UK households who've got cheese and eggs in their fridge could receive a whopping £900 extra a year. UK households chuck out an eye-watering amount of food each year, AO has warned, with 10 per cent of our weekly shops being binned. Katie Hall, a writer, has warned fruit and veg being thrown out is costing us £5.
24 a week, £272.48 per year, and bread being chucked is costing us £72 across 12 months. Kate says: “Most people don’t realise that you can freeze fruit and veg at home.
Whilst they won’t defrost well, frozen fruits can be blitzed in smoothies or used in baking, and veg can be used in cooked dishes. “For fruit, simply wash, dry, and chop up as appropriate and freeze it on a lined tray before moving to a freezer bag. This way it won’t freeze in a solid clump.
The same technique can be used for veg, although some vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower are best ‘blanched’ before freezing. This just means putting them in boiling water and then ice water, which helps to preserve the colour, texture and flavour. READ MORE Nationwide giving 'free' gesture 'to help more than 100,000 customers' “Once you’ve blanched your veg, open-freeze it just as described for fruit, and always cook it straight from frozen for the best quality.
" Other items being binned includes milk - costing us £33, while eggs and cheese cost us £64 and £108 respectively. Kate says: “Hard and semi-hard cheeses such as cheddar and gouda freeze best, and ideally should be grated before freezing so they can be used straight from the freezer (although parmesan can be grated from frozen with a microplane grater!). For semi-soft cheeses such as mozzarella, I like to tear or cut it into bitesize pieces to add straight onto pizzas and pasta before cooking.
“Softer cheeses should be portioned into usable quantities and tightly wrapped before freezing to ensure they are well protected from the cold air. When you want to eat them, thaw them slowly in the fridge before moving to room temperature to serve.” “People are always surprised to find they can freeze eggs! If you have a leftover white or yolk then these can be frozen, although you should add a little salt or sugar to the yolk to prevent it from turning too gloopy (don’t forget to label your bag or container so you know if your yolks are sweet or salty)," she added.
“If you want to freeze whole eggs, break them out of the shell, then whisk them before freezing. It’s a good idea to do this because the yolk and white will not combine easily after freezing and defrosting. You can then freeze your whisked eggs in an ice cube or muffin tray, and then store them in a freezer bag once they are solid.
Or freeze them flat in usable portions in a freezer bag so they take up less space and can be defrosted much faster.”.
