How to: Vacation Proof Your Fridge

It’s hard enough to come home from vacation.

What’s even harder is taking that first tentative look inside your fridge once you’re home. The cumulative relaxing effects of vacation evaporate instantly when you see that your vegetables have become mush and your cheese has turned into a science experiment. You’re hungry and you have nothing to cook. You think about how much money has been wasted. And you realize you’ll be spending the Sunday night before you return to work scrubbing the vegetable crisper and taking out the garbage.

Don’t despair! With a little planning and preparation, you can avoid these particular post-trip blues by vacation-proofing your kitchen. Not only will you prevent mess and save money; if you plan just right, you’ll also have all of the fixings for a homemade meal ready to toss together upon your return. Coming home and peeking in the fridge won’t be so scary after all. 

Here’s what you need to know to vacation-proof your kitchen:

Prep Work

Vacation-proofing your kitchen can be easier and faster than you think. The amount of time you’ll need depends on how many items you’re salvaging, how quickly you work, and how much prep work you’ve done before you start chopping. Speed up the process by having Ziploc bags (quart and gallon size), plastic freezer-safe containers, labels, and a permanent marker on hand. Other handy items include kitchen twine (or sewing thread) and scissors.

Work by category. Start with vegetables and herbs, for example, and then move on to dairy. You’ll deal with items in categories similarly, so tackle in-category items simultaneously to improve efficiency and minimize mess. We explain how to handle each category below.

Label everything. What clearly looks like sofrito when you’re storing it in a container will be indistinguishable when you pull it out of the freezer two weeks from now. Put the name of the item and the date you made it on a label that gets affixed to the container.

Think ahead. If you have a trusted neighbor, friend, or family member who’s taking care of your home for you while you’re away, leave instructions for them to pull that pizza crust and pasta sauce out of the freezer on the morning you’re scheduled to return. When you arrive, your meal will require little preparation.

Next, how to tackle each food category to maximize time and savings while minimizing waste.

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Milk and Cream

Frozen dairy products usually won’t taste quite as creamy once defrosted, but they’re perfectly fine for cooking. When storing these in your freezer, make sure the containers aren’t completely full; since liquids expand when they freeze, milk and cream need a little extra room. When you’re ready to use them again, thaw them in the fridge or in a bowl of cold water.

Yogurt

Though you can freeze yogurt, too, its texture, consistency, and flavor will change a bit. Better to use yogurt by turning it into smoothies for the morning of your departure (along with fresh fruit) or into dip for veggies and chips that you can take on your trip.

Cheese

Technically, you can freeze cheese, but taste and texture are affected to the point that you may not enjoy the cheese once it has thawed. Instead, shred any leftover cheese and put it in an airtight container; it should keep well as long as your trip is a week or less. If you don’t want to shred your cheese, you can either cut it into cubes and pack it as a travel snack or you can learn how to wrap cheese properly to maximize its shelf life in your fridge. To wrap wedged cheeses, you’ll need waxed paper or kitchen parchment, which you’ll fold tightly, much like an envelope, around the cheese. Secure with tape so the cheese is not exposed to air. Cheeses like queso fresco and cotija should be used prior to your travels as they don’t hold up or store as well. 

Veggies and Herbs

Vegetables and herbs are the easiest items to save from death-due-to-vacation. With herbs, you have three main options: hang them to dry; turn them into pesto or incorporate them into another sauce or condiment (such as sofrito); or add them to a batch of vegetable stock.

If you want to dry your herbs, make sure they’re clean and that you’ve wicked off extra moisture with a towel. Then, tie kitchen twine or sewing thread around the stems and hang the bundle upside down to dry.

If you prefer, you can toss your herbs into a large stew pot and make stock, along with vegetables like carrots, onions, and celery. Making stock is an incredibly easy way to use most staple vegetables before a trip. Mushrooms and tomatoes can also be added. There’s no need to get fancy; just make sure your vegetables are clean, then rough chop them and drop them into the pot. Cover all the vegetables  and bring just to a boil before turning the heat to medium-low and allowing your stock to simmer for about an hour. When it’s done, let it cool down and then strain the broth. Discard the vegetables and herbs and freeze the stock.

There are at least a dozen other ways you can save vegetables before a trip. You can chop and freeze items like onions, peppers, chiles, root vegetables, and even plantains. You can turn your assortment of veggies and herbs into any number of salsas and sauces– sofrito, tomato sauce, or pesto, for example—all of which can be frozen. For items that won’t last until you return but don’t freeze well either, you can quick pickle. Ginger and cucumbers both take well to quick pickling (don’t be daunted by the word “pickling”; it’s as easy as making stock.

Next, bread, grains, fruits, and meats…

Bread

Bread can be frozen, but as with frozen dairy products, the defrosted product will lose some of its pleasant texture and taste. The best option is to bread into bread crumbs before a trip. Making bread crumbs is simple, but you need to plan ahead because the bread needs to be sufficiently dry before you can crumb it. If you need to speed up the process, you can toast it lightly in the oven. Crumb manually if you’re feeling hands on or throw small chunks of bread into the blender or food processor and let the machines do the work. Store the crumbs in an airtight container in the fridge.

Grains

Rice and other grains can be frozen, but by now you know the refrain: once defrosted, they won’t taste quite the same. (You’ll also need to remember to add sufficient water to fluff up the grains and combat a somewhat chalky film that forms when defrosting.) Better to turn these into a cold salad you can take on your trip: the grains will taste better and they’ll be healthier and cheaper than anything you can find in the airport or at the interstate food court.

Eggs

Unless you’re planning to be away for a month, eggs will likely keep just fine in your fridge, but if you’re concerned they won’t, you can hard boil them for your trip or crack and freeze them.

Fruit

Eat healthy and fill up before you take off for vacation by incorporating your fresh fruit into muffins or morning smoothies. If you have more fruit than you know what to do with, puree items like berries and melons with a bit of water or juice and pour them into ice cube trays to use in seltzers, aguas, or cocktails when you get home.

Meat, Fish, and Poulty

Most meat can be frozen, though dry-cured meats, such as hard chorizos, should hold up just fine. Read the packaging for specific instructions.

One Last Tip

You’re ready to hit the road and get out of town, but take a minute to think ahead. There’s nothing better than coming home to a meal you can cook yourself. Make sure you’ve got some non-perishable quick cook items in the cupboard for the day you get home. And if you’ve salvaged and squirreled away enough staples, have that neighbor pull them out of the freezer for you on the morning of your return. Make and freeze a fast pizza dough and its fixings before a trip so you can return to a quick, no-fuss meal that tastes like home and requires little clean-up.