We all know the feeling — you buy a beautiful $6 container of strawberries, and two days later you reach into the refrigerator and half of them look like a science experiment. Food is expensive enough; we don’t need to make it more expensive by throwing half of it away.
Sometimes the problem isn’t how much food we’re buying but how we’re storing it. A few small changes can make food last longer, taste better, and save you money. Here are seven foods you may be storing wrong and what to do instead.
What to do instead: Keep them dry until you’re ready to eat them.
Moisture is the enemy in this case. Wash a strawberry and put it back into a closed container wet, and you’ve created a much friendlier environment for mold. When you get home, pick through the container and remove any damaged or moldy berries. One bad berry can quickly turn into a whole container of bad berries. Then wash what you need when you need it.
If you do wash them ahead of time, make sure they are completely dry before putting them back into the refrigerator.
What to do instead: Treat many fresh herbs like flowers.
Trim the bottoms of parsley and cilantro and stand them upright in a glass or jar with a little water. Loosely cover them and refrigerate; then change the water when it gets cloudy.
Basil is different. I generally keep it on the counter with the stems in water, almost like a bouquet of flowers.
You’ll get more life out of your herbs, and you’re much more likely to actually use them.
What to do instead: Store it on the counter or in the freezer.
The refrigerator can slow mold growth, but it also accelerates the process that makes bread taste stale. If you’re going to eat the loaf relatively quickly, keep it properly wrapped at room temperature.
If you know you won’t finish it, slice it and freeze it. Then pull out exactly what you need and put it straight into the toaster. Freezing bread is one of the easiest anti-food-waste tricks there is.
What to do instead: Keep potatoes in their own cool, dark, dry, and well-ventilated spot.
Onions give off moisture and gases that can contribute to potatoes deteriorating faster. And don’t seal potatoes in an airtight plastic bag; they need airflow.
That beautiful little basket of potatoes and onions sitting together on the kitchen counter might look nice, but it’s not doing your groceries any favors.
What to do instead: Keep them somewhere cool, dark, dry, and ventilated.
Your refrigerator is a humid environment. Whole onions and garlic generally prefer airflow and lower humidity. A mesh basket, open container, or ventilated paper bag works well.
There is one important distinction: Once you cut them, refrigerate them.
Whole onion: pantry.
Half an onion: refrigerator.
What to do instead: Use that storage time to make it better.
If I’m cooking a steak, pork chop, or chicken the next day, I’ll often remove it from the packaging, season it with salt, put it on a rack over a sheet pan and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.
You’re essentially dry brining it.
The salt has time to season the meat while the refrigerator helps dry the exterior. When it comes time to cook it, that dry exterior matters and will allow the steak to brown quicker.
Instead of simply storing tomorrow night’s dinner, you’re making tomorrow night’s dinner better while you sleep.
What to do instead: Let it breathe a little.
For good blocks or wedges of cheese, cheese paper is ideal, but parchment or wax paper can also work. Wrap the cheese and then place it loosely inside a container or bag.
You want to protect it from drying out without trapping a bunch of moisture against the surface. If you’re buying cheese for cooking, buy the block instead of the pre-shredded stuff when you can. It generally tastes better, melts better, and gives you more control over how you use and store it.
Considering what groceries cost these days, throwing away food might be the most expensive cooking mistake of all.
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This is republished with permission from the author. The original can be read here. Subscribe to American Gravy here.
Andrew Gruel is a chef, restaurateur, and Huntington Beach City Councilmember.
