Reducing food waste: take it freezy
Freezing food is a fantastic way to cut down on food waste. Lots of people don’t realise it’s safe to freeze food right up to the use-by date, and then defrost in the fridge when you want it. In reality, you can freeze almost all foods (except those with a high water content, like lettuce or cucumber).
Our friends at Love Food, Hate Waste put together these top 8 tips to make the most of your freezer.
1. Fruit
Did you know that 81.25% of the fruit we waste is thrown away because we haven’t used it in time? Freeze your fruit to stop this happening! You can freeze almost all fruit, and simply grab a handful next time you’re making a dessert or smoothie – we’re looking at you banana bread!
2. Potatoes
We waste 4.4 million whole potatoes every day in UK homes – and 17% of these are wasted because we cook, prepare, or serve too much!If you’ve got loads left after dinner, pop it in the freezer for another day – this works for mash, roasties, or even chips. If you need to freeze uncooked spuds, boil them for about five minutes and freeze for later. When you want them, thaw overnight and roast the next day.
3. Milk
It’s best to freeze milk as soon as possible after buying. When you need it, thaw it in the fridge. Plastic containers are okay for freezing milk in, but be careful:the milk will expand so pour out a small amount before you freeze it (for example, in a cup of tea) to allow for this. Shake well before use. Or, you could try using an ice cube tray to freeze your milk in perfect tea-sized portions!
4. Bread
20 million slices of bread go to waste every day in UK homes.You can freeze the whole loaf as soon as you buy it (just don’t forget to slice it first!), or you can freeze the last few slices at the end of the bag. Don’t forget, you can toast bread straight from the freezer, and it tastes just as great. You can also freeze, wraps, tortillas and pittas too, which are great to grab for a quick lunch after defrosting in the microwave for 30 seconds.
5. Eggs
Simply crack your eggs into a sealable container and freeze. You can separate yolks from whites first if you want to use them for different dishes, or beat and freeze them ready for your scrambled eggs or omelette.
6. Herbs
Blend herbs with water or olive oil and freeze in your ice cube tray – perfect for adding flavour to stocks and soups.
7. Stock
Pour leftover stock into ice cube trays to freeze so they are ready to use in your recipes.
8. Cheese
Grate your cheese and then freeze it: you can just grab a handful whenever you want a topping for pasta, pizza, shepherd’s pie… whatever you like!