When I was in grad school, my cooking habits followed a vicious cycle: I would get inspired, rush to the store, and spend a lot of money on food that would eventually spoil in my fridge. (If you only need a sprig of rosemary, what do you do with the rest of that $2 pack?) I dreaded the arrival of family members, who had a habit of foraging for lunch and spontaneously exclaiming, “Ugh! Brit, what is this?! How long has it been here??” Few things can engender greater shame than rotting leftovers.
Over time, I’ve learned to minimize the waste (and throw things out sooner). For those hoping to avoid similar mistakes, here are some tips:
Ten Guidelines for Food
1. Certain fruits release ethylene. This gas causes fruit to ripen. (That’s good, right?) Sometimes, however, it can seem as if your food has gone from unripe to rotten overnight. (Not so good.) What can you do to prevent this? If you have a lot of…
- Apples
- Bananas
- Peaches/nectarines
- Pears
- Avocados
- Tomatoes
…watch them closely. Don’t pile them on top of each other or store them in a bag unless you’re deliberately trying to speed up the process. Don’t put them near other produce that is already ripe–the ethylene from your unripe peaches can spoil your ripened bananas. Find creative ways to space out your storage across your kitchen.
If you’d like a comprehensive list of how different foods react to ethylene, this article offers a useful and detailed chart.
2. Not all produce does well in the fridge. Think of all the tomatoes, potatoes, and onions that aren’t refrigerated at the grocery store. These types of foods can stay on your counter. (However, if your tomatoes, apples, etc. are already ripe, you can counteract the effects of ethylene by storing them in the fridge.)
3. Avocados can ripen within 24 hours. This is really a reiteration of tip no. 1, but it deserves its own heading because avocados are so expensive. Do not buy five avocados in hopes of eating one every day. It never works.
4. Keep milk on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator near the back. It’s inconvenient, but this is the coldest part of the fridge. Meat can go here, too, which also prevents raw juices from spilling onto a lower shelf if anything leaks.
5. Freeze fresh herbs that you can’t use immediately. They’ll be brown when you remove them later, but they will still add flavor and you’ll have a solution for your $2 rosemary. Some people chop their herbs before freezing and put them into ice cube trays with a bit of olive oil. Just pop out one cube when you’re ready to use!
6. Have a system for leftovers. In most cases, “out of sight, out of mind” applies to leftover food, especially if you’re also trying to use up something else. Stash your leftovers where you will remember to eat them.
7. When in doubt, freeze. Yes, the chicken breasts might last a few days in your fridge. But unless you have a specific date when you plan to cook them, it’s better to put them in the freezer before they start to get iffy. You can take them out of the packaging and re-wrap them in cling wrap if you want to avoid freezer burn.
8. Nuts last longer in the fridge. I store mine in the cheese drawer. (I don’t put cheese in the cheese drawer because I tend to forget what I have in the back of the drawer and it spoils.)
9. Protect your dried goods. I use airtight canning jars to store flours, beans, rice, seeds, and anything else that might develop mealworms or attract bugs.
10. Don’t overcrowd the fridge. When you stuff your fridge too full, you lose track of what you have. Additionally, the temperature can get too cold without space for the air to circulate, causing some items to freeze. Frozen lettuce isn’t terribly appealing.
Want more tips? Click here for Part II in this series, which has tips on how to best take care of your kitchen equipment to ensure that it lasts a long time.
