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By Prudence Wade, PA<\/p>\n
The cost of living crisis means many of us are feeling the pinch.<\/p>\n
While a few money-saving hacks won\u2019t take all of the heat off rocketing grocery bills and petrol prices, every little helps \u2013 and making your food shop last a bit longer could go a long way.<\/p>\n
These hacks will mean you don\u2019t have to throw out food that\u2019s gone off, and you don\u2019t have to go to the shops so often to top up your fridge.<\/p>\n
1. Store your herbs like a bunch of flowers<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing worse than buying a beautiful bunch of herbs, only to have them wilt within days \u2013 before you even have a chance to cook with them.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s an easy hack to fix this: simply fill a glass with a few centimetres of water, and pop the herbs in like a bunch of flowers. To really extend the lifespan, put a sandwich bag over the top \u2013 you\u2019ll be surprised at how much longer they\u2019ll last.<\/p>\n If your herbs are looking a bit limp and you don\u2019t think you\u2019ll get to them in time, you can freeze them. <\/p>\n Chop the herbs up, put them in the bottom of an ice cube tray, and fill to the top with water. When you want to use them, pop them out and let them defrost.<\/p>\n 2. Freeze any fruit on the turn<\/strong><\/p>\n The same goes for any greens starting to look a bit sad \u2013 they\u2019ll be perfect in a smoothie at a later date.<\/p>\n 3. Pop old bread in the oven<\/strong><\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to chuck out bread when it goes stale \u2013 instead, quickly run it under the tap and pop it into the oven for a few minutes. <\/p>\n The water helps rehydrate the bread, and it will come out of the oven tasting fluffy and fresh.<\/p>\n 4. Wrap your cheese in baking paper<\/strong><\/p>\n Cheese might come in plastic wrapping, but it won\u2019t survive for long like that in your fridge. Instead, wrap it in a porous material \u2013 such as baking paper \u2013 so it can still breathe, but doesn\u2019t harden up like it would exposed to the air.<\/p>\n 5. Put wine in the freezer<\/strong><\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t finished a bottle of wine and don\u2019t want it to go to waste, freeze it in an ice cube tray. <\/p>\n This creates perfect portions of wine to add to your next stew or bolognese, or to use to make a sangria.<\/p>\n 6. Only wash salad when you want to eat it<\/strong><\/p>\n Moisture is the enemy of salad, so next time you buy a bag of greens, don\u2019t be tempted to immediately rinse it under a tap. <\/p>\n Instead, line a plastic container with paper towels, put the leaves on top (not too tight), and place some more paper towels on top. <\/p>\n When you\u2019re ready to eat, give them a quick rinse and you\u2019ll be good to go.<\/p>\n 7. Rinse berries in a vinegar solution<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing more annoying than buying a beautiful punnet of berries, only to have them going soft or mouldy within days. <\/p>\n However, washing them in a solution of three parts water, one part vinegar may keep them fresher for longer \u2013 as long as you dry them properly after washing, and store in a paper towel-lined plastic tub.<\/p>\n 8. Wrap clingfilm around banana stems<\/strong><\/p>\n If you find yourself constantly dealing with brown bananas, buy yourself a bit of time by wrapping the stems in cling film. <\/p>\n Bananas produce ethylene gas, and this speeds up the ripening process when it travels to the rest of the fruit. <\/p>\n You can slow things down by wrapping the stems in cling film \u2013 equally, production of ethylene gas is slowed when you hang bananas up by a hook.<\/p>\n 9. Put carrot and celery sticks in water<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s hard enough getting kids to eat carrot and celery sticks, let alone if they\u2019ve gone a bit soft and limp. <\/p>\n If you want to maintain that crunch, you could try cutting the veg into sticks and storing them upright in glass jars, fully submerged in water.<\/p>\n Read the latest issue of IOL Food digital magazine here.<\/p>\n