Questions about how to store food so as to preserve its freshness and overall quality.
5
votes
2answers
719 views
Why is my soy milk frozen?
I bought a quart of soy milk for the first time ever last week. It has been sitting unopened in the door of my refrigerator since. I pulled it out today to use it in a bowl of cereal and it was frozen ...
73
votes
10answers
17k views
Is it safe to leave butter at room temperature?
Is it safe to leave butter at room temperature? If so, how long is it safe to keep it out?
29
votes
1answer
3k views
How long can I store a food in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer?
How do I know if a given food or ingredient I have is still good, or if I should discard it?
How can I best preserve a food or ingredient?
This broad question is intended as a "general reference" ...
10
votes
3answers
18k views
Will avocado stay fresh longer if stored in the refrigerator?
Should I store avocado in the refrigerator or will it make no difference for how long they stay fresh?
7
votes
3answers
6k views
How can I keep chopped fruit fresh for 2-3 hours?
I need to cut up a large amount of fruit for use in a pavlova dessert tomorrow night - although the same question would no doubt apply to a fruit salad or other fresh fruit item.
Anyway, I won't have ...
6
votes
6answers
239 views
Does a home produce refrigerator exist?
It seems there are many foods that benefit from 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit / 10 to 15 degrees Celsius storage temperature--herbs, peppers, tomatoes, etc. As it stands, I store tomatoes and some ...
3
votes
2answers
138 views
What's the trick to wrapping tightly in plastic wrap?
In grocery stores, they seem to have some trick for wrapping produce and other items tightly in what appears to be standard household plastic wrap. At home, I always struggle to get a nice airtight ...
12
votes
3answers
512 views
Is it okay to keep flour in the freezer?
Years ago I noticed I was getting little bugs in the flour that I kept in the pantry. To prevent this, I started keeping my flour in the freezer. I don't do a lot of baking, but I was wondering what ...
4
votes
1answer
72 views
can I make a dry ingredient waffle mix with dry egg powder & powdered milk?
I want to make a dry waffle mix that you can store and later just add water to make ready. is it possible to do it with all dry ingredients?
47
votes
8answers
9k views
Is it safe to put hot food in the fridge?
I heard that putting really warm food in the fridge right after cooking it is not the right thing to do. It might cause bacterial growth? Is this true?
11
votes
6answers
4k views
Botulism, Garlic, Cold pressed Olive oil and mason jars
I make a product I invented called Maybe It's Marinade. Cold pressed extra virgin olive olive, pressed garlic as the base in three varieties, AoliOliO, Dill and Cayenne Pepper, garlic powder, and ...
6
votes
8answers
24k views
How can I keep hot food hot when transporting it?
How can I keep hot food hot when transporting it, e.g. to a friend's house or a potluck? I usually just give up and take cold food, but I'd like to have more options.
1
vote
2answers
269 views
Does a head of lettuce really need to be refrigerated?
At the grocery store here in Germany I saw that lettuce isn't refrigerated. So I brought a head home and it's been in my pantry for 3 days and it seems fine... The English speaking internet says ...
12
votes
4answers
7k views
What's the purpose of a bread box?
For some reason I always thought bread boxes were supposed to be wood, and that some property of wood helped keep bread fresh. Like a cigar box, perhaps. But after looking for a bread box, I see ...
16
votes
9answers
5k views
Fresh basil storage
How should fresh basil be stored? The packaging suggests that the optimal temperature is around 50°F, but I can't think of anywhere in an average kitchen at that temperature. A pantry is too warm, and ...
10
votes
6answers
12k views
What's the best way to store rice long-term?
I have purchased a rather large bag of rice long-grain white rice (25 lbs) and need to know the best way for storing it long-term. This rice will be used as both a food-storage food source and as my ...
1
vote
1answer
168 views
What kind of food should be stored in a refrigerator's “snack pan” drawer?
(This may be a silly question, but I'll ask anyway since I am curious about this.)
We have an older fridge and it has a drawer labeled "snack pan." I'm not sure how to understand "snack" here.
...
27
votes
9answers
5k views
Should I refrigerate eggs?
I've read a lot of conflicting advice on whether it's advisable to store eggs in the refrigerator. The case against seems twofold: (1) that eggshells are porous, and eggs can take on unwelcome ...
4
votes
2answers
104 views
How to store salted cod?
Salted cod is a famous dish in Portugal and I would like to prepare it. It is common here to see the whole of a fish (well, without head, guts etc obviously) in supermarkets - like this:
Wikipedia
...
1
vote
0answers
96 views
Which food items lose taste in the fridge? [closed]
Nowadays most people put everything in the fridge simply because a lower temperature is associated with a longer lifetime. While this is true in most cases, in some it may have a negative effect on ...
6
votes
3answers
8k views
Do Bouillon Cubes/Powder go bad?
I just found an old jar of Beef Bouillon cubes and although there is no expiration date, I'm a bit skeptical about using them - do they go bad?
17
votes
2answers
7k views
Can heavy cream be frozen?
Sometimes, I want to try a recipe that calls for a small amount of heavy cream. Can the remainder be frozen and then used to make whipped cream? If so, how long will it keep in the freezer?
6
votes
7answers
3k views
How do you remove the stickiness from reusable plastic container or lid?
I have a blue plastic lid for my glass Anchor container. I noticed that the lid is very sticky to the touch from both sides. I've cleaned it thoroughly with soap but the stickiness is still there. ...
6
votes
4answers
250 views
Is there a reason to peel onions for storage or sale?
I typically try to buy organic onions. Recently the only organic onions that are available are already peeled (i.e., have the outer papery skin removed).
Why is this being done?
Presumably there ...
7
votes
3answers
6k views
How to keep fresh-squeezed fruit juice?
Is there any way to keep fresh-squeezed fruit juice (especially apple or orange) for at least one week without losing taste and vitamins in it? Would a jar with a tight lid be useful?
4
votes
2answers
146 views
Should peanut oil be stored in the fridge?
I know walnut oil should be stored in the fridge. Is the same also true for peanut oil?
5
votes
3answers
4k views
Difference between freezer bag and storage bag
We accidentally used Ziploc "storage bags" instead of "freezer bags" to package some meat for the freezer. We noticed this after the fact and it got me thinking: what is the difference? Marketing ...
2
votes
2answers
427 views
How should I store leftover rice noodles?
I seem to recall reading somewhere that you should store leftover cooked rice noodles in water. Is this right? I don't want them to bloat and become ruined.
I also seem to recall reading somewhere ...
0
votes
1answer
106 views
How long does the cream in a freshly baked chicken pie last for?
I am planning on baking a chicken pie that contains double cream tonight and serving it two days later.
How long does the cream in the freshly baked pie last for? Do you think it will be still okay ...
25
votes
11answers
19k views
How long can I keep eggs in the refrigerator?
To keep eggs useful and healthy, what is the average time I can keep them in refrigerator? Can I freeze, and re-use them after melting, or will they be useless or not healthy to eat?
4
votes
2answers
309 views
My ginger is moist and floppy… has it spoiled?
I have a piece of raw ginger root which I bought a couple of weeks ago and stored in the produce drawer of my fridge. I always store my ginger root this way, and it remains usable for weeks. Today I ...
5
votes
4answers
389 views
Why did my roasted butternut squash ferment?
I roasted some butternut squash, then stored it in the refrigerator for a few days before I had time to puree it all. When I pureed it I discovered that it had fermented. What caused this to happen? ...
5
votes
3answers
173 views
Why does my cocoa syrup overflow?
I work in a coffee shop, and we stock Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa flavored sauce.
However, this sauce is constantly overflowing. We are losing approximately a quarter cup per day ...
9
votes
6answers
3k views
What makes a good vessel for storing sourdough starter?
I was going to buy the King Arthur set of starter + crock, but the crock is on backorder, so I plan to instead locally source a vessel for the starter. What should I look for? Should I find a similar ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
How to store smoked fish when traveling?
We went to an island for a trip to explore local fish markets. This place is mainly exporting fish. We managed to get one of the best smoked fish (tuna, mackeral etc) from their local markets. This is ...
7
votes
5answers
4k views
Minimum procedure for sterilizing mason jars for canning
My wife and I are about to do some tomato canning tomorrow. We have a bunch of mason jars that we didn't have time to sterilize. She thinks that just washing them in hot water is enough. After ...
3
votes
1answer
103 views
Storing oil coated and unrefrigerated egg
Is there any truth to coating eggs with oil, placing them in the cartons upside down and then not storing them in the refrigerator - will make them last a few months???
7
votes
8answers
13k views
How long do black olives last once opened?
I opened a can of sliced black olives for my pizza and only used half. I put the leftovers into a sealed container with the liquid and put it in the fridge. Under those conditions how long will the ...
0
votes
1answer
388 views
What is the shelf life of homemade peanut butter in winters and summers?
Assumptions:
The peanut butter contains ONLY peanuts and peanut oil.
The peanut butter contains ONLY peanuts, peanut oil, honey, and salt.
Winter room temperature can be between 16 to 20 ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
storing homemade potato chips
I am working on developing a new dish for our bar menu at work--pulled pork sandwich, with homemade potato chips. Frying chips to order seems like a silly idea, especially since chips (or crisps if ...
5
votes
7answers
2k views
What to do about beetle infestation of wheat products? How do we prevent reinfestation?
Today my wife went to make some bread. She noticed some very small insects in the whole wheat and regular flour. Upon further inspection, many of our wheat based products were infested with these ...
4
votes
3answers
181 views
Should ghee be kept out of light?
I have ghee in clear glass jar on a shelf in my kitchen, would it keep for longer if I try to store it in a dark place? Does light speed up oxidation?
4
votes
4answers
1k views
Keeping bugs out of rice
Recently, a sack of whole grain organic rice that we bought became infected with small black bugs. We bought the rice in the bulk bins at the same organic supermarket we always visit, but this time we ...
3
votes
6answers
2k views
How to store Parmesan cheese?
I recently lucked into about 4 lbs of a delicious Parmesan. Sadly it's already in 4 pieces, and so I'm pretty sure its going to be more prone to spoilage than a single large chunk. How does one go ...
5
votes
2answers
7k views
What's the best way to store unused sushi rice?
Let's say, I only want to make 1 sushi roll right now. Is there a good way to store the rest of the rice for tomorrow's rolls? And what about storing the nori?
4
votes
2answers
329 views
How to store tamarind paste?
I bought some tamarind paste the other day, and I am wondering how should I store it once opened, as the package does not say anything special. Should I put it in the fridge? Store it in an airtight ...
14
votes
6answers
6k views
Is it safe to reuse loose tea leaves the next day? What precautions need to be taken for storing tea for reuse?
I'm a fan of green tea and I find myself reusing the tea leaves 2-3 times a day. Sometimes I'll just store the leaves and reuse them the next day but it got me thinking if what I'm doing is actually ...
15
votes
2answers
5k views
Does polenta freeze well?
Does freezing polenta substantially change its consistency? I like polenta but would prefer to make it in batches instead of every time I want to eat it. After I make it, I usually let it cool, cut ...
5
votes
2answers
189 views
long term wine storage
I'm planning storing some wine over a long period of time. I'm not sure about the exact duration, but I'm thinking of either 25 or 50 years.
What should be taken into consideration? Here's a list of ...
20
votes
6answers
5k views
How to store brown sugar without it becoming hard?
I put a clothes pin on my opened bags of brown sugar and keep them in a dark pantry at room temperature. Since I don't use it very often, it becomes hardened. My work-around is to use a grater to ...
