Any storage secrets?

ferry23

As many of you will testify, living alone frequently means buying food you know you will probably throw away. The world of food shopping is not geared up for single people.

I now have to rely on supermarket deliveries which is even worse as there is very little in "single person size".

The two things I struggle to store successfully are parmesan and garlic. I've tried double wrapping in foil and film, foil only, wrapping and putting in zip lock bags. I've kept in the door of the fridge, in the main fridge and for the garlic in the salad crisper.

The garlic isn't the end of the world as it hardly breaks the bank to buy a new bulb, and I accept no shop is going to sell half a garlic bulb! Even though I do hate the waste. But Italian hard cheeses are expensive and I have to shave or cut off mouldy bits every time I use them. Or sometimes they are just past redemption.

I keep hovering over the jars of garlic cloves but I'm not convinced.

Any foolproof tips?

What about the frozen cubes of garlic? I was sick of throwing garlic out.
Not sure about the cheese if you can freeze or not 🤔

Not if it’s a soft, soggy mess Grandmaofone

Slimy cucumber on my eyelids doesn't appeal to me.

MayBee70

I'm always throwing away cucumber..just going to check my latest one to see if it's survived.

I’ve started buying the mini cucumbers that are supposed to be for kids’ lunches. They last quite a while. Pricier, but if you end up binning half a normal cucumber, it probably works out the same cost.

I buy a block of Gran Padana cheese (cheaper than Parmesan but a similar taste) then grate it finely and put it in a plastic bag and straight into the freezer. It keeps for months and months, and I use it straight from the freezer for bolognaise, in sauces and on lasagne.

I grow my own garlic and either dry the plants, plait them and store hanging up in the garage or break them all apart when they have dried, separate and peel the cloves and freeze them as whole cloves, again in plastic bags. They last at least a year in the freezer. You can do this with shop-bought bulbs as well. they are easy to grate while still frozen, or thaw for an hour and them chop them as needed.

The frozen cubes of ginger and garlic are also very good and I buy them occasionally when I have run out of the frozen fresh cloves.

My DH grows the mini cucumbers and we have lots of them. I found if I put them immersed in water in a jug in the fridge they keep lovely and crisp for about a week.

I presume that is why they sell cucumbers completely wrapped in plastic in order to keep them fresh.

I have also frozen blocks of Parmesan, cheddar and Stilton very successfully in the freezer.

When we visit Costco I buy the goat cheese log and freeze it in handy slices, it works out much cheaper than buying small portions from the supermarket.

Top tip, thank you, Fairislecable! Do you completely immerse them or just one end?

I only use jars of garlic cloves or lazy garlic now. Also have some in freezer. Grated parmesan can also go in freezer. Most things can these days. Just Google it.

A head of garlic kept in a dry place lasts well. The fridge would be too damp and it would rot.

I just scrape of any white residue from the cheese. I also buy frozen garlic, one clove blocks, otherwise I cook for two and freeze a meal.

I freeze my fresh garlic in ice cube trays. I peel it and stick it in my mini chopper until it's smooth then stick it in the ice cube tray. About 2 tsk per cube. I usually use it for cooking so just bung a few cubes in the sauce.

MayBee70 I use cucumbers for snacks. Pull out the seeds with a spoon. I usually pile tuna mayo in - lovely and cooling in this hot weather. DH and I have half each for lunch.

But tastes rank

Yes, you can definitely freeze both as others have said. Cuts a lot of waste for an occasional user. If you like your garlic crushed add a little olive oil to the mix and portion freeze in ice cube trays. Oil will protect against freezer burn. You can then add them to your sauce/pot whenever you need them.
Alternatively you could jar up your prepared cloves in oil to preserve them yourself. Add other ingredients to your taste eg chilli etc. Use as and when needed.

I try to completely immerse them SueDonim as sometimes if the end sticks out it does start to soften.

Momac55

But tastes rank

Maybe you’d like to elaborate??

Thank you everyone, lots of good ideas for me to try out

I shall try that out next time I go shopping, Fairislecable.

I take parmesan out of zer bagits original wrapping and put it in a freezer bag, cclose it tightly and keep it in the fridge. I change the bag frequently, and have never had parmesan going mouldy.

If you have more garlic than you can use before it becomes too old, peel the number of cloves you think are too many and put them in a jar with a screw--top lid. Before closing the jar, cover the garlic with olive oil, or sunflower oil, Close the jar and keep it in the fridge. Use a fork or spoon to take a clove or two out when you want to use them.

I have never tried doing so, but I imagine garlic can sucessfully be frozen as other members of the onion family can.

If I buy more leeks than I want to eat at a time, or onions or spring onions, peppers, or any kind of cabbage I slice and wash these vegetables, strain the water off them, and freeze them. carrots, parnsips and beetroot can be frozen efter peeling and dicing too.

I wrap parmesan in greaseproof paper then maybe some clingfilm and keep in fridge.

I use the snack cucumbers from lidl There are several in a box but they keep better than a large one so less to throw away , if any.
Never had any Parmesan cheese going moldy. It sits in its box in the cheese box in the fridge. It maybe gets drier . It is shaved or grated when required.
A freezer is my best friend when it comes to feeding us. Any spare food is either frozen or prepared first for later defrosting.. Saves me time as I dislike cooking.

Grate and freeze garlic in ice cubes , pop out as required

MOnica , thankyou for your reply

I started cutting my parmesan into smaller chunks instead of keeping the whole wedge in the fridge. The piece I'm using stays in the fridge and the rest goes in the freezer wrapped well. It's made huge difference. I also picked up some food storage containers from www.allpointsfps.com/ a while back and they've worked out really well for cheese. Might be worth a look if you're trying to cut down on food waste.