- After the holidays, you are left with a mountain of food and you don’t know what to do with it? Wasting is a problem, but there are effective ways to deal with it!
- Discover the secrets of storing food in the refrigerator, freezer and vacuum to keep it fresh and tasty for longer.
- Learn how to creatively use holiday leftovers, turning them into new, delicious meals and reducing waste!
The Christmas season is a time of culinary abundance. After a few days of celebration, however, we are often left with excess food and the question of how to use it wisely. It is then, in the absence of proven solutions, that waste is most likely to occur. Meanwhile, proper storage and a flexible approach to reusing leftovers allow you to maintain their freshness, taste and quality for many days. How to do it in a practical and sensible way? Ola Juszkiewicz – winner of the MasterChef program, biologist, ecologist, promoter of zero waste cuisine and FoodSaver brand expert – shares her tips.
In the fridge, freezer or in a vacuum?
As the holiday gatherings come to an end, refrigerators and freezers are filled with a variety of foods. This is a very important moment – how quickly and how we protect the food determines whether it will retain its freshness, taste and nutritional value.
It is best to wrap meats and cheeses in paper and place them in a cooler part of the refrigerator, and salads based on mayonnaise or cream should be stored in airtight containers and consumed within a few days. Cakes such as poppy seed cake or cheesecake should also be protected against drying out and absorbing the smells of other dishes. In turn, dumplings, bigos and baked meats are perfect for freezing – especially if they are previously divided into smaller portions.
– suggests the expert.
In the case of classic food storage – both in the refrigerator and in the freezer – the biggest challenge remains contact with air. When freezing, an additional problem may be the so-called Frost burn, i.e. drying and damaging the structure of products, which after defrosting affects their taste and consistency. It is the access of oxygen that accelerates the spoilage process, leads to the loss of moisture and the gradual disappearance of the aroma. Many ingredients lose their freshness not because they were poorly prepared, but because of too long contact with air. Therefore, vacuum storage is becoming more and more popular, as it effectively reduces this problem.
Store without oxygen
The vacuum storage method is extremely universal and can be used both in the refrigerator and in the freezer. Meats and cheeses, deprived of air, can stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, and salads gain a few extra days without losing their taste and quality. The possibilities in the freezer are even greater – dumplings can be stored for up to a year, and fish, such as salmon or cod, for up to six months, without the risk of deterioration of their structure or aroma.
In vacuum storage, it is crucial to limit the access of oxygen, which is most responsible for food spoilage
– explains Ola Juszkiewicz.
By removing air, products stay fresh longer, and the processes favoring the growth of microorganisms and oxidation occur much slower. This method of storage also helps to better protect sensitive nutrients, including vitamin C and omega-3 acids. As a result, food can be stored up to five times longer, without deterioration in taste or quality
– adds an expert from FoodSaver, a manufacturer of vacuum packaging systems, awarded the Grand Prix of Consumer Quality Leader 2025.
Importantly, vacuum storage works not only for solid products. You can also successfully protect soups, sauces and stocks in this way. Special sealers for liquids enable them to be safely sealed in bags or containers. Thanks to this, you can return to the taste of Christmas borscht long after the Christmas Eve dinner.
The second life of Christmas dishes
Well-protected food gives you much more scope for culinary experiments. It makes it easier to use what’s left after the holidays and allows you to prepare other tasty meals from these ingredients. Roasted meats can be used as a base for sandwiches, salads or wraps, vegetables from the broth can be blended into a creamy soup or pâté, and stale bread can be turned into crispy croutons.
Baked ham left over from the holidays will work great in simple sandwiches – just cut it into thin slices and combine it with good bread and a classic sauce, for example honey mustard. This set can be supplemented with lettuce leaves and your favorite vegetables and prepare a delicious meal in just a few minutes. And this is just the beginning of the possibilities!
– says the expert.
How to use other Christmas products?
- Fish, especially baked or smoked, can be turned into sandwich spreads. Chopped with a bit of yogurt or cottage cheese, lemon and dill, they are perfect for breakfast or dinner.
- Cooked potatoes, which are often left over after Christmas dinners, can be used to prepare potato dumplings or a casserole. This is one of the most rewarding products for reuse – just add an egg, flour and spices to create a completely new dish.
- It is worth using vegetables from broth or roast for creamy soups, sauces or spreads. Mixed with olive oil and spices, they can become a base for sandwiches, an addition to pasta or a filling for tarts.
- Bigos and Christmas Eve cabbage are perfect as a stuffing for pancakes, dumplings or patties.
Finally, stay organized
After the holidays, good organization of the refrigerator makes everyday cooking much easier. Dividing dishes into smaller portions, vacuum-packing them and labeling them with a marker allows you to plan meals for the following days more quickly. This makes it easier to reach for a ready-made element of dinner, lunch or breakfast, without having to think about how to best use subsequent portions of food.
Reasonable planning, appropriate storage and openness to using leftovers allow you to actually reduce food waste. Thanks to these small changes, Christmas dishes can be successfully used long after the family gatherings are over. And this means not only saving money, but also more pleasure in cooking – without the feeling that anything was wasted.
