8 Tips And Tricks To Make Your Groceries Last Longer

It's happened to all of us: you know you have some food in the fridge, so you go to the kitchen, open the door, and find that everything you thought you had left isn't looking too appetizing. So much for that. But fear not: With these 8 easy tips and tricks, you'll find keeping your groceries fresh is even easier than throwing the gross stuff out – and it will feel a whole lot better too! 

1. Root Vegetables

Carrots, potatoes, and other root vegetables quickly become soft in the fridge or spoil completely. Though it sounds crazy, this can easily be prevented by storing the vegetables in a sandbox instead of the fridge! Covering root vegetables with sand preserves them and keeps them fresh longer.

2. Scallions

Scallions tend to dry out quickly and wither when kept in the fridge. So instead, store them in a glass of water and you'll find that they stay nice and crisp much, much longer. 

3. Cheese

There's nothing better than a big block of cheese, which makes it all the more frustrating when it starts going bad before you've even had a chance to enjoy it all. However, if you wrap the cheese in parchment paper and store it in the refrigerator, it will slow down the molding process since parchment paper strikes a better moisture balance than aluminum foil or plastic wrap.

4. Sliced Fruit

If you don't store your sliced fruit properly in the fridge, all you'll be left with is dried-out fruit that won't look or taste very nice. One handy way to prevent that from happening begins by cleaning off the lid of a Pringles can and scoring it with a knife so that it can be bent later.

Poke a hole through the plastic at each end of the score. 

Cut a rubber band, lead each end through the holes, and tie the led-through ends to fix it in place. If needed, bend the lid to fit the shape of the exposed fruit and place in over the piece of fruit with the rubber band holding it steady. 

You can also use the lid without scoring it, for instance if you want to keep a halved lime fresh.

5. Lemons

If the Pringles trick is too time-consuming, you can also keep sliced fruit, particularly lemons, fresh with a toothpick. Simply use the toothpick to reattach the cut-off end piece, as shown in the video. 

6. Butter

It's better not to store butter unpacked or uncovered in the fridge, since it'll quickly get hard and rancid. Instead, save the packaging it comes in and use it to wrap the butter while it's in the fridge.

You can also keep smaller sections in a butter dish. The golden rule for storing butter is to keep small portions, since you'll use them more quickly and therefore make it less likely to spoil. 

7. Ginger

Ginger's supposed to have a bit of a zing to it, but when the root isn't fresh, it can lose it's strong, spicy flavor. However, if you store it in a zipper storage bag and remove the air with a straw, it'll stay fresh and ready to spice up your next dish. 

8. Berries

Fresh berries are usually picked up from the store in small plastic containers. But if you just chuck them in the fridge in that same container, the next day you'll be greeted with an awful sight at the bottom: moldy berries! Don't worry though, this is easily remedied. Simply place a paper towel at the bottom of the container and put the berries back in on top. The paper inlay prevents the formation of mold and keeps the fruit fresh for much longer. And as always, don't forget to wash your berries thoroughly before eating.

Did you know some of these tips already? Whether or not you did, we hope that these easy tricks help you keep your food fresh for a long, long time to come!