How to store so you are not binning it

Milk, eggs, greens

• Milk — in the fridge, lid on. Sour smells at once: into pancakes only if it does not yet rope
• Eggs in Britain often live in the fridge door, pointed end down
• Dill and parsley — in a glass of water, a bag loosely over, in the fridge
• Cheese — in paper or its own wrap, not sweating in bare plastic

Bread and soup

Bread — in a tin or a cloth, not in a tied bag for a day. Stale — toast, a bake, the birds in the yard. Soup: cool, lid, fridge, two days or freeze in portions. Do not leave the pot on the hob ‘until morning’ in a warm kitchen.

If you are not sure

Nose, eye, finger. Mould on jam — do not spoon off ‘the clean edge’, better not to risk it. An ammonia smell on fish — in the bin, not in batter. Binning food hurts; making the family ill hurts more.