Shoppers are being encouraged to add a pinch of salt to their milk so that it lasts a little longer.
This comes after food inflation hit 16.2 percent in October, up from 14.5 percent in September, according to ONS data. The surging prices may lead to shoppers seeking out ways to preserve their groceries for longer.
As well as spacing out trips to the shop, food preserving hacks could also help consumers reduce waste, as the average household is now throwing away £800 worth of food every year, reports Wales Online.
Milk can last anywhere from four to 10 days once opened if kept in the fridge. However, you can stretch that timeframe a bit further by adding a pinch of salt to the carton immediately after opening as it's a preservative and deters bacteria from growing.
Here are some other food preserving tips that the experts at Moneyboat.co.uk have compiled for thrifty shoppers and money savers.
Store your milk in the coolest part of the fridge
It is also best to avoid storing your milk in the fridge door. This is because the door is the warmest part of the fridge as it is furthest away from the cooling system.
Instead, you should keep your milk at the back of the middle or higher shelves for maximum cool to lengthen the shelf life.
Wrap hard cheese in parchment paper
Wrap hard cheese in parchment or baking paper rather than its plastic packaging. This allows the cheese to breathe and avoid drying out - but also prevents any extra moisture and therefore mould from growing.
Hard cheese can usually last anywhere up to four weeks when stored correctly in the fridge.
Put veggies in a vinegar bath
A great way to disinfect all of your fruits and veggies is to give them a vinegar bath. The solution should be a 1:3 ratio of vinegar to water - which should not be strong enough to taste on the produce afterwards.
Empty your produce into the solution and let sit for 15 minutes. Once done you can rinse and thoroughly dry your produce before moving them into their respective storage containers. Your veggies will last for up to two weeks.
Store berries with a paper towel
Once dried, berries should be stored in airtight glass containers with a dry paper towel. The paper towel absorbs any excess moisture which will prevent mould from growing.
Changing the paper towel every other day will allow for maximum freshness and a shelf life of up to three weeks.
Keep your bananas separate from other fruits
All fruits produce a certain level of a gas known as 'ethylene', fruits such as bananas produce a higher concentration when they are ready to ripen. Other fruits that fall into the high ethylene producing category are - apples, peaches, pears, melons and the avocado to name a few.
Keeping the ethylene producing fruits, specifically bananas, away from your ethylene sensitive fruits will prevent excessive exposure to the gas, allowing the fruit to ripen naturally and therefore lasting longer.
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