Aldi has shared a food storage hack that will stop bananas going brown or mushy: slice them up and put them in the freezer.
The discount supermarket chain, once again named the cheapest in the UK last month, has previously put out information to help customers keep food fresh for longer. It teamed up with food storage expert Kate Hall to tell shoppers what they should do to keep various favourite foods fresh, including milk, potatoes and bananas.
The advice comes after research by Aldi found that the average Brit throws away £387 of food every year, and seven out of 10 admit they buy food knowing they’ll likely throw it in the bin.
How to freeze bananas
Kate says there’s a way to keep bananas lasting longer without going brown or mushy – by slicing them up and then putting them in one kitchen appliance: the freezer. She said: “Let’s face it, we can’t always make banana bread every time a bunch gets past its best. But if you can spare 30 seconds to peel, slice and freeze bananas, you can avoid them going to waste.”
“Just spread them out on a lined tray before freezing so that they don’t clump together, and then store them in a resealable freezer bag. These are perfect for making banana ice cream or chocolate peanut butter bites!”
Freezing other fruit and vegetables
Kate said: “You can use the same approach to save lots of other fruits and veggies too, for example, cucumbers can be sliced and frozen to be used instead of ice cubes, added to smoothies, or even blitzed into a refreshing sorbet.”
She added: “Using your freezer is such a simple way to press pause on your food so it doesn’t end up in the bin. Freezing food can help our budgets stretch further, and you can actually freeze a lot more than people realise. The trick is knowing the best way to freeze food and what to do with it after freezing.”
Aldi’s food waste mission
Luke Emery, National Sustainability Director at Aldi UK, said: “At Aldi, we’re committed to reducing food waste wherever we can across our supply chain, whether that be working with suppliers to cut down on waste, or marking down prices of items nearing their sell by date.
“Now we’re on a mission to help shoppers minimise their food waste too, while getting even more value from their Aldi groceries at the same time. It seems simple, but the research shows that freezing items still isn’t something many do – so we want to showcase just how easy that can be.”
