7 tips to prevent your fruit and veg from wilting in the Zululand heat

ARE you tired of your fresh produce and other perishable foods going rotten before you even enjoy them? Here are 7 tips to keep your food fresher for longer.

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1. Add salt to your milk once opened
Depending on the type of milk you use, once opened it can last anywhere from four to 10 days if kept in the fridge.
However, you can stretch that timeframe a bit further by adding a pinch of salt to the carton immediately after opening. This is because salt is a preservative and so deters bacteria from growing. Shake well and place it into the fridge as soon as possible.

2. Store your milk in the coolest part of the fridge
Avoid storing your milk in the fridge door as this is, in fact, the warmest part of the fridge as it is furthest away from the cooling system. Rather keep your milk at the back of the middle or higher shelves for maximum cooling to lengthen the shelf life.

3. Wrap hard cheese in parchment paper
Ditch the plastic packaging and wrap hard cheese in parchment or baking paper. This allows the cheese to breathe and not dry out, but also prevents any excess moisture, preventing mould from growing.

4. Vinegar bath your veggies
A great way to disinfect all of your fruit and veggies is to give them a vinegar bath. The vinegar solution should be a 1:3 ratio of vinegar to water in either a bowl or your clean sink. Empty your produce into the solution and let sit for 15 minutes. Once done, rinse and thoroughly dry your produce before moving them into their respective storage containers.

5. Keep your bananas separate from other fruit
All fruit produces a certain level of the gas ‘ethylene’, but fruit such as bananas produce a higher concentration when they are ready to ripen as this speeds up the ripening process. Other fruit that falls into the high ethylene-producing category are – apples, peaches, pears, melons and the avocado, to name a few.
Keeping the ethylene-producing fruits, specifically bananas, away from your ethylene-sensitive fruits prevents excessive exposure to the gas, allowing the fruit to ripen naturally and last longer.

6. Treat your fresh herbs like flowers
For those who prefer fresh herbs over dried, a top tip is to treat them like flowers. Add water to a jar and place the herbs inside with a plastic bag over the top. The water helps keep the herbs fresh, while
the bag acts as a barrier against any excess moisture.

7. Ice your bread
If you find that your bread has become stale, grab an ice cube and run it over the loaf before popping it into the oven for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can douse the loaf in water. This adds moisture back into the bread and allows it to become edible once more. The bread should then be used within the day.

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