I'm in a fortunate position of having two freezers - one just for fruit and vegetables for my preserves and one for family food. At this time of year the fruit and veg freezer is very nearly empty so it is the perfect time to defrost it, temporarily moving the remaining fruit into the family freezer. Once that is done, I move everything from the family freezer into the fruit freezer, defrost that and return it. However, this time not everything makes it back into the freezer because it has been in storage for just too long and needs throwing away. I hate food waste but sometimes it is necessary. It is weird when this job is done to be in the unusual position of knowing the entire contents of my freezer. However, I take advantage of this and write down a meal plan for the next week or so, using up things in the freezer that need to be eaten soon.
The next job is the fridge. I admit that I clean the fridge about once a month so I never get too ghastly a surprise but I usually stumble across something like the soggy end of a piece of cucumber or similar that I have missed in the meantime. It is important to keep your fridge clean and I think in many kitchens it probably contains the least wiped down surfaces in the place. When I tackle the fridge cleaning I start at the top and work my way down, placing the contents of each shelf in turn on the worktop, removing the shelf, cleaning it, drying it and returning it before replacing all the food that is still edible.
Finally the food cupboard. I tackle this probably twice a year, again working from shelf to shelf, top to bottom. Out of date food is thrown away, the shelves are wiped down and things are returned in a lovely ordered arrangement. Oh how I wish my cupboard always looked like this. It is worth reviewing your herbs and spices at least once a year because they do lose their flavour with time. Although they won't go mouldy and need throwing away they may be so old that they are not worth using anymore. On the note of herbs, now is a good time to buy some growing herbs from the supermarket to put on your window sill. They should do very nicely there for a few weeks or even longer if you pot them on or plant them out come June and are nicer than dried herbs.
When deciding what food to throw away and what to keep, bear in mind that if it is past its "use by" date it could potentially cause food poisoning. However, a best before day just means it was probably better before that date. It is "stale" rather than "off" and you can use your own judgement as to whether it should be thrown away or if you can still use it up. If you are throwing food away, think about the container it is in and whether it can be re-used. Certainly, if it came in a glass jar then wash it out, stick in a cupboard and refill it with homemade preserves in a month or so.
Here's one of my favourite recipe for using up stale food cupboard ingredients. For this use stale biscuits and the remaining bag of mixed dried fruit left over from mince pie or Christmas cake making in December. Then when you are all done with the spring cleaning, make yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up and reward yourself with a slice of tiffin!
Tiffin
8 oz (225g) stale biscuits
4 oz (110g) butter
1 good tablespoon golden syrup
8 oz (225g) mixed dried fruit
2 oz (55g) glacé cherries, chopped
7 oz (200g) milk chocolate
Place the biscuits in a bag and bash with a rolling pin until crumbed. Melt together the butter and syrup in a pan over a low heat. Combine the biscuit, butter mix and fruit and stir well. Grease a suitable tin and press the mixture into it and level. Refrigerate for at least half an hour until solid. Melt the chocolate over a pan of hot water then spread over the biscuit base, level out and return to the fridge. Once solid, cut the tiffin into small squares and transfer to an airtight container. Keeps well.
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