Wasting food is a nightmare in itself – but during a cost of living crisis, when our groceries already cost the earth, it’s so much worse.
This can feel especially inescapable when it comes to our fruit and vegetables which seem to go off within a single day and without ever being used.
But it turns out, there are ways to keep your groceries fresher for longer and the solutions are already most likely in your home right now.
How to keep fruit and veg fresh for longer
Make the most of empty jars
First, store your strawberries and berries in glass jars. According to Nature The Cure on Instagram, storing strawberries in jars can keep them fresh for up to two weeks. Mind = officially blown.
Be smart with where you store them
This may come as surprising news but lots of fruits and vegetables shouldn’t be stored together. Avocados, tomatoes, mangoes, melons, apples and pears will continue to ripen if left on a countertop – but grapes, citrus fruits and berries should always be refrigerated.
Give your produce a good bath
Fill your sink or a large bowl with water, add around 230ml of white vinegar and leave your fruit and veg to soak in there for 15 minutes.
This won’t impact the taste of the foods, but will remove a good amount of surface dirt and residue on fresh produce.
However, ensure that you thoroughly rinse your produce and dry it before storing it in the fridge, as wet produce turns to mush pretty quickly.
Freeze anything you won’t use immediately
Contrary to popular belief, freezing fruits and vegetables doesn’t massively impact their nutritional value so if you’re not planning on tucking into those fruits in the next day or so, do yourself (and your fridge space) a favour and pop them into the freezer.