COMMUNITY kitchen

The Dark Lord is always trying to show me TikTok hacks, which generally don’t work. Her favourite one is trying to hull strawberries with a straw, which only works if the straw happens to be made of metal, and has a sharp point. “Like a knife,” I sigh, and show her how to do it properly.

However, these six TikTok hacks from the money-saving experts at wethrift.com do seem to work. They keep your food fresher for longer, which means less waste…

1

Herb swaddling – Remove all rubber bands or plastic ties holding the herbs together, and give them a good clean in a salad spinner or under the cold tap.

Next, place them in a clean tea towel to dry. Once they are dry, wrap them up in a damp paper towel, then place the herbs safely inside an airtight plastic box.

They last several weeks this way, instead of leaving them in the pack to turn to mulch. 2 Put the crunch back in your lunch – Plastic wrapping will only keep salad and vegetables fresh for so long. To maintain a satisfying crunch, you should clean the veg, dry it, then pack them in airtight containers with just a spray of water.

Celery can last up to a month like this, although I’m not sure why anyone would want to keep it that long.

3

Hey, pesto – One of the hardest herbs to care for has to be basil. Within hours of bringing this herb home from the supermarket, it starts to wilt.

The trick is not to let it dry out or to over-water, and instead, once a week, put it in a bowl of water and let it drink deeply.

4

Chilling potato storage – If your potatoes have been growing more tentacles than a monster from the deep, then simply peel them and par boil. Drain, cut into chips or halves for roast dinners, then you can pop them into a ziplock bag and freeze until they’re needed.

5

Keep apples fresh – Vinegar is a natural preservative, so to keep apples as crisp and juicy as the day you bought them, treat them with a homemade fruit spray.

Mix 230ml of vinegar with the same amount of water, then finish with five drops of lemon juice. Although remember to wash it off before eating! 6 Berry good idea – You can also keep berries fresher for longer by dunking them in a vinegar bath (one part vinegar to three parts water) and then leaving them to dry before storying.

This trick claims to extend their life by up to two weeks as vinegar lowers the pH level on the surface of the berries and helps keep bacteria and mould spores to a minimum.

I think I need the human version of this vinegar dip!

Got any kitchen tips to save food waste? Email siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk