{"id":30456,"date":"2025-09-18T23:26:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T23:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/30456\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T23:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T23:26:09","slug":"what-expiry-dates-really-mean-and-other-simple-tricks-to-save-money-on-groceries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/30456\/","title":{"rendered":"What expiry dates really mean \u2013 and other simple tricks to save money on groceries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labels aren\u2019t the only guide. Your senses are often the best judge. A tub of yoghurt<\/a> a day or two past its best-before is usually fine, while bagged salad can turn slimy well before the date. A simple rule of thumb is to look first, sniff second and taste last \u2013 if anything seems off, don\u2019t risk it.<\/p>\n

Bring order to your pantry<\/p>\n

Storage habits play a big role, too. A simple trick borrowed from restaurants is \u201cfirst in, first out\u201d: shift older items to the front of the fridge or pantry so they\u2019re used before newer ones. It only takes a minute when you unpack groceries, but it means far fewer forgotten packets moulder at the back.<\/p>\n

\"StaleStale bread makes great croutons or breadcrumbs, as used in this spaghetti dish. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Try this: Make the most of your pantry staples with these smart recipes.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Organisation makes everything easier. Clear containers \u2013 they don\u2019t have to be fancy; cleaned jars or tubs work fine \u2013 help you see what you have. Label them with the purchase date so the oldest gets used first. Dried goods<\/a> like pasta, rice or lentils are hardy and usually carry best-before dates years out. They\u2019re safe to eat long after that if stored in a cool, dry place, though the texture and flavour may slowly decline. If flour smells musty or rice looks discoloured, that\u2019s the sign to let it go.<\/p>\n

You can freeze more than you think<\/p>\n

Freezing is another powerful tool, but not everything behaves the same. Bread, butter and most cooked grains freeze perfectly, and chopped herbs mixed with a little oil can be frozen in ice cube trays for instant flavour. Cheese and milk can be frozen too, though they change texture \u2013 cheese becomes crumbly and milk may separate, making them better for cooking than fresh use. One note of caution: cooked rice<\/a> should be cooled quickly, stored in the fridge within an hour and eaten within a day or two, or frozen in portions. Reheating rice that\u2019s been left out too long can cause food poisoning.<\/p>\n

Old food can still taste great<\/p>\n

When ingredients are nearing the end of their life, cooking can give them new purpose. Bendier vegetables can be roasted for soups or fritters<\/a>, overripe bananas make banana bread, stale bread becomes crumbs or croutons. Batch cooking adds another layer of thrift: roast a tray of vegetables and use them across several meals, or cook a chicken once and stretch it into sandwiches, fried rice and broth.<\/p>\n

\"ThereThere are delicious alternatives to throwing away past-its-best fruit, such as this spiced banana bread. Photo \/ Lottie Hedley <\/p>\n

Using up those overripe bananas: recipes to try<\/p>\n

Shop with a strategy<\/p>\n

Shopping with intention also cuts waste. Check your pantry before writing a list, and stick to it at the supermarket. Buying in bulk<\/a> is only a bargain if you can store it properly and eat it before it spoils. A useful exercise is to declare a \u201cshop the pantry\u201d week every couple of months \u2013 buy only fresh basics and commit to cooking from what\u2019s already at home. It\u2019s a surprising way to rediscover those tins and packets you bought with good intentions and never quite used.<\/p>\n

Habits keep things on track. A quick fridge scan before bin night helps you spot what needs to be eaten next, and a seasonal deep clean \u2013 wiping shelves, checking dates, donating unopened long-life items you won\u2019t use \u2013 resets the whole system.<\/p>\n

The bigger picture<\/p>\n

And beyond the personal savings, there\u2019s a larger payoff. According to WasteMINZ, the industry body for NZ\u2019s waste and resource recovery sector, households throw away more than 157,000 tonnes of food each year. Much of it could have been eaten. Reducing that waste not only saves families money but also eases the environmental burden.<\/p>\n

A kitchen spring clean is more than a seasonal ritual. By decoding expiry dates, trusting your senses and putting a few systems in place, you can waste less, save more and feel better about what\u2019s in your fridge and pantry. That\u2019s money back in your pocket \u2013 and fewer guilty toss-outs into the bin.<\/p>\n

Herald contributor Nikki Birrell has worked in food and travel publishing for nearly 20 years. From managing your kitchen to cutting costs, she\u2019s shared some helpful advice recently, including how to prep your barbecue<\/a> for summer grilling, gourmet hacks for elevating budget ingredients<\/a> and what toppings to choose for different crackers<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Labels aren\u2019t the only guide. Your senses are often the best judge. A tub of yoghurt a day…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[95,138,12974,3470,29396,29395,17896,29393,29390,29394,29398,4745,6098,13457,29397,29391,300,111,139,69,90,5493,193,29399,29392,5970,11590,6926,1954,199,61,28377,6923,14605],"class_list":["post-30456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-and","tag-business","tag-change","tag-clear","tag-clutter","tag-cupboards","tag-dates","tag-excuse","tag-expiry","tag-fling","tag-fridge","tag-groceries","tag-hard","tag-look","tag-lurking","tag-mean","tag-money","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-open","tag-other","tag-pantry","tag-perfect","tag-really","tag-save","tag-season","tag-simple","tag-take","tag-to","tag-tricks","tag-what","tag-whats"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}