You may be spending hundreds of dollars every month on groceries. Definitely, you would not like to see your groceries getting spoiled just because you are not able to use them on time. However, a research stat on the wasted food has revealed a loss of $2200 in US each year. Although refrigerator can help in extending the shelf life of the groceries, your refrigerator may not have enough space to put all your groceries.
You can save your hard earned money by preventing your groceries from getting spoiled. Here are some tips to make your groceries last as long as possible:
Refrigerate
The first thing you may do after buying and bringing your vegetables and fruits to your home is storing them in your refrigerator. When you buy groceries, you need to check the humidity requirements mentioned on the food packages. You need to keep products in the appropriate storage compartment of your refrigerator to make sure your groceries remain fresh for a long time.
Regularly clean and disinfect your fridge and throw away any spoiled or expired food item to prevent bad odor. Do not stuff your fridge with too many food items as there should be sufficient space inside the fridge for proper air circulation. When you want to store leftover food in your fridge, make sure you store them in see-through containers so that you can easily monitor its condition. Unused portions of vegetables can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for future use to make them last twice as long.
Proper Cooking Plan
It is advisable to have a cooking plan to save your groceries from getting wasted. You should cook fresh vegetables first and later you can use items like dried or frozen food items as these can remain fresh longer. Depending on the weather condition, fresh produce can get spoiled quite early. Hence, you need to wisely plan your cooking.
Use Airtight Containers
A great way to make the groceries last longer is to store them in airtight containers. Investing in couple of airtight containers will actually help in storing wide range of food items and prevent them from getting spoiled quickly. An airtight container prevents the contact of air with the food stored in it which effectively helps in keeping the food fresh for longer time.
Be Careful of Groceries that Can Spoil Soon
When a vegetable or fruit appears as if it is going to be spoiled soon, you should avoid storing them with other vegetables and fruits that are good. The sole reason behind it is that spoiled vegetables and fruits can spoil other vegetables and fruits when they are kept together. Hence, before storing them, you should separate the ones that appear rotten from the good ones.
Monitor your Food
Foods that are kept for a long time in refrigerator can get spoiled and even foods kept for a long time in airtight containers can get spoiled. Hence, you need to observe your food for molds and fungal growth. Even if there is a slight indication of spoilage, you should get rid of that food item immediately. This practice will also help in using those food items with short shelf life before it gets spoiled.
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