On Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thacekray announced that the state will be in a lockdown until March 31. There are, however, chances that this lockdown can extend for a longer period, if what Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said is true. This means, you need to stay at home and only step out if there is an emergency.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also asked Indians to adhere to state government directives, but also assured that essential supplies would be available to one and all. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to step out every day to buy your groceries. As far as we know, people have been stocking up for a week’s worth of supplies.
But then, given India’s tropical nature, chances are your perishables such as veggies and fruits may wilt away. Keeping this in mind, we give you some life hacks to extend the shelf-life of your produce.
Remove the plastic or the cardboard from the cheese: When cheese is wrapped in plastic or kept in a cardboard box, it can’t breathe, and this affects the flavour and help breed bacteria. Instead, we recommend that you wrap it in a paper towel
Refrigerate your greens in paper towels: Wrapping your leafy vegetables will let absorb the moisture, and thereby prevent your greens from getting soggy.
Puree and freeze old palak: In case your spinach is a little old, don’t throw it out. Instead, blend and make it into a puree, so that you can use it for that palak dish or smoothie (for the healthier folk)
Invert nut butter bottles upside down: One instruction that peanut butter and almond butter bottles have is that if they aren’t used regularly, the oil tends to separate. As a result, you are required to mix the same. Instead, why don’t you just invert the bottles so that they don’t separate
Organise your fridge and freezer: In a time of social distancing, you have plenty of time to spare. You may want to actually use the compartments in your refrigerator for what they are actually meant for. For example, do not put lemons in the egg shell, and don’t put vegetables in the section meant for meat. Every compartment has been designed for a reason, and using them to your advantage may extend the shelf-life of your food
Freeze meat in case you’re not eating it: Meat has the tendency to get spoilt and therefore colder temperatures, particularly in a country like India, will extend the shelf-life by a couple of days.
Don’t wash your fruits and veggies unless you’re eating it: If you pre-wash your produce, then chances are they will get soggy and moist. Instead, wash it only before you eat it
