The Good Food Storage Guide

Food waste equals money down the drain, so store it well to stop it spoiling and enjoy it at its best. Become a preservation pro with our favourite food storage tips and tricks!

Know your use by dates from your best befores. Use by dates are for safety to warn of food that could be dangerous to eat once expired. That said, don’t take chances with risky foods like dairy, meat and fish – better to be safe than sorry.

Best before dates are more for guidance. Food producers include these to let you know when they think food is at its best. It’s OK to eat stuff that’s passed this date but make sure it passes the sight and smell test before you do.

One of the best ways to preserve food and prevent waste is to plan ahead. Make a menu plan, write a shopping list and buy just what you need.

Sealing well before storing will stop fresh dairy products from spoiling too soon. Check milk and yogurt containers are closed properly, keep butter in its wrapper or a sealed dish and wrap cheese in paper or use a cheese container to protect while letting it breathe.

A constant temperature keeps eggs fresher for longer so store them in the fridge. As eggs can stay fresh beyond the expiration date, it’s good to check before chucking. Put them in a bowl of water: if they rest on the bottom, they’re good but if they float, they’re not.

The ideal fridge temp is between 0ºC and 5 ºC, especially for meat, fish and other perishables. Always store raw meat, poultry and fish on the bottom shelf to prevent it dripping and contaminating anything else.

If you’re not sure whether you’ll be using fresh meat or fish within a couple of days of buying it, it’s best to freeze it. For safety, defrost overnight in the fridge when you need it.

To fridge or not to fridge? Here are some surprises. Tomatoes tend to go mushy in the fridge so should be stored at room temperature. The fridge can also make mushrooms slimy, so wrap them in paper and keep somewhere cool and dark instead.

Refrigerate apples, oranges and ripe bananas to extend their life. Ripen avocados on the counter and then pop them in the fridge to keep them ready (tip: leave the stone in leftover avocado and brush the exposed flesh with a bit of lemon to stop it going brown).

Put your freezer to good use to stop food from spoiling. If produce is on its way out, turn into something – like mince into spag bol and veggies into soup – and freeze it for a future meal.

Slice up fruits that are going soft and store in the freezer for smoothies (FYI milk can be frozen too). Freeze veggies, leftover garlic and ginger for future use. And preserve herbs by finely chopping and placing in an ice cube tray, then pour in olive oil or water and freeze.

Moisture, air and ethylene gas (a plant hormone released as gas to aid ripening) are the common culprits that cause rapid produce spoilage, which is why storing stuff well is so important.

Fruit and veg including apples, ripe bananas, avocados and tomatoes produce ethylene, while asparagus, cauliflower, cucumber, leafy greens and carrots are sensitive to ethylene so keep them separate unless you want to help something ripen up.

Here’s a great tattie tip – storing ethylene-producing apples with potatoes will help keep the spuds fresher and firmer for longer and stop them from sprouting. Don’t store them with onions though as they will both spoil faster.

Berries have a bad habit of going mushy so try this tip: wash them in a solution of one part vinegar and three parts water before putting them in the fridge. This kills any bacteria already on the fruit, which causes it to spoil. Don’t worry, they won’t taste vinegary!

A little TLC will stop bananas from browning too quickly. Keep them as a bunch and wrap the stalk in cling film to stop ethylene from reaching the rest of the bananas. Because they are big ethylene emitters, store them separately from other fruits.

Store salad leaves in a container or food bag. Keep crisp by lining the container with a piece of kitchen towel to soak up any excess moisture and change it every few days.

Treat herbs and asparagus like flowers and pop them in a glass of water before putting them in the fridge. Placing a plastic bag over the top with an elastic band to keep it in place creates a mini greenhouse environment so they’ll stay fresher for longer.

Surprisingly, tin foil is a good way to preserve produce like celery and broccoli. Tightly wrapping in foil keeps the food fresh and clean and can preserve it for up to four weeks – that’s got to be worth a try.

Our final tip? With so many great suggestions here to help you keep food fresh, bookmark this blog for future use!