Do you ever discover that you have meat, cheeses, or produce stored in your refrigerator that was fine when purchased, but within a few days is now past its prime - sometimes even beyond saving? Of course we all do! As a frugal person, believe me, you know this really stinks - sometimes literally!
As more of us try to eat healthfully on a budget, we know that fresh foods are usually better for us and more flavorful, yet they represent a significant investment and need more care than non-perishable foods. Here are tips to ensure that you get the best of your perishable purchases, every time.
Allow time after your grocery run to take care of processing perishable items immediately after you return home. This means you make it a habit of remembering that "If I buy fresh meat or fruits, I'll need 10 - 15 minutes when I get home to take care of my purchases." Don't do your shopping for these items when it would be inconvenient to do the processing as well. This is also the best time to assess if perishable items should be left ready to serve or should be frozen, depending on your menu plans.
When in doubt, it's better to freeze raw meat rather than not. You can always take it back out of the freezer to thaw. You can't make it fresh again after it isn't.
Keep on hand vacuum storage bags, waxed paper, food wrap, foil, plastic bags, plastic containers, or whatever you prefer. Just be sure you're always stocked with these items so there's no excuse not to properly wrap your meats. And keep a marker handy for labeling the date you froze the item.
Increasingly, some producers are packaging meat so it can be popped straight into the freezer. Whole birds are packaged this way and some producers of chicken parts are doing the same. These can be a superior deal as not only can you get them more quickly to your freezer, they are fresher because they've had better packaging since they were processed in the factory.
I shop two stores regularly. One store is where I purchase most staples, and I buy most of my meats at a second grocery store that sells excellent chicken breasts, thighs, and leg quarters packaged ready for the freezer.
If you buy family packs of meat, take the extra minute to process them so they are frozen or packaged in meal sizes. Take a 4 pound package of ground beef and divide it: 1 pound frozen for spaghetti sauce, another pound frozen for tacos, 2 pounds pattied and frozen for hamburgers. Always freeze steaks individually.
Purchase a good salad spinner. Not only is this good for preserving lettuce and other greens for salads, but it's also useful for berries and grapes as well. You can also use the strainer basket to wash fruit or drain foods. Should you also process that head of lettuce when you get home? If it's not well packaged to begin with, you may find that washing, drying, and storing it in the salad spinner immediately preserves it longer than storing it in the original packaging. It also helps you get the most out of your purchase by ensuring that the lettuce is ready to go when you need it.
Speaking of berries and grapes, they can be beautiful in the store one day, and the next day they're all growing beards in your fridge. This is no fun even if you bought them in season when they're likely to be at their best and on sale. Make the most of your investment; keep them fresh for several days by making a vinegar and water bath. Take 1 part vinegar to 2 parts cool water, immerse the fruits in them for a couple of minutes, then drain and DRY the fruit either by processing in a salad spinner with several paper towels or a dish towel to cushion the fruit, or by patting dry gently with towels. Why? The vinegar retards the natural fungal growths that spoils fruit so quickly. Store in covered containers in the fridge.
When you open cheese, make sure you store it in a resealable container or plastic bag to retard drying and spoiling.
When stockpiling grocery items in your home, make sure to store them in an area that can be easily cleaned in case anything were to get cold or hot and ooze out or overflow.
You know you can save money on fruit and vegetable by shopping once a week, but throwing out spoiled food is a waste of food and money.
Plan your meals to use vegetables with a shorter shelf life, like salad items, first. Then use the less perishable items, like root vegetables later in the week.
Put softer fruits like bananas, berries and stone fruits in the fruit bowl straight after purchasing and bring out apples and oranges and the longer lasting fruit later.
We all like to save money and stock up on good grocery bargains when we find them. However, we want them to stay fresh until we're ready to use them. This is the best solution that I've found.
Many items can be kept fresh a long time in the fridge or freezer when unopened or even after opening if sealed well, such as in a ziploc bag. (Don't use the new zipper type though, just the original Ziploc). Bags of potato chips or cookies, boxes of cereal or crackers all do very well in the fridge or freezer. They absolutely will not get soggy if sealed properly.
I've stored things like this for a few months and they remained fresh until ready to use. I even store surplus hand lotion, face cleansing cream, and the like in the fridge for several months. It keeps it from getting rancid and stale. Try it, you'll be surprised.
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When I purchase an item in bulk, it all ends up in the spare bedroom - like an 8 pack of paper towels, for instance. Needless to say, that room is becoming a catch-all. Where and how would you store non-perishable groceries and paper goods?
I buy the large Rubbermaid storage units that are sold in Target, Sears, Lowes etc They come in 60 gallon up to 90 gallon capasity.I store my bath tissue and paper towels in one out on my porch,We have about 8 of them and store things outside, they don't leak and they are neat looking. I have a tall one for my mops, brooms and shovels and also keep it by the outside door on the porch so I can just grab it in a hurry even in the winter. They are the greatest unites for storage, and the dogs love to jump up on them and sleep in warm weather.
By Tillie Polen-Scholz (Guest Post)09/12/2008
Storing Bulk Non-Perishable Groceries