ARTICLES LEARN FROM ARGIRO

Storing food in the refrigerator: Organization and proper storage

συντηρηση τροφιμων στο ψυγειο

How do I store food in the refrigerator to preserve it properly? Where does everything go? What temperature should I set the refrigerator to? Organize your refrigerator and place foods on the correct shelves at the proper refrigerator temperature. All the secrets for food preservation in the refrigerator, refrigerator organization, and proper food storage. What to watch for and what to avoid. Why isn’t the refrigerator cooling? What is the ideal refrigerator temperature? There are many questions, and the answers are here.

We all have a refrigerator at home, but this doesn’t mean everyone knows how to use it correctly for proper food preservation and avoiding bacteria.

Between 5°C and 6°C, bacteria begin to develop in foods.

Therefore, the first thing we do is check the correct temperature of the refrigerator, which should be below 5°C. The ideal solution is to get a refrigerator thermometer.

Similarly, the freezing temperature should be below -18°C for proper preservation of frozen products and foods without deterioration.

We place foods in the refrigerator to extend their shelf life and keep them safe for consumption. If we place them in the wrong spot, this can bring exactly the opposite result and contribute to the development of bacteria that are dangerous to our health.

So the approach of “I open the refrigerator and stuff food wherever there’s space” is a huge mistake and can bring us opposite results.

Each space in a refrigerator is designed for specific product placement.

See here how to place foods correctly and in the right position inside your refrigerator, and this way you’ll preserve them properly without losses and most importantly, safely for your family.

συντηρηση τροφιμων στο ψυγειο οργανωση αποθηκευση θερμοκρασια ψυγειου

A question you often ask me: Why isn’t the refrigerator staying cool?

Initially, a mistake most people make is that they stuff their refrigerator by cramming products against the back and sides of the refrigerator.

This is a huge mistake because they prevent the refrigerator’s cold air from reaching all levels, resulting in some areas of the refrigerator having higher temperatures and foods spoiling quickly in those storage spots. So the refrigerator doesn’t cool properly because we prevent it ourselves by placing things in the wrong place.

Rule 1 for proper food preservation in the refrigerator: Don’t overload your refrigerators

Leave about 2-3 centimeters distance between the walls and back of the refrigerator and the foods. This way, cooling reaches everywhere properly and you’re assured of proper food preservation.

The refrigerator’s storage spaces are many. Learn where you should place each type of food. Each refrigerator space has a different temperature.

Refrigerator organization and food storage at the correct temperature

The refrigerator consists of the following spaces: the door, the vegetable and fruit drawers, the central area which is the shelves, and the freezer.

The refrigerator door has the highest temperature (approximately 10-11°C)

A mistake most people make is putting dairy products in the refrigerator door, especially milk. That spot in the refrigerator isn’t ideal since frequent opening of the refrigerator changes the temperature of that area. The only dairy product you can put in the refrigerator door is butter.

Ideally, in the refrigerator door we store foods, soft drinks, and water that are more resilient and not milk, which is considered a sensitive product.

For example, in the door we put mustard, ketchup, jams, chutneys, soft drinks, and generally non-perishable products that have a long shelf life. Also, in the refrigerator door you can store ground coffee that’s well packaged, nuts, or dried fruits.

In the main part of the refrigerator where we have most of the shelves, we store the majority of foods and meals.

The coldest shelf of the refrigerator (approximately 2°C)

It’s located at the very bottom, right above the vegetable drawers.

On this lowest shelf, which is the coldest spot in the refrigerator and usually has 2°C, we preserve and place raw meats, poultry, fish, and seafood. See more about hygiene rules and proper meat preservation.

Many refrigerators, however, have special drawers for animal products where stable low temperature ensures their perfect preservation.

In any case, each refrigerator may have and suggest in its instructions special food storage spaces.

When you store raw animal products in the refrigerator, they must be in a container with a lid so none of their liquids run onto the refrigerator shelves.

Don’t leave raw meats and seafood for more than two 24-hour periods in refrigerator storage.

If you don’t plan to cook them immediately, they must be removed from their packaging and stored well sealed in the refrigerator’s freezer, putting the date you froze them on top. This way you’ll remove frozen foods for cooking in the proper order and can leave them in the freezer for months.

Fresh ground meat especially shouldn’t stay in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours. See more secrets for proper ground meat preservation.

A fresh bird that has organs in its cavity should stay at most only 24 hours in the refrigerator. After that, it should either be cooked or placed in the freezer covered with a food bag.

Don’t leave raw meats, fish, seafood, and poultry sitting in bowls pooling in their liquids. This is forbidden.

Fresh fish and seafood are preserved for at most one 24-hour period in refrigerator storage. Fish should be cleaned of innards and placed on a rack inside a container. Cover with a fresh towel and lid. The next day it must be cooked or placed in the freezer in a special food bag with a freezing date label.

Middle shelves (4°C)

On the middle shelves where the temperature should be approximately 4°C, we place dairy products, cold cuts, eggs, and cooked foods, well sealed in containers with lids.

Cold cuts don’t have a long shelf life, so buy only what you plan to consume.

Cold cuts in the freezer are preserved for 2 months.

Fresh farm eggs are preserved for 5-6 days. Commercial ones have an expiration date printed on the packaging.

As for cheeses, as long as they’re in airtight packaging, they’re fine. When you open them, however, you must automatically put them in an airtight container with a lid. Only hard yellow cheeses should be wrapped simply in parchment paper so they can breathe and not spoil. Hard cheeses need air and not airtight bowls.

Yellow cheese for toast goes in a bowl ideally with a rack and the cheese rests on top. It’s preserved covered for 10 days.

Large pieces of graviera or kasseri are stored the same way. We always put yellow and white cheeses that release moisture in separate bowls.

Top shelf (7-8°C)

On the very top shelf we store ready-made packaged foods, refrigerator desserts, and eggs. There’s always a stable temperature of around 7-8°C there.

Fruit and vegetable drawers (10°C)

The drawers are located at the very bottom of the refrigerator, with fruits and vegetables separate.

Fruits and vegetables need space to breathe. Don’t close them in food bags. Don’t mix them all together. Make sure bananas don’t touch other fruits, for example. They produce ethylene which brings rapid ripening to vegetables and fruits, causing them to spoil faster.

Remember that moisture is the worst enemy of fruits and vegetables.

A towel or kitchen paper inside the vegetable drawers will help absorb excess moisture.

General guidelines for proper food preservation in the refrigerator

Spices, nuts, and ground coffee are preserved better in the refrigerator door, well sealed in an airtight container.

Opened cans like tuna, sauces, purees, and compotes, after opening, if leftovers remain, must be placed in a glass container and stored on the very top shelf.

Milk: transfer milk to a glass container. The cardboard packaging develops bacteria at its opening. So if you don’t finish the cardboard milk container in 1-2 days but keep it longer, it’s good to put it in a glass bottle on the middle dairy shelf.

Keep your refrigerator always clean and organized, with stable positions for specific products. This way, you’ll more easily see what’s running out, what you’re missing, and you’ll organize your shopping list properly with one glance when opening the refrigerator.

For this reason, remember that every time you buy cheese for toast, for example, you should remove the previous amount of cheese for consumption so that what went into storage first gets consumed first, not pushed back to spoil and end up in the trash. And don’t tell me this hasn’t happened to you, especially if chaos reigns in an overloaded refrigerator – this happens constantly.

It doesn’t take effort, but it takes method!

Check frequently what ingredients you have left in your refrigerator and create a new recipe with whatever you have left over, so you can consume them pleasantly.

Proper food preservation is essential for our family’s safety

Don’t open and close the refrigerator door unnecessarily. First, it changes the cooling temperature inside, and second, you consume energy pointlessly and without reason.

Don’t let ice build up on the refrigerator walls. Clean your refrigerator frequently and defrost when necessary.

When you’re going to remove animal products from the freezer and thaw them (meat, fish, ground meat, or poultry), you should always place the product in a stainless steel or glass container the day before so it thaws slowly. All liquids from a thawing ingredient must drip into the container and not into the refrigerator.

All risen doughs, breads, and pizzas can go directly from the freezer into the oven and bake. You don’t need to thaw them beforehand.

Never refreeze foods that have already been removed from the freezer and thawed. Foods you thaw must be cooked within 24 hours at most and consumed immediately. Never thaw ground meat to make food and put it back in the freezer. It’s preferable the day you get fresh ground meat to season it and freeze it while it’s still fresh. Also, it’s preferable to cook fresh ground meat into a sauce and freeze it cooked.

Fruits or vegetables that go in the freezer can go directly into the blender for juice or ice cream or into the pot without thawing them (for example, carrots, artichokes).

Finally, in summer you should check your refrigerator’s temperature regularly.

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