Tired of tossing food? Here are storage tips
You’re at the farmers market and pick up some beautiful raspberries. But you don’t store them properly, and two days later they’re a moldy mush in the fridge.
Now you’ve wasted money and had to put them in the garbage. It’s a sad feeling, but a common problem. The Food and Drug Administration said Americans toss 20 pounds of food per person per month, the equivalent of trashing $165 billion annually. Organic waste, which is mostly food, is the second-biggest component of landfills, and landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions, a major factor in global warming.
Shop smarter. A few simple steps can cut down on food waste. If you can, plan meals and follow recipes that allow you to use the purchased ingredients multiple times in a week, said Callie Babbitt, associate professor, Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Store it right. Joel Gamoran, national chef for Sur La Table said to store veggies properly as soon as you get home to extend their life. He likes storage units that include removable baskets with perforated, elevated bottoms, such as the GreenSaver by Oxo (starting at $14.99 for 1.6 quart, www.oxo.com). These keep produce from touching the container’s base.
“It’s not sitting in its own juices, and air can get around. Those are huge for food storage, and it makes a monster difference,” he said.
Store herbs in a container in the fridge with their stems in water, like flowers in a vase. That keeps them hydrated, said Jennifer Johnson, owner of Witnessing Nature In Food, an organic catering firm in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Some high-end refrigerators, like Sub-Zero, use air purification systems to remove ethylene gas that hastens food spoilage. They also remove bacteria, mold and viruses. ($6,995, www. subzero-wolf.com)
If you’ve used just half an onion or bell pepper, wrap those tightly. Air is the enemy for cut produce since it causes food to deteriorate, Gamoran said. Instead of using disposable plastic wrap, one option is Tovolo’s new Seal and Store, resealable, airtight foodstorage containers (set of three, $15.99, www.lascosascooking.com)
Speaking of air, baked goods become stale sitting on the counter or drying out in the fridge. Vacuvita ($299, www.amazon.com) vacuumseals a variety of foods. The home base is large enough to store a loaf of bread and other baked goods. The system also has freezer bags as well as small, sturdy containers for use in the fridge, and everything can be vacuum-sealed to prolong life. A free app gives alerts on
food shelf life. You are going to eat
that, right? You meant to eat those carrots, but now they’re limp. Or those herbs are tired. Don’t throw them away. As long as the produce isn’t leaching water, it can be turned in a soup or sauce, Gamoran and Johnson said.
A blender is your buddy to make effortless soups and sauces, they said, whether it’s an immersion blender or a countertop machine. The newest immersion blend from Braun, MultiQuick 9, comes with several attachments, including a whisk, 1.5-cup chopper and other accessories. ($199, www. braunhousehold.com)
“Blending is kind of the key to unlocking a lot of food waste. The lettuces, the wilted herbs, no one’s going to know the difference if it’s blended together and a really smooth soup or sauce. So it’s always a good trick,” he said.
When it’s too late. Even when we have the best of intentions, sometimes food goes bad. Rather than throwing moldy produce in the trash, Babbitt, Gamoran and Johnson advocate composting. New units like the Joseph Joseph’s Stack 4 food composter ($30, www. josephjoseph.com) reduce food-waste smells through ventilation that circulates air inside the caddy. And it looks attractive.
“Small-scale household composting systems are relatively easy to … maintain,” Babbitt said.