Store and save well

Storing and saving food in the right way means it does not lose its nutritional properties, reduces the possibility of it going off and helps to reduce the risk of food poisoning when you come to use it.

You can keep food in your fridge, freezer or pantry, or even make conserves so they last longer and don’t go bad.

Fill the fridge

Fridges enable us to refrigerate and keep food in a very simple and practical way, but you need to arrange the food items properly to avoid them going off. Actions as simple as putting each item on the fridge shelf at the most suitable temperature for its conservation, not mixing raw food with cooked food and keeping them in firmly closed containers means you can give food a longer life.

  • Adjust the temperature to 5ºC, bearing in mind that the temperature varies slightly, depending on which shelf we put the food on.
  • Place the food carefully, so they don’t touch the side and allow good ventilation.
  • Check what food you have in the fridge, which items you have started and the expiry dates, to put them within easy reach and consume them first.
  • Keep food in airtight containers or properly packaged to prevent it from going dry an giving off bad odours inside the fridge.

Fill the freezer

Keeping raw or cooked food in the freezer is a good strategy to prevent it from going off if you are not planning use it soon.

But bear in mind you can’t refreeze something if you have already defrosted it. To avoid that happening, you can keep food in individual portions. That way you will be able to defrost the amount you are really going to use.

  • Check the temperature is -18ºC, which is the optimum temperature for conserving food.
  • Keep fresh products in airtight containers or special freezer bags to prevent them from going off.
  • Freeze food you are not going to use immediately, making sure you remove the inedible parts first.
  • Conserve prepared dishes leftover from a meal. Bear in mind they have to be left to cool to room temperature (but no more than two hours) and keep them in a shallow, tightly closed container.

Fill the pantry

Properly storing long-life products enable you to have food available for cooking at any time.

  • Check the labels to make sure they are long-life and don’t need cold.
  • Place food you already had in the pantry or which has a best-before date coming up soon nearer the front.
  • Check the pantry is a cool, dry place.

Home-made conserves

Home-made conserves are a good way to extend the life of some food items and avoid them going off. This is a traditional activity that has gradually been developing since human beings started to store food in anticipation of possible periods of scarcity, and which allows to consume food products out of season.

When making conserves, jams, etc., at home, you need to keep some things in mind to avoid the food going off and ensure what we might consume months later retains its quality.

  • So choose food in good condition that your are not planning to use soon.
  • Wash the cooking utensils and clean the surface you are going to handle the food on thoroughly.
  • Sterilize the container, preferably a glass jar, that you are going to keep the product in.
  • Make sure the jar is airtight. Fill it with very hot food, close it tight and leave it to stand for a few minutes upside down. Vacuum seal it and check there are no leaks.
  • Boil jams in a bain marie and other conserves in a pressure cooker.