10 Genius Food Saving Hacks

You have seen all our great methods for storing all your fresh fruit and vegetables, now here we have some of the great food saving hacks for all the other areas of your kitchen!

1. Once it’s Open, Used or Cut keeping it fresh longer

• Don’t ever let milk expire. If it is about to go off and won’t get used, freeze it in snap lock bags. You can definitely rely on Glad snap lock bags for this method – make it in one cup measurements and use it for baking later on.

• Freeze leftover sauces or liquid stocks in ice cube trays so you can pull out portion sizes of sauce when needed.

• To store guacamole and prevent it from browning. Pour a thin layer of water on the top of it before sealing it under Glad wrap and putting it in the fridge. When you want to use it just drain the water off the top.

• To store pesto and prevent the top from browning – cover it in a thin layer of olive oil, and either stir in or drain off the oil before serving, depending on your preference.

• To make sour cream and cottage cheese last longer, all you need to do is turn the containers upside down, which will create a vacuum. This prevents bacteria from growing.

• Keep your bread fresh and lasting longer by putting a celery stick in the bag with the bread. The bread slowly absorbs the humidity from the celery, keeping it soft. The taste of celery is so mild it doesn’t affect the taste of the bread.

• Adding a pinch of salt to a bottle of milk when you first open it will help it last a bit longer.

• Flat soft drink? Yikes! To keep the soft drink fizzy for longer, shake it before putting it back in the fridge. It is likely to explode and go everywhere, so always open with caution.

• Keep cut cakes fresh by securing slices of bread to the cut side with toothpicks.

• To keep dry goods fresh longer, always transfer them to an airtight container after opening. If you use things slowly always note the use by date on the container.

2. Use Your Storage The Right Way

• Air can affect the surface of your ice cream, which causes freezer burn. One way to stop this is to cover the entire surface with baking paper. Storing the whole container of ice cream in a snap lock bag can also prevent it from turning into an ice cream brick.

• When opening frozen vegetables or oven bake chips, cut the top part of the bag all the way into a long thin strip. Use that strip to tie the bag up again.

• Re-seal plastic bags airtight with a piece of aluminium foil and a hot iron.

• Store plastic wrap in the fridge to make it easier to work with.

• Always push the little tabs in on the sides of your aluminium foil, Glad wrap and baking paper. The tabs hold the roll in place so it won’t come out of the box.

• Placing fruit in a paper bag can hasten the ripening due to a build-up of ethylene gas inside.

• Store your dried herbs and spices in a cool dark place because humidity, light and heat can cause it to lose its flavour. Tic-tac containers are great for storing spices and dried herbs.

• Before pouring that spaghetti bolognese into your airtight plastic containers, use some oil spray or cooking spray onto the container to help prevent staining.

3. Save Time

• If you make a lot of smoothies, buy your ingredients in bulk. For ready to blend ingredients, you can have it portioned by cutting it into chunks and freeze them in snap lock bags.

• Need to cut heaps of grape or cherry tomato all at once? One trick is to lay them on a plate with another plate resting on top, and then cut between the plates with a sharp knife.

• Need to get a bottle of wine cold fast? Put it in a bucket of ice water with two big handfuls of salt and in 20 minutes you will have perfectly chilled wine.

• Need cold beer in a hurry? Wrap the bottle in a wet paper towel before putting it inside the freezer, after 10 minutes it should be ice cold.

4. Get the most from what you’ve got

• If you have an abundance of spring onions from your garden, chop them all and freeze them in an empty water bottle. Then you can just pour out what you need and put the bottle back in the freezer.

• Always microwave your citrus for 10-20 seconds, then roll it on the bench under your hand, squashing it just a little before squeezing.

• Don´t ever waste the dregs of the Nutella again. Fill the jar with warm milk, shake and drink straight from the jar! Much better if you add some marshmallows and create Nutella happiness!

5. Tried it the old way, now try it this way

• Peel mangoes with a glass. Cut one cheek all the way to the centre seed then run it down the side of a glass with the glass between the skin and the flesh. Less mess, clean hands and easier than ever!

• For storing bread in the freezer. The best thing to do when you take it out is to put a piece of paper towel in the bag with it while it defrosts. The paper towel will absorb the moisture and avoid soggy bread.

• To cut the perfect clean slice of cake, heat the knife under hot water and wipe dry just before cutting.

• Reheat bread without it going hard by wrapping it in a damp paper towel before putting it in the microwave.

• For a no fuss and no mess, separate the egg yolk and egg white by gently cracking them over a slotted spoon, make sure you hold the spoon over a bowl to catch the whites.

• Microwave popcorn is expensive and full of nasties. All you really need is a brown paper bag and 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels. Fold a bag over twice, microwave it in 2 mins with the folded side down.

• Got a can you can’t open? Busted ring pulls on a camping trip perhaps? Just rub it on the concrete for 1 min with the lid side down then squeeze the sides gently. The lid should pop off.

• Rub a fresh peeled potato on your hands to get rid of berry stains on your fingers.

• To safely and easily dispose of kitchen cooking oil is to line a metal bowl with aluminium foil, and then pour the fat into the foil. When the oil and fat has solidified, fold it up inside the foil and throw it out.

• The easiest way to peel a banana is to pinch the bottom, it will split easily then peel.

• To get rid of the dust at the bottom of the cereal box, you can do this by pouring the last couple of bowls through a colander or pasta strainer.

• Sauce bottle always spewing sauce everywhere because it gets clogged up with dried sauce? Leave a plastic drinking straw in the bottle to avoid the blockage to always have the sauce flowing freely.

• If you’re not confident with kids helping in the kitchen and using knives, a pizza wheel is a great way to cut fresh herbs. This kitchen utensil is much less bruising than a knife.

• Make some no-bake cake pops! Simply dip Oreos in chocolate and decorate.

6. Travelling with food

• When packing your favourite salad for work or school, you want it to stay fresh and crisp. Just lay a piece of dry paper towel on top to soak up moisture.

• Wrap the peeled boiled eggs in a wet paper towel to keep them soft and moist until lunch time.

• Sliced apples can quickly brown when oxygen hits the flesh, one trick to prevent this is to just bind the slices back together with an elastic band.

7. Not a drop less!

• Got a broken cork screw? Try using a hammer, nail or a screw and pliers could help save the day!
• When you break the cork apart while opening your fave wine, try using a coffee filter to collect the broken pieces.
• Quickly chill wine by wrapping it with linen and freeze for 15 minutes.
• If ice cubes bore you, try to use frozen grapes instead or you could also freeze wine in ice cube trays.
• Store wine bottles sideways to prevent oxidation.

8. When peeling and removing shells and skin

• Use a melon baller to remove the core of an apple or an ice cream scoop to get vegetable seeds
• Pit a cherry using a chopstick and beer bottle.
• Peel a banana like a pro by turning the stem-end down, pinch it and peel!
• To peel potatoes easily, boil them and then give them an ice bath. The peel will slide right off!
• Peel citrus fruits without a mess by rolling it first or heat it in the microwave for 30 sec. Just be careful not to burn yourself
• To remove eggshells, place hardboiled eggs in a lidded container and shake it!

9. Food preparation hacks

• Freeze cheese and ginger for 30 minutes before grating
• It’s easier to grate ginger using a spoon than a knife
• If cutting onions make you cry, freeze them first
• Harden melted butter by putting it in a bowl and place a larger bowl filled with ice under it.
• Cut cheese using dental floss instead of a knife
• Put a damp cloth under the cutting board to prevent slipping while cutting.
• Stuff marshmallows at the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent drips

10. No-fuss Reheating and Storing Leftovers

• Instead of throwing left overs to the bin, try to come up with a new recipe out of it like frittatas
• To prevent pizzas and other baked goods from drying out, try to steam them by putting a cup of water inside the microwave
  

  What other food hacks you like to share with us?

Sources:

• http://lifetricks.com/food/food-storage/
• http://www.instructables.com/howto/food+storage/