Photo: Getty Images
With prices on everything from gas to groceries skyrocketing, most of us are looking to save money anywhere we can. And since we’re spending more at the supermarket, we really need that food to last for as long as possible. These hacks can help with that so you don’t have to make grocery runs quite as often.
- Store herbs like a bouquet of flowers - It’s always frustrating when you buy a bunch of fresh herbs, only to find they’re wilted before you even get to cook with them. But if you stick them in a glass with a little water at the bottom, like you’d put flowers in a vase, then put a plastic bag over the top, it will really extend their lifespan.
- Freeze fruit before it goes bad - If it’s going to turn before you can eat it, freeze it for smoothies.
- Pop old bread in the oven - When it goes stale, quickly run it under the running faucet to get it a little wet, then stick it in the oven for a few minutes. It will rehydrate the bread so it comes out tasting fresh.
- Wrap cheese in parchment paper - This way it can still breathe, but it won’t get hard like it would when fully exposed to the air.
- Don’t waste that wine - If you have an open bottle of wine you’re not going to finish, freeze what’s left in an ice cube tray. Then you can pop out wine cubes for cooking or to use to make sangria.
- Only wash salad when you’re ready to eat it - Moisture is the enemy of fresh greens, so store them in a plastic container lined with paper towels and layer rows of greens with paper towels between them. Don’t rinse the greens until you’re ready to eat them and they’ll last a lot longer.
- Rinse berries in vinegar solution - Help them stay fresh longer by washing them in a solution of three parts water and one part vinegar, then store in a paper towel-lined plastic container.
- Put plastic wrap around banana stems - Keep them from turning brown as quickly by wrapping those stems in plastic wrap. Bananas release ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening process, but wrapping them slows that down.
- Store carrot and celery sticks in water - No one wants to bite into a soft, limp carrot stick, so keep them crunchy by storing them fully submerged in water, upright in glass jars.
Check out the full article at Independent