If you’re anything like me, you spend almost all of your money on food that, embarrassingly, you don’t actually end up eating. A lone cauliflower going a bit grey in the fridge, a kilo jar of pesto that you didn’t realise said ‘consume immediately after opening’ on it, half an onion that you’d forgotten you’d cut in hald and has now gone all squishy and yuck. Today’s all about great ways you can keep this food fresh and alive, saving you from going back to the supermarket to buy more, and saving you, well, savings!
You really forget how well so many things freeze these days. If you can, try and buy an ice cube rack, and fill it with anything that’s liquid and may go off. (Try to keep this ice cube rack separate from your filled-with-ice ice cube rack, because you really don’t want the taste of leftover dashi in your ice tea!) This works especially well with things that you really only need one serving of, like pesto, or jam that you rarely use. Just spoon enough in to fill the ice cube indent, and then freeze to defrost when you need it. This saves you from throwing out jars of sauces, spreads, or dressings if they start to smell a bit funny in the fridge.
Serving sized things are also perfect for any other fruits and vegetables you may have. If you live alone, you’ve definitely thrown out too many halves of onion to even bear thinking about, the other half going all soft and weird in the fridge crisper. These can be frozen too! Just get a Tupperware, or plastic bag, and cut the onion into slices while it’s still fresh. These will defrost almost instantly in a frying pan, sauce, or microwave, and also save you time when you’re next cooking an omelette! This works with any of the mirepoix (carrots, onions, celery, garlic), so if you always have a little jar of them in the freezer you’ll always be prepared!
Freeze!
