Keeping food fresh in the fridge.

This week we are on to a subject that concerns most of us,  keeping fresh produce as long as possible! 

Food is like gold.  Basically everything has gone up in price and most things have decreased in size.  I have also noticed a lot of things do not stay as fresh for as long as they used to.   Some things also look a month old in the supermarket and not worth buying at all.  

Over the last few years I have put a lot more effort into a clean and organised fridge,  spotting what needs to be used up next and working that into the menu plan.  I have tried quite a few different containers and methods since we moved here and a shopping trip is the best part of an hour away.   I am putting together some of what I have found works but it is an ongoing thing.  We all have times when the fridge gets away from us.  Life is hectic and we get behind in this area.   But there are ways and means at getting better at it and it can mean savings as well as our families eating more healthy produce.  

The first thing is to have a really clean and fresh fridge.   We are about to put our food in there.   Having a spotless fridge is beautiful and a good start for everything we are going to store.  Dampness...  mouldy science experiments... icky drawers etc are just going to ensure nothing keeps well.  At the moment my fridge is ok so I can give it a wipe out and re arrange but when it has been a mess I have emptied it completely.   All the moving parts that come out have been washed in hot soapy water and everything scrubbed back to spotless.  Finally I wipe it out with a few drops of vanilla.    Even though this is a simple thing next time you open the fridge it is blissful to admire it and for it to smell so good!

Second...  Have a well organised fridge and don't use it as a storage cupboard.  Get rid of things that have been taking up space that no one uses or likes or are well and truly expired.   If you can see what you have and have designated places for things you will quickly see what needs using up, what you have,  what you need to put on your shopping list.   A whole lot less food is wasted just by knowing what is in there.    I bet we have all bought something at the store only to realise later we already had it.  We are a a hurry,  we have to think of the fly and we end up with something we didn't need!   I still tend to do this with carrots.  I am always convinced I need carrots.

In the days before a shopping trip I am trying to use up everything that is hanging around.  I am shopping tomorrow so tonight I made a salad out of most of what we had left.   Things are cleaned out and ready for when I get home tomorrow. 

I keep the shelves lined with plastic that I cut to fit from an outdoor tablecloth.  This is easier to wash than taking the shelves out.  Previously I have used plastic placemats. 

When I get home and unpack I fill the sink with fresh water and a third of a cup of white vinegar.   All the produce is given a good wash.   Depending on how much I have I might need to refill the sink or a basin several times.   Produce has usually been sprayed and handled by a whole lot of people before we get it home.  Remove any leaves that are not in good shape, inspect everything, your berries might have one hiding in there that needs to be taken out right away.    A really good blog and You Tube channel on the subject is The Cross Legacy.   She is amazing.  She became well known from her tip to keep Strawberries fresh which you can find here.   She has equally good tips on keeping just about anything fresh far beyond normal expectations and you can look up each food item (alphabetically) saving you time finding the information.   For some things like bunches of herbs or Asparagus I will stand them in a canning jar and fill the bottom with water. 

After the washing then I let items drain and dry off as much as possible on a drying mat or between two kitchen towels.    Then it is time to store it in the fridge. 

If I can see I have much more than I am going to use within a pretty reasonable space of time I will try and preserve it.  Recently I had 9 huge heads of Broccoli because it was a huge deal and so after the washing process I refrigerated enough for the next week and blanched the rest for 2 minutes.   I bring the water to the boil first, throw it in, set the timer for two minutes.   After two minutes I drain it and rinse it with cold water.   When this is cool it goes onto a tray in the fridge until it is properly cold.  Then I make up meal sized bags and freeze them.  This is the same for beans, cauliflower etc.   This way is so good I would challenge anyone to be able to tell it wasn't fresh!    Sometimes we don't realise that we are not going to get through something right away... but we can reassess every few days and decide if we might need to preserve, bake or do something extra to get that produce used up.

Because of living in the country a long way from shops (and the price of food) I invested in some containers that are meant to keep produce fresh longer.  I also sewed up a lot of cotton bags that I use for greens and lettuces and they work pretty well.   The thing to watch is... when containers are clear you can see what you have and keep an eye on it.  When things are wrapped or in a container you can't see through it takes regular checking and it is a bit harder to see what you have and how it's doing.  

I have a few different fridge containers.... Debbie Myer Green Boxes.  They are really good and not expensive.

Tupperware Fridge Mates.  They are expensive but pretty good.

OXO Containers.  They are good. 

I have tried various green bags and also lining the crisper with newspaper, clean kitchen towels... wrapping celery in aluminium foil (this works) and you name it! 

I keep a container in the freezer for items that can be made into stock.    So the stems from herbs,  half and onion that was left over,  garlic that needs using,  any left over veggie... all goes into this container.   When I am cooking up some bones or soup all of these things can go in.   This seems to save a lot of things that might have once been wasted. 

In the freezer I also keep a container for smoothies.   So if some strawberries need using I pop them in, other berries, bananas ... they all eventually become good smoothies.

Ultimately the grave yard for anything that gets away from me is the chicken yard and they are crazy over any scraps and turn them into fresh eggs.  So that is my back up to the back up plan! 

Recently I saw quite a few ads for produce bags called The Swag.   I read about them quite a bit and they have a good website.  I decided to order a set.  

They are good,  generous in size and well made.  And I like them!   In part I think when we invest in a new system there is a psychological factor that we are just trying harder...  but I do find these helpful.  

I also thought surely I can make something similar?   They are three layers... each layer is pure cotton, the middle layer is thicker and I found online at Spotlight a product called Wrap-N-Zap 100% natural cotton wadding.   

I decided these would be gifts for family and friends since most of us live far from the shops,  grow produce as well as buy it and I like to give useful and helpful things.

After making a few in different shapes and sizes (ie long ones for celery)   I decided that really any thick cotton would be ok for the middle layer... so a bedspread that I bought for the cotton content has been my wadding from here on in as I have miles of it.  The inside layer is either calico or cotton gingham.

As it turns out this is the exact pattern and formula to make microwave potato bags.  I have not tried that yet!

I am running out of the veggie fabrics so now I am making the body in calico and the fold down closure in print.  I think I have enough for another six or seven.  They will add to my present cupboard and I will keep my favourites!  😊

How do you extend the life and keep up with produce?  Someone is bound to say to just not buy so much but if I am given produce it might be a lot.  If I see a really good deal I will buy a heap!  If the apple tree is covered I might have 100 lbs of apples.  Last week cauliflowers were $2.99 each instead of the usual $8 each... so we got two.    Produce just has a way of all coming in together!  If we can store some well it just buys us some time!   Even if I have the freeze drier and the dehydrator and the slow cooker all running.... I can only deal with so much produce in 24 hours!  What a good problem to have though and I really hope to be in this situation this summer!

I hope you found some ideas that will help you to save a little bit.xxx