Love Your Fridge

What does your fridge say about you?

Love Food Hate Waste is helping you to ‘love your fridge’ on our Facebook page during January 2012. 75% of us report that our fridge is organised so that certain foods are stored in certain places – how organised are you? Are they telling the truth – find out, share your own photos and ‘like’ us on our Facebook page!

Is your fridge cooler than you?

Remember to keep your fridge temperature below 5oC. Research shows that up to 30% of our fridges are too warm, meaning food won’t last as long as it could. Milk goes off much quicker if your fridge is just a few degrees too warm!

To get the most out of the food you buy, keep the right food in your fridge and keep it well wrapped.

Keep the right food in the fridge

• Bread goes stale much quicker in the fridge. Instead, keep bread in a cool dark place such as the bread bin or a store cupboard. You can aslo freeze bread for use another time.
  
• 17 billion ‘5 a day’ portions are thrown away each year. The fridge is the ideal place to store most of your fruit and veg (except bananas and pineapples – keep these cool but don’t refrigerate; potatoes and onions - keep them in a cool, dark place like a garage, potato/onion bag or pantry).
  
• Apples last up to two weeks longer in the fridge and peppers up to a week longer
  
• Eggs need to be kept at a constant temperature below 20oC and they keep best in their box stored in the fridge.

Wrap food in the fridge

• Fresh fruit and veg need to breathe in the fridge so don’t store them in completely sealed containers. Fruit and veg packaging has been designed to help it stay fresh for longer, so don’t take the packaging off until you’re ready to eat the food.
  
• Once opened, food like cheese and ham keep better if they’re well wrapped by re-closing the pack, wrapping in cling film or foil, or putting it in an air tight container. 

More top tips

• If you aren’t going to eat it, remember you can freeze food before the ‘use by’ date. Defrost when you need it and use within 24 hours.
  
• Make the most of your food by cooling leftovers as quickly as possible after cooking and store them in the fridge. Eat within two days or freeze for another time. See great recipe ideas for making the most of your leftovers at: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes/list?group=2
  
• There are lots more fridge storage tips at: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/storage_and_tools/tips/keep_your_cool

Did you know?

The fridge is a dry environment, so food that’s not properly wrapped will dry out quickly - particularly food with lots of moisture (such as leftover meals) and food with a high fat content (such as cheese, ham and other meat).

The way fridges regulate and maintain their temperature means some shelves are cooler than others.

Use a fridge thermometer to see where the coldest part of your fridge is and keep cooked meat and dairy food there. It’s worth taking out food that doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge (such as bread and unopened sauces) so there’s room for the air to circulate properly around the food that does need to be refrigerated (such as meat, yoghurts and cheese). This means your food will be at its best for longer.

Our survey said…

• In a WRAP survey 16% people agreed with the comment that fridge temperatures do not make much difference to how long food lasts. But that’s not true. Storing our food at the right temperature and the right way means it will keep fresher for longer. Your food won’t last as long if your fridge is above 5oC.
• 60% of people said they used their own judgement to know whether the fridge is running at the right temperature (“food feels cold”) and 19% of people don’t know if it is at the right temperature. Using a thermometer is the best way to keep your fridge at the correct temperature.

Great food tips

Pep up your peppers

If you’re only using part of a pepper, leave the stem, seeds and membrane intact, the pepper will then keep in the fridge, if you wrap it, much longer than when you remove them.

Splendid spinach

If you wash spinach well in cold water, shake off as much water as you can and store in an airtight container in the fridge, it will keep fresh for longer. This also revives old spinach.

Wrap and save

Wrap lettuce, carrots, courgettes etc. in kitchen paper then put them in plastic bags in the salad compartment of the fridge. They keep fresh for ages. The paper stops the condensation from softening the veg and stops mould.

Find many more tips at: www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/storage_and_tools/tips/keep_your_cool

Don’t forget food safety

• To make sure your fridge is always hygienic and in good working order, remember to clean it regularly.
  
• When preparing food keep it out of the fridge for the shortest possible time.
  
• Store raw meat and poultry in clean, sealed containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge, so they can't touch or drip onto other food.
  
• Keep cooked meat separate from raw meat. Wash vegetables before using.

There’s lots more information at:www.nhs.uk/livewell/homehygiene/pages/how-to-store-food-safely.aspx