Let’s start with the basics. A refrigerator is a very important appliance that needs to be monitored. Many people believe that the refrigerator does not need to be washed and does not need to be defrosted. And even No Frost or De Frost refrigerators need to be defrosted once a year and must be washed, pulling absolutely all shelves and all food out of the refrigerator. If your refrigerator is not No Frost, you should defrost it completely and rinse it every three to four months.
We store a huge amount of food in the fridge that we buy at markets and supermarkets, and a lot of different bacteria can accumulate on them. There are also often different odors in the refrigerator. Of course, we can use rescue products: there are various devices that have an antibacterial effect and eliminate odors. But this does not negate the fact that the refrigerator needs to be washed every three to four months. Compliance with sanitary standards in the refrigerator is fundamentally important.
How to store food in the refrigerator
A refrigerator is a small enclosed space, so we have to be careful about how we store food. Ideally, everything should be packed and closed. We do not store open pots and open plates of food. For example, we don’t put a bowl of salad or a plate of soup in the fridge without covering it. Because vegetables are stored there, eggs are stored there, and all possible bacteria can get into open dishes. Therefore, if we store ready-to-eat food, we must store it in closed containers.
What kind of containers to store food in the refrigerator
What about when we put a lid on a pan of food and put it in the fridge? You can do this, but only if the pan is allowed to store food. We do not store food in stainless steel and aluminum for a long time. When we have cooked food, we should ideally put it in the right dish. It can be ceramic or glass. Glass is an ideal type of storage for any food. It is enough to buy the right dishes, the right containers once, and you will never have problems with proper food storage. We try not to use plastic containers.
The temperature in the refrigerator
It is also very important to make sure that your refrigerator is not filled to the brim. You have to understand that there must be air in the refrigerator. Cold air – it must be the right temperature. And it must penetrate absolutely every product. That’s why you can’t fill the refrigerator completely.
Try to make sure that when you open the refrigerator, there is air in your refrigerator. We also have to make sure that the temperature in the refrigerator is no higher than +4 degrees. This is the maximum temperature. Even if your temperature is already +5 degrees, it means that all your food will spoil much faster.
Storage of fruits and vegetables
We don’t wash all fruits and vegetables before putting them in the refrigerator. We can wipe them with a dry cloth, but do not wash them with water, as excessive moisture will accelerate the rotting process.
We simply wash all the vegetables and fruits, if they are too dirty, wipe them with a dry cloth and put them on the lowest shelf. Most often, it’s pull-out, transparent. This is a special container for vegetables and fruits. We try to separate vegetables and fruits. That is, we do not put peppers mixed with bananas on top.
We try not to store bananas in the refrigerator at all. Just like avocados. Because they emit a special gas called ethylene, which, firstly, spoils these products themselves, and secondly, spoils the food around them. That’s why we don’t keep bananas and avocados in the fridge. And by the way, if you buy an avocado, cut it open, and it has these black streaks inside, it means that the avocado was put in a cold place when it was unripe. That’s how avocados don’t ripen. We have already talked about avocados in one of our articles here.
Storage of greens
What else do we not wash before storing? In general, we try to wash greens immediately before eating them. If it’s greens, for example, from the garden or from familiar old ladies from the market, then it should be wrapped in a paper towel. Because greens will contain moisture in any case. And then, perhaps, put it in a bag.
Storage of eggs
We also don’t wash eggs. We store eggs, first of all, on the top shelf of the refrigerator. On the bottom shelf and the top shelf you will have the lowest temperature. That’s why we try to store eggs at the top. We wash eggs just before eating them. If you wash the eggs in advance, you will remove the protective film and the intake of various bacteria through the shell will be much stronger.
Store meat and fish
We also wash chilled meat and fish right before we start cooking them. If we wash the chilled fish and meat in advance and then, for example, put them in the refrigerator for one day or maybe even two days, this can also speed up the process of spoilage of these products. And let us remind you that we do not store chilled meat and fish in the refrigerator for more than one or two days.
