5 myths about food storage

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We all want to keep food fresh and tasty, but we don't always do it right. A life hacker understands the rules for storing products that are erroneous.

1. Meat must not be re-frozen

This is not true. You can safely re-freeze meat, chicken and any other food if it has been thawed in the refrigerator at 5 ° C or colder. Only the taste of the food can suffer from this. When defrosting and re-freezing, the integrity of the cells is violated, and the taste becomes slightly watery.

There is also another option. Prepare defrosted food, divide into small portions, and place in the freezer when the food stops steaming. However, remember that evaporation in a closed container will lead to condensation. Water and nutrients in food are ideal breeding grounds for microbes. Therefore, it is best to wait at least 30 minutes before freezing freshly cooked food.

Try to defrost food in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. If left on the table, microorganisms can begin to grow on the outer surface, even if the middle of the food is not yet thawed.

2. Before cooking, the meat must be washed

In fact, this is not a good idea. Doing so will only increase the risk of potentially harmful bacteria in the water getting onto other foods and cutting surfaces.

It is imperative to wash fruits and vegetables, especially if they grew close to the ground.

Also, try to process vegetables, herbs, and anything ready to eat separately from raw meat, fish, and other foods that need to be cooked.

3. Do not put food in the refrigerator until it cools completely

Microorganisms multiply rapidly at temperatures between 5 ° C and 60 ° C, so do not keep perishable food at room temperature for a long time before refrigerating it. Wait about 30 minutes for the food to stop steam and remove.

4. If there is no unpleasant smell, then you can eat

This is not always true. Usually, food odors are caused by yeast or mold. But pathogenic bacteria can develop in foods and not affect their appearance and smell in any way. And while you may not necessarily get sick by eating such a product, it is still not worth risking your health.

5. Vegetable oil disinfects food

Adding vegetable oil to your food does not guarantee that you are safe from all microbes. If food has not been processed properly, oil will not save you. For example, there have been cases of poisoning with various vegetables in oil - garlic, olives, mushrooms, legumes and hot peppers.

In addition, oil will not help at all if anaerobic microorganisms are present in the product, for example, the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism, a severe food poisoning. The lack of oxygen is ideal for the development of these bacteria.