How to store:
Bread, cakes and biscuits.
Cereals, pasta and rice.
Bread
- Keep bread fresh by stopping moisture loss. Sliced bread should last for 2 to 5 days in its wrapper or in an air-tight container.
- Storing bread in the fridge is not recommended as it can become stale quickly at low temperatures.
- Store bread in the freezer if you want to keep it for longer than 5 days.
- Freezing does not affect its nutritional value and you can freeze bread for up to 3 months. Freeze bread straight away and seal it tightly with as little air in the bag as possible.
Cakes
- Store cakes in an airtight container. Icing a cake, once it has cooled, can help increase its shelf-life by reducing moisture loss.
- Cakes can be frozen: store them in an airtight container or wrap them tightly in foil to remove any air before freezing. Frozen cakes will last for about 3 months with icing and six months without icing.
Biscuits
- Keep sweet or savoury biscuits in an airtight container. Most sweet biscuits can also be frozen due to their low moisture content.
- Pipe or spoon soft biscuit mixtures onto a baking try and freeze uncovered. Once frozen, lift off with a palette knife then pack and seal.
- Uncooked biscuit mixture with more than 25% fat to flour will freeze well. Pre-cut biscuit mix uses a lot of space, so try freezing it in rolls of the same diameter as the biscuit you will be baking
Cereals, pasta and rice
- Cereals, rice, flour, pasta and other dry ingredients should be kept in good quality airtight containers. If you do not have suitable containers, tightly reseal the original packaging.
- If you're not going to eat rice as soon as you've cooked it, store it in the fridge as soon as possible, definitely within four hours. Refrigeration won't kill bacteria but it will slow down its growth. Uneaten rice should be thrown out after three days in the fridge.
- You can also freeze cooked rice. It’s a good idea to freeze it in portion sizes. Make sure it's sealed in an airtight container to avoid contamination or freezer burn.
For more information on how to store different foods see the links below