21 votes
Accepted

How do I store ready-to-eat salad better?

I agree that it's very likely the fridge. Beside it swinging too wildly, there can be another problem though: too cold. I've seen people, especially Americans, turning fridges down as cold as they ...
rumtscho's user avatar
  • 139k
19 votes

How can I keep large packs of ham fresh longer?

The only sensible way is put them into the freezer: Shortly after purchase, package it into lots that are suitable for eating within a couple of days of thawing. Place packets into a freezer and thaw ...
bob1's user avatar
  • 15k
15 votes

Should I refrigerate or freeze unopened canned food items?

If you can keep the temp below 85 °F (30 °C) you should be fine. There is no harm in placing your cans in the refrigerator, and I think this would be your best bet if you have the space. I would not ...
moscafj's user avatar
  • 75k
11 votes

Store raw broccoli

If the broccoli come wrapped in plastic, leave them wrapped until you consume them. As can be read in this interesting blog (in Italian), broccoli are among the veggies with the highest gas exchange ...
L.Dutch's user avatar
  • 1,358
8 votes

Should I refrigerate or freeze unopened canned food items?

The relationship (reactions doubling for every 10°C = 18°F ~=20°F) is pretty universal. For this reason I keep certain chemical items in a fridge. That means that lifetime is halved for every 10°C ...
Spehro Pefhany's user avatar
7 votes

How do I store ready-to-eat salad better?

As others have covered the likely problems with your fridge, I'm just adding tips on how to give maximum lifetime to your salad greens after you fix the fridge: The ideal container for greens is ...
FuzzyChef's user avatar
  • 64.4k
7 votes

Should I refrigerate or freeze unopened canned food items?

Harold McGee actually had an article on canned goods in the now defunct magazine Lucky Peach. Luckily, it’s also been posted to medium: On Cans The relevant part is: The trouble with aging canned ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 80.7k
6 votes
Accepted

Why did my potatoes and bananas spoil to mush within a week?

This sounds like soft rot on the potatoes. Soft rot tends to ooze "water" from the lesion and release a foul smell as it breaks down the potato. The potato will still look white and be mushy,...
bob1's user avatar
  • 15k
5 votes

How do I store ready-to-eat salad better?

It's probably your refrigerator. Old, crappy refrigerators end up with high hysteresis (that is, they don't turn on until it gets pretty warm, and then don't turn back off until it's way too cold). ...
Sneftel's user avatar
  • 29.1k
5 votes

Should I refrigerate or freeze unopened canned food items?

The inside of these cans is sterile, so freezing won't do much good. It will slow down the chemical degradation of the contents but this is almost irrelevant unless you plan to store the cans for ...
Hobbamok's user avatar
  • 281
5 votes

Tainted tupperware

I've found the lid is often the holdout when it comes to container smells, as there's narrow spaces and sometimes a rubber or silicone seal. Regular washing doesn't get into the rim that grips the ...
GdD's user avatar
  • 76.3k
5 votes
Accepted

Oven baking potatoes to make mashed potato/pomme puree - how to store the cooked skins

You can chill the unfilled potato skins, and then reheat them and fill them (or fill and heat, as appropriate for the filling) I would recommend letting them cool some before packing up, and using ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 80.7k
5 votes

Store raw broccoli

As L.Dutch already wrote, if it's in plastic, keeping it in there is probably the best way of storing it, as their blog post states that broccoli wrapped that way can remain fresh for up to 20 days ...
Tinkeringbell's user avatar
4 votes

How can I keep large packs of ham fresh longer?

Freezing is the way to go, but vacuum sealing into packages each of which you can use within a few days might be an efficient use of freezer space. It's not an efficient use of plastic, so I freeze ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 44.1k
3 votes

Store raw broccoli

One factor that you can’t easily control is how far you are from broccoli growers, so how long they have already been sitting before you buy them. When I used to get broccoli from a farm stand, I ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 80.7k
3 votes

Tainted tupperware

I agree that the problem is likely to be the seal. These are normally removable. Two approaches that can help with problematic seals are: Wipe it over with oil, leave a few hours to soak, then put ...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 44.1k
2 votes

How do I store ready-to-eat salad better?

Once salad begins to wilt, I rinse in a few charges of fresh water to remove the putrid goop, then I steam it and freeze it like spinach. In fact, those general green salad mixes make a very good ...
AdamO's user avatar
  • 2,090
2 votes

How do I store ready-to-eat salad better?

Out of personal experience: avoid squeezing the bag too hard against other solid objects in the fridge. Avoid as much as possible direct contact with the fridge wall where the cooling circuit is ...
L.Dutch's user avatar
  • 1,358
2 votes

How long do black olives last once opened?

State food inspector says 7 days in the refrigerator and disposed of after that date. For pizza dept at a store.
Forest Rodgers's user avatar
2 votes

What's the recommended method of cooling flan out of the oven?

I'd put ice in the water, or dip out the hot water (or suck it out with a baster) and replace with cool water (since the hot water will quickly melt the ice) to get things started cooling faster. My ...
Ecnerwal's user avatar
  • 17.7k
2 votes
Accepted

Interior Dried Flour or Mold After Storing Bread?

It's hard to say with certainty with one picture, however from the distribution it's very likely mold. The discoloration is evenly spread in the middle, but stops before the crust, if it was flour the ...
GdD's user avatar
  • 76.3k
2 votes

When does mirin need refrigeration?

I have never refrigerated a bottle of mirin in my life. Not even the $12 fancy one.
FuzzyChef's user avatar
  • 64.4k
2 votes
Accepted

How to prevent these brown spots in an apple?

I‘m afraid this indeed a duplicate of your linked question, or at least the same disease that presents itself slightly differently. What you see is bitter pit, and the brown spots are clusters of ...
Stephie's user avatar
  • 59.6k
2 votes
Accepted

How to keep cream soup warm for restaurant/cafe?

You will absolutely need to keep your soup at a safe temperature, unless your restaurant is located in an area with no health regulations and your business model doesn't consider making customers sick ...
Ecnerwal's user avatar
  • 17.7k
1 vote
Accepted

What is a "cool dry place" in a city apartment?

Use a potato or vegtable bin. There are numerous varieties, including ones similar to a trash can, large crates or cabinets with doors for each section, and stackable plastic tubs with one side cut ...
Herb's user avatar
  • 148
1 vote

What are the pros and cons of storing bread in various locations?

Bread with a crispy or hard crust, like most European breads, will lose its texture when stored in plastic, which you’ll never see done in Europe. Dense breads do well standing the cut end on a board ...
Franklin Davis's user avatar
1 vote

How to store garlic in hot and humid tropical climate?

They sell the minced garlic in a jar in an oil. That one is better because you won't worry about it going bad. Look for it where the mustard and the sauces are.
Mvo Oquendo's user avatar
1 vote

Cutting the stems of banana instead of wrapping them when preserving them

Too-quick ripening is generally more of a problem in the summer. If you happen to use a fan, putting the bananas in front of or behind the fan will blow the ethylene gas away before it can accelerate ...
AmigoNico's user avatar
  • 111
1 vote

Does a home produce refrigerator exist?

All electric refrigerators I have seen have a rotary dial or knob for adjusting the temperature. If you put a thermometer inside of the refrigerator, then by trial-and-error experimentation, you can ...
Samuel Muldoon's user avatar

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