Fridge Tips

Keep the fridge at a cool 1 - 5 degrees and chilled food will stay fresh for longer. Our most perishable (and often most expensive) food is kept in the fridge, so keep tabs on their use-by dates - the freezer may be the option for food we won't get round to eating in time.

• Using up melons!

  Submitted by Womens Institute,

  Melon can be a great addition to your breakfast in the morning or as an afternoon or evening snack. Simply chop the melon into pieces and place them in an airtight container in the fridge. They should last up to 5 days.

• Bad apple!

  Submitted by Womens Institute,

  There's always one bad apple that spoils the barrel, so keep an eye on your fruit, seperate fruit which is ripening up more quickly than the others.

• Soft vegetables:

  Put soft carrots and cucumber in a glass of water in the fridge - they'll perk up in no time.

• No more bendy carrots

  Submitted by Anna Griffiths, Leicestershire

  Top and tail unpeeled carrots as soon as you buy them and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They last for weeks and weeks and weeks.

• Vegetables

  Submitted by Sharron Penfold, Carmarthen, Carmarthen

  If your vegetables are starting to go a bit soft clean then all and put them in water in the fridge this will give you another few days to use them.

• Salad storage

  Submitted by Cath Marsland, Stockport

  I threw away the drawers that came in the bottom of my fridge and replaced with long thin plastic sealable boxes now my salad ingredients stay fresher for days longer.

• Storing Lemons

  Submitted by Love Food Hate Waste,

  Lemons stay fresh for even longer in the fridge if kept in a loosely tied plastic bag or in the pack they were bought in because they dry out less quickly.

• Leftover fish

  Any leftover fish needs to be wrapped well and chilled. It's best eaten within a day of cooking. Most fish can be flaked and added to scrambled eggs, tossed into spicy rice dishes or made into a pate by adding mayonnaise or cream cheese for a dip.

• Veg fridge tip

  When you’re cooking a big celebration meal and want to save yourself time on the day of the feast, prepare veg such as carrots, parnips and sprouts on the day before and store them in the fridge in a plastic bag - reusing a plastic bag from the bread or other food bag would be ideal.

• Cool storage

  If you are cooking for lots of people and need to keep the food cool and safe in your small kitchen. Save the fridge for highly perishable foods and use an unheated garage, balcony or even an animal-free area of the garden for drinks, eggs, root vegetables and hard cabbage. Use coolboxes and ice packs kept ready in the freezer.