It is essential for any household to have at least one refrigerator to store their foods. Even though it is familiar, many people still make common mistakes for food storage in the fridge. Here’s the detail.
Common mistakes when storing different kinds of food
Vegetables
- Arrange vegetables too close to fruits in the same space, thus making them spoil very quickly.
- Store all types of veggies you buy in the fridge. There are some vegetables you should not keep cooling such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, manioc, cassava, and taro. These kinds ought to be stored on the counter or cupboard instead.
- Keep vegetables in the fridge for so long. If you would like to store your veggies for an extended period of time, you had better freeze them instead of refrigerating.
- Wash your vegetables and put them into the fridge immediately without being dried out.
Further reading: Should You Store Vegetables in the Fridge? Tips to Make Them Fresh Longer
Fruits
- Put unripe fruits into the fridge: The low temperature of the fridge will prevent these fruits from ripening. So you need to keep them outside until they are ripe.
- Keep your fruits in too tight plastic bags: You should store fruits in their original packaging or in any plastic container with vents so that they can breathe.
- Wash all fruits before storing them: It is more suitable for you to rinse them under clean water whenever you would like to eat instead.
Further reading: How to Store Fruit in a Mini Fridge to Keep It Fresh Longer?
Grains, legumes, nuts and seeds
- Keep these things near other types of food: Once being close to others, they can absorb the unpleasant smell and worsen their taste.
- Use inappropriate containers: The sealable containers or covered jars should be used to store these foods to protect them well from the humidity in the fridge.
Meat and poultry
- Do not seal the containers of meat and poultry carefully: If these containers are not closed tightly, it is more likely to spread the bacteria inside the fridge.
- Do not cool down the cooked meat before refrigerating: After cooking, you need to wait a few minutes or even hours to cool down your meat completely.
- Keep meat and poultry above other types of food: To protect all foods, you should place the meat and poultry in the bottom of the fridge. So you can prevent any drill and spill or bacteria spreading.
- Store meat for too long in the fridge: Depending on each type of meat, it has a different period of time for storage. Keeping them longer than that time should make them harmful to your health.
Further reading: How to Store Meat in the Fridge and Freezer Properly?
Fish and seafood
- Do not cover the alive fish or seafood carefully: Because they are still alive, they can get out of the container when it is not closed tightly.
- Do not place fish and seafood in the fridge as soon as possible when buying them from the store. It is difficult for them to stay fresh at room temperature for so long.
- Keep them quite close to other types of food: You should store your raw food in the coldest part of the fridge and keep them apart from others to avoid contamination.
Dairy foods
- Keep dairy foods on the door shelf: To maintain the good quality of these foods, you need to place them in the back of the shelf where the temperature is stable.
- Leave them outside for a while after use: It is not a good idea to keep them out of the fridge quite long when they are refrigerated already.
Eggs
- Put eggs in the fridge door: Whenever the door is opened and closed, the temperature will fluctuate and affect your eggs in the long run.
- Keep eggs uncovered in the fridge: You ought to move your eggs into a sealed container. So they do not reach any odor smell from others which can change their flavor.
- Do not remove any cracked eggs: Once your egg cracks, it will spoil very fast and spread the bacteria inside your fridge.
FAQs
Should you move all of your foods out of the fridge when the power goes off?
In fact, even when the power goes off, you need to keep all foods inside the fridge. The remaining cooling air in the fridge will help to protect them as long as possible until the problem is solved.
Based on the size of the fridge and freezer, your foods can last from 1 to 4 days without power. However, you should not open the door too often to avoid air leakage.
How can you know whether your food turns bad or not?
You should check the state of your food in the fridge frequently. To keep food fresh and safe, it is necessary to detect any issue so as to remove any damaged part immediately. Here’s what you should check:
- Interior temperature: If it is not cool enough inside the fridge, this will make your food spoil very fast.
- Smell of food: Most foods will release the unpleasant smell when they turn bad.
- Food color: It is easier to know if your veggies are still good through their colors. Once being moldy or spoiled, some black or white dots as well as dark brown color appear.
- Texture: For milk or dairy products, you can determine their quality depending on the texture inside the packaging.
Conclusion
Refrigerating is very effective and efficient for households to store food for their families. However, it is common for people to make some mistakes while storing food. For each type of food, you should have suitable ways to keep them fresh longer.
References:
- Mistakes You’re Making When Storing Fresh Produce, cookinglight.com, Jul. 24, 2018
- Food storage mistakes, thesmartlocal.com, May 19, 2021
- Storing Meats & Seafood, hgic.clemson.edu, Oct. 8, 1999
