Explainers

How to keep food fresh

Your guide to keeping your ingredients looking good, and minimising food wastage.

By BTYB Liebherr
Maintaining the freshness of your ingredients can prove a tricky task. But find the right systems, and your food will stay fresher for longer, and you'll reduce food wastage too.
The first rule? Invest in a smart fridge like the Liebherr Monolith, which is as functional as it is stylish.
The fridge's concealed InfinitySwipe touch-screen allows for optimal control over your fridge environment, including its innovative BioFresh technology compartments. Designed with efficiency in mind, the system allows you to create different climates within your fridge so you can adjust humidity and temperature according to the week's produce. And the best part? The Monolith can be integrated into your kitchen cabinetry for a discreet and seamless design statement.
Behold, your guide to fresher food, less wastage, and better home-cooking.
The Monolith can be integrated into your kitchen cabinetry for a discreet and seamless design statement. Photo: supplied

Meat and poultry

The bottom shelf of your fridge is the best place to store your meat and poultry. Kept in its original packaging, poultry will stay moist and ready-to-be-cooked for up to two days. Red meat is usually good to store for three to five days before cooking.
Cryovaced or vacuum-packed meat has a longer fridge life. Pork and poultry can last for five to six days, while vacuum-packed lamb can be stored for up to two weeks. Plus, they freeze more efficiently than meat in standard packaging. Not only does vacuum-sealed packaging prevent freezer burn, but it also makes the defrosting process faster.
Low humidity and a temperature just above freezing point are the ideal storage conditions for meat. Liebherr's BioFresh with the DrySafe setting provides this type of climate and keeps it constant at all times.

Seafood

The storage of your seafood will play a big role in maintaining its quality. Whole fish should be cleaned and scaled, then stored in an airtight container, or placed on a plate, covered with a damp cloth, and then covered in plastic wrap.
You'll want to keep your seafood chilled in a sealed compartment of your fridge. The customised climate-zone control of Liebherr's Monolith refrigerator comes in handy – the BioFresh Plus technology contains an additional climate zone that allows you to dial the temperature down as low as -2°C - perfect for storing fresh fish.

Fruit

While the fridge may be the best place for poultry and seafood, think twice about what fruits you're keeping in the crisper. Berries belong in the fridge – keep them in a ventilated plastic container lined with paper towel to absorb excess moisture.
Stone fruit, however, should be taken out of any plastic packaging and stored at room temperature to avoid excess moisture and over-ripening.
Keep fruit such as bananas, apples and kiwi fruit separate to others in the fruit bowl – as they ripen, they release a gas that can cause other fruit to ripen prematurely.

Vegetables

Leafy greens including lettuce, kale and spinach are best kept unwashed in high-humidity, low-temperature conditions to maintain their crisp and crunch. Luckily, the Monolith's BioFresh Plus compartment allows you to control the humidity and temperature, ensuring that your vegetables stay sprightly. (The best way to revive limp lettuce? Soak the separated leaves in iced water.)
Potatoes and onions are best stored in a cool, dry place – the pantry is your best bet.
Photo: Julie Crespel / bauersyndication.com.au

Herbs

Rather than leaving them to lose moisture in their plastic packaging, treat your fresh herbs like a bouquet and pop them in some a glass of water on the windowsill. If they do start to wilt, don't let them go to waste – dry them to preserve their flavour.

Baked goods

Keep your sandwich loaves fresh in a plastic bag on your benchtop, or in your bread bin. Crusty breads and rolls are best kept in a paper bag, but are best eaten within a day or two. Slice any remaining bread, and freeze for later use.
Cookies, brownies and muffins should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature – some like to throw in a slice of bread or two to maintain good moisture levels. Baked goods containing dairy, such as cheesecake or frosted cakes, should be covered in foil and refrigerated for up to a week. That is, if they last that long.
Photo: William Meppem / bauersyndication.com.au
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