Apart from being able to attach magnets and notes to it, a refrigerator also does valuable service in everyday life. For example, how often do we have to go shopping if we can not store our food in winter even in winter? You can not figure it out …
However, sometimes things end up in the fridge that do not belong there – or we store food so that they are even more mushy, brown and inedible. Here we introduce you to typical fridge mistakes that many people make. So much was revealed: some of them have also surprised us.
1) Tomatoes in the vegetable compartment
“Well meant” is not equal to “well done”. In order to preserve everything as long as possible, we often put fresh fruits and vegetables in the fridge first. It does not like all varieties. Especially tropical fruits like pineapple, bananas, oranges or lemons are shocked by the frosty temperatures. The result is brown spots, mushy flesh and a musty taste.
But also vegetables with a high water content – these include cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers – does not belong in the fridge, because otherwise it gets soft spots and loses its aroma. These vegetables should be stored in the pantry or in the basement. So you do not dry out there, you can wrap them in a damp cloth.
2) Meat in the top tray
Refrigerators are subject to the same laws of nature as usual: warm air rises, cold air sinks. Therefore, a refrigerator has several cold zones, with the top shelf being the warmest. The differences can be up to 7 degrees depending on the device! Therefore, you should divide your food: The top tray includes jam, leftovers or smoked – so food that does not easily spoil. In the middle are dairy products such as yoghurt, cream or cheese. Perishable food, especially meat, sausage and fish, come on the bottom glass plate. Below the glass plate is the vegetable compartment; Here is a temperate climate for salad, carrots or mushrooms. In the fridge door feels durable as drinks or butter well.
3) Go to the barber
“The cold chain must not tear!” This warning can sometimes be heard and wonders if the fridge should be brought along for shopping. Of course it’s not that bad. But as soon as the temperatures in the fresh goods have risen, the bacteria multiply and do not become less again even with subsequent cooling. Therefore one should do extra tours to the hairdresser or the post office better before the purchase, so that sausage, cream & Co. come quickly into their cold quarters.
4) Too full! Too empty!
Not only large families know the problem: After the weekly shopping one has trouble, at all things in the refrigerator to accommodate. Since every gap is exploited. But if the refrigerator is too full, the air can no longer circulate, which means that on the one hand some goods are not reasonably cooled, on the other hand, some goods freeze. In addition, the energy consumption increases considerably!
But the refrigerator should not be too empty either, as cold air escapes and warm air escapes with each opening. As a guideline, it is therefore recommended to fill the device with about two-thirds. A little tip on the edge: whose fridge rather too empty than too full, can fill the open spaces with polystyrene. Then less cold air escapes and Styrofoam consumes almost no energy during the cooling process.
5) Smother salad
Salad should be as fresh as possible. If you still want to store it in the fridge for a few days, you should definitely free it from the plastic packaging. Condensation collects on the foil, which makes the salad mushy and rotten. So that the green leaves do not lose their juiciness on the dry refrigerator air, you can even with a fork in the film pissed breathing holes. Still fresher, the salad remains in a cloth, which was moistened with vinegar or lemon juice.
6) Bread in the fridge
Bread and other baked goods have lost something in the refrigerator only in exceptional cases. Namely, when in tropical heat, the air is so humid that you can literally see the floating water droplets. Otherwise, bread spoils faster with cold fridge air.
7) Red meat is fresh
A beautiful reddish color of the meat should signal to consumers immediately: This product comes straight from the butcher. This fresh meat is not necessarily red. For example, well-hung beef is rather dark to brown. The red color has the meat from the supermarket rather because it was packaged under “protective atmosphere”. Here, gases are filled into the packaging, which indeed inhibit the growth of pathogens, but the meat also longer “fresh” – namely red – look, even if it has long been tough and rancid.
8) The fridge is clean
Even if deposits and surfaces appear flawless, the refrigerator is a haven for mold, bacteria and germs. To a regular cleaning of the cold kitchen helper you can not get around. “Regular” means: several times a year! Here it is advisable to switch off the device completely, to store all goods in a cool box and to clean all surfaces and cracks with vinegar cleaner and a soft cloth. The vinegar cleaner kills most germs. A clean thing!
9) Eggs in the refrigerator door
In Germany, eggs (unlike in the US) are sold unwashed. This gives them a natural protective barrier for a while. Still, you should store eggs at home in the fridge. There, however, their shell loses this protection through the condensation and the eggs become susceptible to germs. Now most refrigerator doors for eggs have a recess. Strictly speaking, this place is quite unsuitable. Because the temperature fluctuations are greatest on the refrigerator door – ideal for spreading dangerous bacteria! Therefore, you should ideally clear eggs directly together with cardboard in the lower half of the refrigerator.
Were these tips all natural for you? Then you can proudly call yourself a real household specialist. If not: Now you know what it takes to have more enjoyment of food!
