container as a extra sustainable various to kitchen paper.
The hack: storing peeled carrots in water within the fridge
The decision: there are higher methods to maintain carrots recent.
This hack is meant to make carrots keep crunchy for longer within the fridge. The thought is that you simply peel them, then submerge them in water.
Scientifically, this does not fairly maintain up. Peeling or slicing carrots truly breaks the cell wall, which reduces the quantity of vitamins you may get when consuming them – not very interesting! A greater choice could be to retailer the carrots complete within the fridge. In the event that they do go tender, they are often revived by putting them in water for a short while with the highest and finish eliminated, earlier than making ready them for cooking or consuming.
When you’re seeking to scale back your meals waste additional, here is a fantastic recipe to show your carrot peelings right into a tasty snack utilizing an air fryer.
The hack: washing tender fruits in water with bicarbonate of soda
The decision: this hack will not be successful awards any time quickly.
We will not look forward to summer time when tender fruit is in season. However, there isn’t any getting away from the truth that berries can go tender in a short time, particularly when the climate is heat.
This hack suggests mixing chilly water with bicarbonate of soda, and leaving the berries to soak for 10 minutes earlier than drying and chilling them. The very first thing to pay attention to is that in the event you’re watching American movies, they are going to name bicarbonate of soda ‘baking soda’. Be sure you do not combine this up with baking powder – that is not what you need right here and positively would not work.
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Whereas this hack will clear the fruit, it will not prolong its fridge life. The truth is, it’s going to in all probability shorten it. When you attempt to wash your tender fruit, then put it within the fridge, the moisture will velocity up the decomposition course of and you may rapidly be left with mush as a substitute of berries – not what you need.
It is a greater concept to retailer tender fruit within the fridge and wash it straight earlier than consuming.
The hack: washing tender fruit in diluted vinegar
The decision: we have blended emotions right here.
That is one other technique for laundry fruit reasonably than prolonging its fridge life. For this hack, you combine 1 tbsp white vinegar with 250ml chilly water, and soak your fruit in it for 10 minutes earlier than draining, drying and chilling.
Once more, this may not be the perfect hack to attempt with tender fruit, however would work effectively for cleansing more durable fruits, like apples and pears.
The hack: storing bunches of herbs with the stems in pots of water within the fridge
The decision: we have now a winner!
Herbs are nice for including an additional depth of flavour to recipes, comparable to our herby spring hen pot pie and the zesty herby orzo & lemon salad. However, usually once you purchase herbs, they arrive in giant bunches and you may be left with the excess wilting in your fridge.
This hack works notably effectively with herbs which have hardy, twig-like stalks, like mint, rosemary and dill. Fill a jar or glass with water and put the herbs in so the bottoms are submerged. Cowl the leafy a part of the bunch utilizing a bag and retailer within the fridge till you want them.
Try extra tips about retailer completely different form of herbs to maintain them recent.
The hack: soaking apple slices in water and apple cider vinegar
The decision: this can be a lunchbox unique form of hack – in any other case, step away from the apple slicer.
Very similar to potatoes, apples rapidly oxidise as soon as minimize, because the flesh makes contact with the air, inflicting them to go brown. By soaking apple slices in 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar blended with 250ml water, the browning course of could be halted.
We would solely suggest this hack in the event you’re placing apple slices in a lunch field to eat later the identical day. Apples will final longest within the fridge if left complete, and in the event you like apple slices, it is best to minimize the fruit straight earlier than consuming.
The hack: wrapping the stalks of robust greens in moist kitchen paper earlier than storing within the fridge
The decision: we’re typically in favour, however there are methods to make this hack extra sustainable.
This works finest on greens like asparagus and broccoli, and ensures that they nonetheless have entry to some moisture, which suggests they last more.
Utilizing sheets of kitchen paper is not very sustainable, as they’re single-use. A superb various might be rolling a clear, damp tea towel across the base of those greens earlier than placing them within the fridge.
The hack: take away grapes from the vine to cease the ripening course of
The decision: within the phrases of one among our meals consultants: “No, simply no.”
We have seen the hack on-line, by which grapes are faraway from the vine and put in a storage container to make them last more. Not solely is that this time-consuming, however it is not an efficient solution to maintain them recent.
Grapes will final longest within the fridge. However, in the event that they’ve began to go a bit tender otherwise you’ve received a big amount, frozen grapes make a fantastic snack. Put your grapes (on or off the vine) in a freezerproof container, freeze, then take away from the freezer 10 minutes earlier than consuming. They will have a delightfully chewy texture that makes for a refreshing snack.
Why ought to we care about fruit and veg storage?
Apart from being good for you, fruit and veg kind the inspiration of 1000’s of recipes, and are an effective way to benefit from the various seasons.
However, an enormous quantity of meals, together with fruit and greens, is wasted every single day. The most recent fruit and veg scarcity hasn’t helped issues, with consumers going through empty cabinets and plenty of supermarkets putting limits on the quantity of greens which you can purchase.
With all this, it isn’t stunning that extra individuals are searching for methods to cut back meals waste at house and make their fruit and veg final just a little longer.
Right here within the UK, we waste £1.17bn price of fruit, veg and bread yearly, in keeping with analysis carried out by Sainsbury’s. Environmental charity WRAP estimate {that a} staggering 70 per cent of meals waste occurs within the house, amounting to just about 4.5m tonnes yearly.
And, that is all with out the price of dwelling disaster, which is continuous to place stress on households, with on a regular basis meals objects costing way more – comparable to potatoes, which value 17.5 per cent extra in December 2022 in comparison with a yr earlier.
Greatest meals storage lunch bins and containers
Black + Blum chrome steel lunchbox
When you’re searching for a brand new lunchbox, we have you lined.
This chrome steel choice from Black + Blum is an efficient choice in the event you’re seeking to keep away from plastic. The moveable divider means you’ll be able to select how large you want every part of the field to be, so you’ll be able to maintain your sandwich away out of your apple slices. It comes with a chrome steel fork, which is secured to the skin of the field with a silicone strap that additionally retains the lid safe to keep away from any spillages.
3 Sprouts lion lunch bento field
If it is a children lunch field you are searching for, we like this bento field choice from 3 Sprouts. It has completely different sections for every a part of the meal, plus a clip-on lid to stop leaks.
Try our articles on the finest lunch bins for adults and the finest lunch bins for youths.
IKEA 365+ glass storage container with lid
We like that these storage containers are glass reasonably than standard plastic. The clear base and lid make it straightforward to see what’s inside, and so they stack properly, which is able to assist maintain your fridge organised, so you’ll be able to see what you’ve got received and hopefully minimize down on waste.
