Fresh thinking! How to store groceries to make them last longer

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Bread Bin, Sonntagsstaat Sonntagsstaat 廚房
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Kitchens are no longer just the rooms that you cook your meals in, they are so much more! A social hub and a recognised anchor within the home, they serve so many different functions that it can be easy to forget that they have a primarily functional purpose. That is until you notice your fresh produce not lasting more than a few days and you wonder how on earth you can prevent things from having such a short shelf life!

Fear not, as we have come up with our favourite ways to keep all your major food groups nice and fresh for longer and all within your existing kitchen space. We aren't talking about fancy gadgets or futuristic chemicals here, just some simple organisational tips that could see your broccoli lasting as long as your bread and your milk being marvellous for many mornings!

Take a look at our suggestions and see if you could get more from your grocery storage.

Vegetable vitality

One of the first things to turn and go bad, vegetables are a staple of everyday cooking and as such need to be stored in a way that will prolong their usability. 

Instead of digging around in the fridge to find room for your new shop and finding a mouldy aubergine you forgot you bought, we think that storing your veggies in an airier space is far better! Add to that the fact that you will always be able to see them and therefore use them before they go rotten and you are onto a winner! We love the grocery storage featured here by Elfa, complete with wire veg baskets, as items can breathe and act as a recipe influence every time you catch sight of them!

Pleased to meat you

We know that not everybody eats meat and fish, we even wrote an Ideabook for creating the ideal vegan home, but we have to account for those that do, otherwise it wouldn't be fair, so here is our idea for meat grocery storage.

We know that this large fridge unit is a commercial installation, but we can't help being inspired by it. How wonderful would it be to have a separate fridge for meat and fish products, so as to keep everything else completely isolated? Even if you have no vegetarians in the house, we think this is a fantastic solution for ensuring perfect food rotation and minimising contamination risks.

Breaking bread

Fresh bread is one of life's most delicious treats isn't it? The crusty exterior and the fluffy insides are the perfect hosts for sandwich fillings, soups and all manner of amazing toppings, but nothing quite ruins a meal like reaching for a big hunk of super fresh bread, only to realise that it has gone stale and is no longer as delicious, but how do you prevent that from happening?

We think a well placed and decent sized bread bin is a fantastic grocery storage item that no kitchen can do without and having one made from natural materials, such as wood, almost seems a whole lot more appropriate and organic. We think this example is particularly covetable as it doubles up as a cutting board too!

Got milk?

Grocery storage can consume a lot of kitchen space, but one thing that you can't afford to skimp on is the efficient housing of dairy products, such as milk and yoghurt, as they can go bad in just a day!

One spell of warm weather and any dairy items in your cupboards will be sure to curdle or 'turn', so this is one food group that we think you really need to tidy away into a large fridge. This fridge is fantastic, as it can take care of cool and frozen dairy products, reducing the risk of food spoiling ahead of its best before date and being a huge waste of money.

Fruitful advice

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We are huge believers that everybody needs more fruit in their lives, but if it isn't within easy reach, will they actually make the effort to seek it out? The answer is probably no, so fruit bowls are a great idea, though you must think about placement.

A fruit bowl should never be placed in direct sunlight, as this will affect how quickly the fruit dries out and turns bad, so we think a big fruit bowl, with a variety of delicious treats, is best kept on a shelf, as seen here, or in the shade. Grocery storage needs to be convenient as well as effective, especially when it comes to getting your five a day.

Love your leftovers

If you are the kind of household that has regular leftovers, firstly, how do you do it? We can't ever leave food on our plates! Secondly though, we suggest storing them in a super accessible location, such as a pantry cupboard. Though a fridge might seem like a more natural choice, food often gets forgotten about in there, so leave tasty treats, covered in foil or cling film, where people can easily stumble across and enjoy them! Grocery storage should aim to encourage healthy and appreciative eating habits, as well as long food life, so don't hide the good stuff away too well!

For more kitchen inspiration, take a look at this Ideabook: Amazing Kitchen Wall Cupboards.

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