Especially in the household and especially in the kitchen, there are all the little rules, tips and tricks that should be observed, followed or applied. We learned many of them from our grandparents or parents, or otherwise picked them up as folk wisdom, which is why we no longer question them. But what is behind such claims that the oven must always be preheated or that you can still eat the bread, if you just cut off the moldy places?
Scientists at the University of Bonn have examined these questions more closely in the project “Kitchen with brains” . Below is a selection of 7 kitchen myths that have been tested for their veracity.
1) 5 second rule
If a gummy, a biscuit or similar falls down On the floor, one likes to forget his good nursery, after which one should not eat from the ground, picks up the snack again and justifies itself with the fact that it takes 5 seconds, until dirt or germs spread on it. However, it is not the duration, but the nature of the soil and food that is crucial.
For example, dry foods that have fallen on a smooth, clean surface are still edible well after 5 seconds. If you fall on a dirty carpet, you should throw away biscuits & co., However. The same applies to foods with a lot of water, such as fruit, or on which by previous biting saliva already exists. The moisture already picks up germs with the first contact.
2) Preheat the oven
Also, the hint that you should please preheat the oven is strictly speaking wrong. For foods that are cooked quickly, such as fries, pizza, or rolls, preheating the oven unnecessarily consumes energy. In some cases, the food can even finish faster if they are already in the oven while it comes to temperature. Nevertheless, manufacturers like to pre-heat the oven in the preparation instructions. This is because only then can the time information for each oven be approximately guaranteed. Alone with shortcrust pastry or similar sensitive baked goods, preheating makes sense.
3) fruits and vegetables in the fridge
To keep fruit fresh in the fridge is sometimes not recommended. Citrus fruits such as oranges, mandarins or grapefruits as well as exotic fruits such as pineapple, mango or passion fruit are quite sensitive to cold. In the refrigerator, they can therefore quickly turn brown, which of course runs counter to the idea of keeping them fresh longer.
Among the vegetables are cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and eggplant as sensitive to cold. In contrast, fresh berries can last a day or two longer if you place them in the fridge covered.
4) Cook at noon, keep warm until evening
If you want to keep freshly cooked food warm, you should strictly keep it at a minimum of 65 ° C. Because in the range between 7 ° C and 65 ° C the bacteria, which carry illnesses or are responsible for spoiling the food, feel perfectly well.
In addition, by keeping warm and reheating vitamins and lost the taste, so it is generally recommended to consume the freshly prepared foods in a timely manner.
5) Clean the fridge
Many of us at most feel obligated to clean the refrigerator even during the annual spring cleaning. However, it is recommended to clean the fridge not once a year, but once a month, so that no microorganisms settle.
6) Wash off raw poultry
Washing off raw chicken before frying or cooking is actually unnecessary. It is true that pathogenic germs can be present on the meat – but these are killed anyway during the high temperatures during the preparation.
Rinsing off the meat has much the unpleasant side effect of spreading the germs through the splash water in the kitchen.
7) Cut mold
Moldy foods should be thrown away immediately. The food is spoiled, even if you cut or otherwise remove the mold stains on the bread or jam.
Because the mold marks are only the external features. Inside the affected food toxins spread, which are formed by the fungus and excreted. They are still present even if you have removed only the visible mold.
Thanks to the scientists of the University of Bonn, we have learned something new. Above all, the opponents of the oven preheating – which sometimes heat up the spirits and divorce the spirits – now have an argument more on their side.
You can find even more ingenious tricks, projects, household tips and ideas in our new book, which you can order here .
