Everyone wants food to stay fresh for as long as possible, and not stupidly dry out or spoil on the refrigerator shelf. We have collected the most relevant tips that can come in handy in the name of this good cause. In all honesty, we ourselves did not know all these rules.
1. Heat and cold
First, let’s define the foods that should be kept in the refrigerator and those that can be stored in kitchen drawers at room temperature. Apples, beans, berries, broccoli, cabbage (and cauliflower too), carrots, celery, cherries, corn, cucumbers, zucchini, ginger, grapes, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms need coolness. At room temperature, you need to keep avocados, apricots, bananas, citruses, garlic, kiwi, melon, nectarines, onions, pears, peaches, plums, pineapples, potatoes. By the way, if you put garlic in the refrigerator, it will take revenge on you: it will dry out, and only the husk will remain from the cloves. And apples should be kept separate from other vegetables and fruits, as they accelerate the ripening of the “neighbors”, and they can start to deteriorate.
2. Onion life hack
Peeled and chopped onions can be stored in plastic bottles, but make sure they are dry enough before placing them in the bottle. By the way, some housewives (as well as foreign scientists) recommend storing onions in nylon tights. Thus, it can remain fresh for about eight months. But the tights must be correct – read about it link… And in no case store onions with potatoes, as they will go bad very quickly. If you leave it in a dry place where there is good air circulation, then you can not worry about its freshness for 2-3 months.
3. Greens of the first freshness
Before sending parsley, dill, basil, cilantro, green onions, asparagus to the refrigerator, they must be collected in a bouquet, placed in a jar of water, covered with a plastic bag on top and secured with an elastic band. Then the greens will stay fresh for a long time. But thyme, by the way, should be tied in a tight bun and hung in the fresh air.
4. Berries – wash
To preserve the freshness of the berries, it is necessary to process them with a special solution and then only send them to the refrigerator. Mix vinegar with water (in proportions 1:10), soak the berries in the solution, dry and refrigerate. In this case, raspberries, for example, will remain fresh for about a week, strawberries for two weeks.
5. Cheese is the head of everything
To prevent a cut piece of cheese from drying out, you need to grease it with butter or wrap it in special paper (in no case in cling film), and then put it in a paper bag. By the way, cheese must be stored in the warmest places of the refrigerator (vegetable drawer, etc.).
6. Second bread
Like the first one, it must be fresh. Yes, we’re talking about potatoes. To prevent the potatoes from sprouting and to be stored longer, it is necessary to keep them in a dry place, after adding a few apples to the box. But keep in mind that one rotten apple can ruin the entire crop, so pick up your potatoes periodically.
7. Divide and rule
Never store vegetables, fruits and meat in the same compartment of the refrigerator. Meat and seafood must be kept on the lower shelves, after carefully wrapping them so that they do not drip onto other products.
8. To prevent bananas from turning black
To keep the bananas taste and aroma for 3-5 days, wrap the stem with cling film or foil. And remember that they release ethylene, so they need to be kept separate from other fruits. They have this feature in common with apples – ethylene accelerates the ripening of vegetables and fruits.
9. Foil for broccoli
The most dietary greens – celery, broccoli and lettuce – need to be wrapped in foil and only then put into the refrigerator. And how to eat broccoli so that this cabbage brings maximum benefits, read link.
10. Tomatoes of different ripeness
Unripe tomatoes can be kept upside down in the refrigerator by placing them in a paper bag. Or put them on a separate shelf until ripe. But ripe tomatoes should be stored at room temperature, away from sunlight, with their legs up.
11. Frost for ginger
In order for ginger to retain its taste as long as possible, it must be kept in the freezer.
12. Mushrooms – without film
Mushrooms also need to be kept in the refrigerator, after wrapping them in a paper bag (not in a plastic bag).