Wearing pantyhose is something that with the traditional 9 to 5 has gone more or less by the wayside, but you just shouldn’t throw your favorite pair of worn-out stockings yet.
Did you know that a wide range of foods can easily be stored in a pair of pantyhose?
There are many advantages to doing so, and without having to invest in a lot of fancy machinery, it’s a perfect way to prolong the life of your garden’s harvest. Although you should not sneak a fresh pair out of the laundry bin, the trick should be done very nicely by using a clean or new pair of light-colored pantyhose.
Here are 20 foods you can preserve in pantyhose – and tips on how to do it safely.
Onions
Some of the best foods to retain in pantyhose are onions. Doing so will give your onions plenty of space to breathe and will also allow you to store your onions separately from other items, when they are required, you can simply take them out.
Simply feed it through the leg of the hose to store the onion in the pantyhose until it hits the foot. To keep it segregated, tie it off around the ankle.
To maximize freshness, you can fill the entire leg with onions, but tie off just before each bulb to keep each one fresh-your onions should last about six months when stored this way.
Related: Why Put Onions in Your Socks Before Sleeping
Cucumbers
Feel free to drop a few cukes into an old pair of pantyhose, but don’t bring them to the refrigerator. Believe it or not, cucumbers dislike being cold, and it will cause them to spoil much faster with something colder than 50 degrees. They’re also susceptible to ethylene gas, so keep them far from melons, tomatoes, and bananas after you’ve stashed them in the hose.
Herbs
Every kind of pantyhose herb can be stored. Actually, that lets you make a lovely bouquet of garni. All you have to do is wrap the cloth with the herbs, tie it off, and you’re ready to go. Only tie the butcher’s twine to the tip. These herb clusters can also be used to build your own teabags.
Shallots
Shallots can also be stashed in pantyhoses, as with onions and garlic. They are very thin, so using smaller pantyhose (or those made for children) you might have better luck.
Apples
When you’re trying to shield them from fruit flies, apples are best kept in pantyhoses.
Again, your best bet, as with onions, would be to separately stash each apple, then tie the hose off just before the stem.
Related: Post Apocalypse Gardening: Living From a Small Piece of Land in Tough Conditions
Oranges
Just like apples, oranges can also be stashed in a pair of tights. Don’t feel the need to stash them in your refrigerator – right on the counter is fine and dandy.
Cheese
Rather than wrapping your fresh cheese in cheesecloth, consider using a pair of pantyhose. It’s far more economical and will work just as well.
Melons
After they have been plucked from the vine, melons may be preserved in pantyhoses. Believe it or not, it is not important to refrigerate most kinds of melons, and stashing them in pantyhoses will help to prolong their shelf life ever so slightly.
When they’re still on the vine, another way you can use pantyhose for melons is to tie pantyhose around them. Melons are strong, and it can help to prevent the stem from breaking by tying a pair of pantyhose around the fruit.
Peaches
At room temperature, peaches, pears, and other kinds of stone fruits should be processed. As long as you place them with the stem-end down, you can stash them in a pair of old pantyhose.
This is a perfect alternative to storing in plastic bags these fruits, which can cause them to ripen over.
Potatoes
Potatoes are pantry staples, including onions and garlic, that are easy to store in pantyhoses. In order to facilitate good air circulation, insert each one separately and then hang the pantyhose package. This should help prevent the rotting of your potatoes, too. For best performance, leave the dirt on them-don’t wash first.
Yogurt
You can’t preserve yogurt in pantyhose, perse, so you’ll need some cheesecloth or some pantyhose to make your own yogurt! Using a piece of pantyhose instead of cheesecloth, you can quickly strain the milk for your yogurt.
Celery
If you intend to store it this way for the long term, Celery does need to be refrigerated, but putting the stalks in a glass of water with the top tightly covered with a piece of pantyhose is a nice way to keep it crisp. It’s just as simple as that!
Winter Squash
Winter squash is already renowned in the dead of winter for its amazing longevity, but by stashing your fruits in a pair of pantyhoses, you can make it last much longer.
This hack works better for more or less symmetrical squashes-you may have a harder time fitting an oblong butternut squash within a pantyhose set than, for instance, a spaghetti squash!
Once again, taking the time to cure it first is the secret to preserving winter squash in pantyhose.
Carrots
Carrots are root vegetables that, long after they have reached your kitchen shelves, continue to put energy into their leaf growth. By cutting the tops off and then storing them in a pair of pantyhose, you will inspire your carrots to become sweeter. This will lock in nutrients, but you should stop washing them before you store them, as with potatoes.
Bananas
Just having to sacrifice a few bits of pantyhose? If so, the bits and pieces can be stored with bananas for a limited period of time. Each stem is simply wrapped in a bit of plastic wrap, which will lower the rate at which ethylene gas is emitted. Consequently, the bananas will ripen more slowly.
Meat
Just about any kind of meat can be temporarily preserved in pantyhose.
For the long run, this is not something you will want to do because when exposed to inopportune temperatures, it will not keep your meat from spoiling.
However, when you place your meat in pantyhose (ideally inside an additional plastic bag) before placing it in the refrigerator, this can help prevent air from entering the package and contribute to color, flavor, and texture loss.
Avocados
Storing avocados in an old pair of pantyhose is a great way to keep them gathered together – plus, it will prevent them from becoming overripe, which can happen if you stash them in your crisper.
Mushrooms
While you can only store mushrooms indefinitely, stashing them in a pair of light-colored pantyhose (rather than in the refrigerator) is the best way to keep them fresh.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes can also be stored in pantyhose, much like plain old white potatoes. Before doing this, you should take the time to heal your sweet potatoes, as it will help the tubers improve their characteristic sweet taste.
Store them for 10 days at 80 degrees with 90 percent humidity, then move them to pantyhoses. You should store them in a cool, dark location once inside the hose (55-60 degrees is ideal) for up to six months.
Related: DIY: Hidden Kitchen Pantry
Garlic
Garlic can also be kept in pantyhose, much like onions. In the very same way, you’ll stash the bulbs in the hose.
Since they are much smaller than onions, this is also a great use for recycling old pantyhose for children.
There are lots of good reasons to consider preserving your produce, meats, and cheese in pantyhose.
Not only can it decrease the amount of food that goes to waste because you don’t have any other materials to store it in, but it will also provide you with a creative way to reuse old clothes that you would throw away anyway.
Using a light-colored pair of pantyhoses that is fresh or gently used and, of course, always clean for the best performance. The findings would amaze you!
