Hold on to your jam jars and take stock of old tea towels. These eco-savvy hacks will stretch the storage life of your favourite foods without wrecking the planet.
For writer and sustainability educator Anna Matilda, old-fashioned life skills have never been more relevant.
“In times gone by, a lot of life learning happened in and around the home. Elders taught youngsters to grow and tend gardens, to make and mend garments – and to do the same with relationships, understandings and community.”
Rochelle Eagle
The realisation prompted Matilda, known on social media as “the Urban Nanna”, to write Everyday Permaculture, a toolkit of small, eco-conscious actions to use in everyday life.
Here, Matilda explains how to keep food fresh for longer.
How to make food last
Food decomposes when naturally occurring microorganisms (bacteria, mould, etc.) feed on it. These microorganisms need moisture, oxygen and heat to thrive, so storing food in airtight containers in a cold place deprives them of their needs, thus slowing decomposition. There are lots of different storage options available. Let’s look at what works best and is environmentally sound.
Fridge
Plates: Use to store fruit and veg with just one cut surface, or use as covers on top of bowls, cups, dishes, etc., instead of plastic wrap.
Used plastic bags: If you’ve got ’em, use ’em! Good for storing root veg.
Brenna Quinlan
Plastic containers: The seals are often imperfect, so they’re not necessarily good for long-term storage. Use them for leftovers, prepped cooking ingredients, vegie sticks for a party etc.
Glass jars: My favourite! Airtight seals keep food fresh the longest. Great for berries, grapes, all vegetables and fruits with more than one cut surface, cheese, cured meats, leftovers, smoothies, juice, salads, puddings, pastes …
Beeswax wraps: Good for small and large items. Half a cut cucumber, a lasagne or a quiche – that kind of thing.
Cloth: Wrap damp tea towels around leafy greens (herbs, spring onions, celery etc.) and pop them in the crisper to keep them fresh for a week or more.
Freezer
Ice-cube trays: Large or small, these work well for liquids (coconut milk, stock, lemon juice, sauces, smoothies), pastes (tomato, curry) and solids (cooked rice, leftover curry, soup). Once frozen solid, pop the cubes into containers or bags and return them to the freezer.
Glass jars: That’s right! Provided you don’t fill them more than three-quarters full, they won’t break. Great for leftovers, drinks, grated ginger and garlic frozen in ice-cube trays, chopped herbs and chillies. Defrost slowly or the jars will shatter.
Plastic containers: These work well for slices of meat, pre-made patties, slices of cake etc. (separate the layers with baking paper), leftovers, food frozen in ice-cube trays, and chopped fruit.
Pantry and bench
Glass jars: You’ll never convince me that reused glass jars aren’t the greatest storage containers around. I use them for pretty much everything in the pantry. Collect different sizes from friends, op shops and community cupboards, and label them with paint markers or paper labels. To remove sticky labels, fill them with boiling water and wait for the heat to loosen the adhesive. Rub with oil to remove sticky residue, then wash with hot soapy water and rinse well.
Ceramic crocks: Keep onions and potatoes cool in a ceramic crock, separate from other foods. Ceramics are also good for storing bread, rice, dried beans and pasta.
Vases, jars and crocks: Filled with water, these can be used to keep any stemmed, leafy or floral veg crisp for a week or more, in the same way you’d preserve a bunch of flowers. Works well for celery, spring onions, kale, herbs, asparagus and broccoli.
This is an edited extract from Everyday Permaculture by Anna Matilda, published by Hardie Grant Explore. Photography by Rochelle Eagle. RRP $42.99
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