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Storing your food

Tips for storing fruit and veg will help you keep your five-a-day in peak condition until you're ready to eat them.

One of the most important things to do once you have bought your food is to store it as best you can to extend its life.

Having a good selection of tubs and bag clips will also help keep food fresher for longer. Takeaway containers make ideal storage tubs for batch cooking as they tend to hold one portion of food.  Bag clips keep crisps, bread, cereal and frozen food fresh, but you can use pegs if you don’t have any bag clips!

Make sure your fridge is set at the correct temperature. Most fridges are set too high and that will contribute to food going off. Your fridge should be between 0 and 5°C. 

Best places to store fruit and vegetables

Here are the best places to store fruit and vegetables:

  • potatoes and sweet potatoes: best kept in a cool, dark cupboard, don’t worry if they start to sprout – cut these off and use the rest of the potato
  • apples: put these in the fridge in their original packaging, if you buy them loose put them in a container in the fridge
  • bananas: keep them in a  cool, dark place ideally, but not the fridge, keep them away from other fruit as they emit ethanol, which makes other fruit ripen more quickly
  • mushrooms: these keep better in a fridge in paper bag or in their original packaging – remove the plastic film lid and put a tea towel over the top to keep them dark
  • lettuce and salad leaves: keep them in their original packaging in the salad drawer of your fridge or transfer to a container with a lid lined with a piece of kitchen towel
  • peppers: keep them in the original packaging, if you only use part of the pepper keep the stalk attached to extend its life
  • celery: this wilts as it loses water, so put into a glass of water to revive it
  • avocados: store in the fridge or on the counter to ripen them quickly, if you only need half, keep the stone in the half you are not using and sprinkle with lemon juice

View a full A-Z of storage.

Storage cupboard heros

Having a good selection of store cupboard ingredients will also enable you to cook meals easily and quickly.  If you can have the following items in your store cupboard it will enable you to make a quick and easy meal anytime:

  • lentils: these carry flavour and are a great meat replacement in a bolognaise
  • frozen vegetables: frozen veg is picked and frozen at is prime and has no less nutritional value than fresh, they are usually prepped so you can use as much as you want and are ideal for stews, curries or soup
  • frozen herbs: freeze from fresh or buy already frozen
  • dried spices: having a good selection of dried spices such as curry powder, Turmeric, Paprika, chilli flakes or cumin can add an instant hit of flavour to a dish
  • capers and gherkins: these can add a nice kick of salt to dishes, capers are great in pasta or panzanella
  • sauces: siracha, soy or Worcestershire sauce will add loads of flavour to all sorts of dishes; from scrambled eggs to cheese on toast
  • tinned beans: like lentils they are full of flavour and protein and can be used to bulk out a dish
  • dried or vacuum-packed noodles: make a quick snack with noodles, soy sauce and leftover meat and vegetables, try a fridge forage stir fry using whatever is in your fridge
  • packet rice: like the noodles, it can be used to make a quick meal; add eggs, vegetables and soy sauce and you have egg fried rice