How to stop throwing food out of the fridge: tips from Jamie Oliver

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Recommendations from a renowned chef will help keep food fresh and save what has already begun to deteriorate.

One third of food is lost in the world every year. Some of it dies on farms, factories or on the way to the consumer, others are thrown away by shops and customers. Meanwhile, almost a billion people are starving in the world, and their number is growing every year. Water and energy are wasted on production. 10% of all greenhouse gases are wasted. Finally, people work in vain.

British chef Jamie Oliver and his team explain how to buy, store and prepare food without throwing anything away. It will save you time, money and help the planet a little.

1. Consider the features of the refrigerator

The temperature drops in the chamber depend on its model. Keep this in mind when placing perishable items on the shelves.

Modern high-tech devices cool the camera evenly, but if you have a regular budget refrigerator, the temperature on different shelves differs. Look for instructions on how to best decompose foods. Usually, in a two-compartment refrigerator, the back wall freezes, and warm air rises up according to the laws of physics. Therefore, raw meat is stored on the bottom shelf, and ready meals on the top. In a single-chamber device, on the other hand, it is cooler on top, under the freezer.

The warmest thing is always on the door. Therefore, Jamie suggests moving the dairy products from there to the middle shelves, and keeping juices and sauces on the door.

2. Plan menus and revise regularly

Think about how much and what you will eat this week. Don't forget about scheduled out-of-home dinners. This way you will not cook a pot of borscht, which you will not be able to master anyway.

Before going to the store, check the refrigerator and cabinets. Make a grocery list based on the menu and stick to it so you don't get too much food.

Check the refrigerator from time to time in order to find spoiling food in time and have time to cook or freeze them.

3. Do not fill the refrigerator with everyone

It makes no sense to store some products in the refrigerator, others deteriorate there even faster. For example, bananas turn black and bread becomes moldy due to moisture. Therefore, Jamie advises to transfer them to a dark, dry place. This will free up space in the cell and all purchases will be in sight.

Here's a list of foods you don't need to keep in the refrigerator:

• onion;
• garlic;
• carrot;
• potatoes;
• tropical fruits;
• bread;
• canned food;
• olive oil;
• honey;
• jam;
• chocolate.

We talked more about how to store food in the infographic.

4. Keep some vegetables and fruits separate

Potatoes and onions spoil faster when they are next to each other. It's about ethylene, a plant hormone. It is released as a gas and causes the fruit to ripen. Some fruits and vegetables produce more ethylene, while others are more sensitive to its effects. Store foods from these groups separately. For example, put cucumbers, carrots, and cabbage in a refrigerator drawer and tomatoes on a shelf. Onions release a lot of ethylene and ripen quickly. Therefore, keep it in a closet, separate from other fruits and vegetables.

Ethylene is liberated abundantly:

• onion;
• potatoes;
• tomatoes;
• apples;
• pears;
• ripe bananas;
• apricots;
• peaches;
• nectarines;
• grape;
• mango;
• kiwi;
• persimmon;
• plums;
• avocado.

Ethylene sensitive:

• bananas;
• onion;
• garlic;
• carrot;
• cucumbers;
• cabbage;
• eggplant;
• pepper;
• broccoli;
• cauliflower.

5. Don't trust the expiration date

Manufacturers understandably set this date with great care. Jamie advises strictly adhering to the shelf life of meat and fish products, and in other cases relying on the appearance and taste of food.

The norms that the domestic expiration dates correspond to are spelled out in the sanitary rules of Rospotrebnadzor and methodological instructions of the Federal Center for State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision of the Ministry of Health of Russia. Tests are carried out to determine when a product has deteriorated.

The goods are examined at least three times: after manufacture, at the time of the expiration date and after some time. All tests confirm the absence of pathogenic microorganisms, dangerous bacteria, yeast, mold. This means that in most cases, a delay of 2-3 days is completely harmless, if it is not meat or fish.

Look at what day some foods are supposedly still safe. Of course, provided that the food was stored more or less correctly, and government agencies conscientiously conducted tests and sanitary and epidemiological expertise.

Milk and dairy products, mayonnaise, margarine, vegetable oil creams, confectionery
Estimated shelf life	The day of the last study
1-2 days	3
3 days	5
5 days	8
7 days	11
10 days	13
15 days	20
20 days	26
30 days	39
45 days	54
60 days	72 or 69 *
90 days	108 or 105 *
180 days	216 or 207 *
* For flour confectionery without finishing and for sugar confectionery

To determine if the milk is sour, smell it. As a last resort, try on your tongue, but do not swallow very little. When in doubt, use it for pancakes or pancakes. To test the freshness of an egg, place it in a bowl of water - it shouldn't float. If mold appears on the hard cheese, cut off 2–3 centimeters around it, the rest can be eaten. Throw out moldy soft cheese: the spores have penetrated deep, so the product is already dangerous.

6. Pickle vegetables

To do this, you do not need to sterilize the jars and bother for hours in the kitchen. Any fresh vegetables will do: carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, asparagus.

Rinse the container in warm soapy water and dry. Prepare vegetables: wash, peel (if necessary), cut. Add herbs, garlic, and mustard seeds if desired. For a half-liter jar, take 120 milliliters of vinegar and water, half a tablespoon of salt and sugar. Heat the marinade to dissolve the crystals. Pour them over the vegetables and twist the jar. When cool, refrigerate for two days. Vegetables pickled in this way can be stored for up to two months.

7. Freeze

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits are the most thrown away in the world, although they are easy to save. Chop any vegetables and fruits, place in bags or containers and freeze.

Make fruit smoothies by mixing them with milk or yogurt in a blender. Add nuts, oatmeal and honey as desired. To make popsicles, whisk your blanks with any juice and freeze in molds.

Frozen fruits are perfect for pies and compotes. Vegetables are good for any meal.

Greens

Place the chopped greens in a container and add some oil. Freeze and use for cooking.

Dairy products and eggs

The yogurt in the freezer flakes and the eggs crack. But freeze milk, cheese and egg white safely.

Leftovers

If you've cooked too much, freeze your lunch to save cooking time next time. Store homemade food in zip bags. They are thin, so everything in them quickly crystallizes and thaws. Sauces can be frozen in ice trays.

Sign what is frozen and when. Jamie warns that leftover food and dairy products can be stored in this form for no longer than three months.

Bread

If the bread gets stale, chop it up and freeze it to make bread crumbs and breadcrumbs later.

Follow these guidelines and over time they will become a habit. Clean up your refrigerator, plan your menu, shop wisely, and freeze whatever you can.