Sometimes, you just can’t help but pop your leftovers and pre-prepped meals in the fridge. Here are some tips you might want to follow.
Keep Temperatures Low
Always see that you maintain really low temperatures in your refrigerator. A temperature below 40C might be ideal. The growth of food spoiling bacteria is quite slow under these temperatures. It would be a good idea to have a refrigerator thermometer and place it in your fridge so you know what temperature your fridge is at. Another thing you would want to make sure is that the fridge door is not left open for too long, and that your raids are always quick.
Cover Your Food
Using appropriate food wrappers, containers, and covers is important. This again, will determine the freshness and condition of the food you have stored. You might want to look for tips on what packaging or containers to use for specific types of food.
There are quite a number of options you would find in the market when it comes to food storage. However, always look for good quality, safe storage items. Whether you are picking up a bunch of reusable freezer bags or plastic containers for the refrigerator, make sure they are the good stuff that will last long enough and keep your food protected.
Don’t Delay
Many of us have the habit of letting food lie around before storing them away. When it comes to refrigeration or freezing, however, this is something you’d want to avoid. Pop your food in the fridge as soon as you know they’re going to need storing. The more they are left in the open, the higher the chances for them to spoil. Thus, if you kids have a habit of making random trips to the fridge, tell them why they should try and avoid it.
Don’t Overload
Stuffy environments are never the best thing – whether in terms of health or hygiene. The same applies to your refrigerator. Overloading it will prevent air from circulating freely. The more space you make in your refrigerator, the better circulation there will be (of cold air) which is important to maintain freshness and prevent food from going stale.
Clean Your Fridge!
Certainly, this isn’t something anyone should be telling you! As mentioned previously, the clean space and air in your fridge is what’s most important if you want your stored food to stay good. It may not really occur to you, but letting unwanted stuff sit in your fridge for days or weeks can turn out to be more unhygienic than you know. Cleaning your fridge would not seem like a time consuming job if you make it a point to do it regularly, and by regularly, we mean once a week.
Discard with Care
Moldy food needs to be discarded carefully. You may want to discard them in bags or wrappers so the rest of the food isn’t affected. As you know, mold can easily spread and so, you might want to check for signs of mold on the rest of the items in the fridge. Additionally, make sure that containers and surfaces touched by mold are thoroughly cleaned.
