Although the first refrigerator appeared in 1857, for many it remained a luxury item for a long time. Today, without it, not one kitchen. Despite this, most people still do not know the rules for storing food in the refrigerator. Ready meals, fruits, canned food are simply put on the empty seat. If you follow the SanPiN requirements, the blanks will not stale, mold and dry. How to achieve this, read in our article.
How to store products correctly
If you think that in the cold all products are well preserved in any form - this is not so. Undiscovered vegetables and fruits can produce enzymes, dirty, unwashed carrots also lead to metabolic processes in the chamber. The result is noticeable not immediately, but the milk begins to sour faster, an unpleasant smell appears in the department.
Although the refrigerator protects against heat and sunlight, oxygen still penetrates into the compartment. Do you want to extend the shelf life? Then pack and cover ready meals and fresh billets.
Tableware and packing
The more moisture in the product, the longer it retains its appearance and freshness. Loading vegetables without packing into the chamber, after a few days you will get them bored and dried. All because the refrigerator draws moisture. In models equipped with the No Frost system, the products quickly become airborne.
Important! Bring the goods from the store, do not put them in the cell in a cellophane package. In such an environment, condensation quickly forms, bacteria and mold develop.
In what capacity to put stocks, so they do not deteriorate ahead of time:
- Food film. Great to cover bowls with leftovers of ready meals, snacks.
- Parchment paper is suitable not only for baking. Thanks to good air circulation it is used for packing cheese, sausage, smoked products.
- Foil. Excellent sealing, not allowing the product to weather and lose moisture. You can use it for ready-made snacks, fish, cutlets, slicing.
- Antibacterial mat. Allows longer to keep fresh fruits and vegetables. It is recommended that they be washed, dried and put in the bottom drawers, the mat is laid. Thanks to the membrane with holes, the air freely circulates, saturating the fruit.
- Containers made of plastic. Allow to store ready-made snacks and fresh products. When cracking and scratching from the container is better to get rid of.
- Glassware is the safest and most durable option. You can store everything from ready meals to meat products, fish, milk.
- Vacuum sudokachki. Are able to extend the storage time. Due to good sealing, oxygen is not allowed to pass through, they prevent bacteria from multiplying.
- Wooden containers are good for preserving fruits and vegetables.
In which departments, what products are stored
So, the food should be properly packaged. But it is important to know on what shelves to place stocks. Each department has its own temperature regime. Therefore, it is wrong to make purchases "where the eyes look". Where can I store the blanks, and where are the fresh products?
The optimum temperature in the common compartment is +5 degrees. The "cold" is the shelf under the freezer. The temperature on the shelves can vary from + 1 ° C to + 8 ° C.
Compartment under the freezing chamber
Ideal place for perishable dairy and meat products. The temperature norm is + 1-3 ° C.
- Cheese. You can pack it in foil, parchment, but the glass container remains indispensable. Do you want to preserve the taste of cheese longer? Then put in a tray a couple of slices of a refined sugar. He will absorb excess moisture, not allowing the product to deteriorate within two weeks.
- Cottage cheese. Often it is sold in vacuum packaging (if you do not take on weight). At home, the curd needs to be removed and transferred to a vacuum or glass tray.
- Butter. Divide a large chunk into portions. Put one part into the lubricator for daily use. Put the rest in the freezer compartment.
- Milk. From plastic containers and bottles, it is better to pour the milk into glass containers with a lid.
Important! Eggs are recommended to wipe and fold in a container (plastic or cardboard). It is unclear why manufacturers continue to make trays on the door: when opening eggs, they are showered with warm air, which leads to a reduction in the shelf life and development of salmonella.
Dairy
"Milk" is recommended to keep in the refrigerator no more than 72 hours. Much depends also on the timing of the packaging. Pasteurized milk can last longer than normal. See the table for more details:
| Name of products | Shelf life in the refrigerator | Features of storage |
| milk fresh paired | 12 hours | in a glass jar or a bottle covered with a lid |
| milk boiled | 72 hours | in a glass or plastic container |
| pasteurized milk | 15 days | in tetrapack or polyethylene prefabricated packaging |
| cream | 25 days | in the original packaging |
| milk melted | 7 days | in tetrapack |
| condensed milk | 1-3 months | in the original packaging |
| cottage cheese | 72 hours | in a well-ventilated plastic container |
| hard cheese | 15 days | in polyethylene |
| processed cheese | 12 days | in foil packaging |
| sweet cheese | 20 days | in the original packaging |
| butter | 15 days | in parchment or in an oilcan |
| spread | 18 days | packaged |
| baked oil | 5 days | packaged |
| sour cream | 72 hours | in glass containers or in polyethylene packaging |
| sweet yoghurt | 48 hours from the opening of the package | in the original packaging |
| natural yoghurt | 72 hours from the date of manufacture | in a glass container |
| leaven | 72 hours from the date of manufacture | in glass containers |
| curdled milk | 3 days | in the original packaging or in a glass jar |
| eggs of chicken | 21 day | in a special container |
Meat products
Meat and meat products should also be on the top shelf. For a large piece, the storage time should not exceed 48 hours. Minced meat is best immediately sent to the freezer, it is most susceptible to the development of pathogenic microorganisms.
How to store individual products, see the table:
| Name of products | Shelf life in the refrigerator, hour | Storage method |
| lamb fresh | 24 | in a sealed container, glass or enameled |
| pork | 24 | in a special vented container |
| veal steamed | 12 | in an open dish |
| chilled bird | 48 | in the package |
| homemade sausages | 72 | in a plastic food container |
| Sausages purchased | 72 | in the original manufacturer packaging |
| cooked sausage | 48 | in the manufacturer's packaging, after covering the cut with food film |
| sausage smoked | 72 | in the original packaging |
| cold-smoked sausage | 72 | in a plastic bag |
| cutlets, meat semi-finished products | 48 | in a plastic food container |
| cabbage rolls, half-finished products | 48 | in the container |
| minced meat | 12 | in a vented container |
| fat | 2-3 months | in parchment paper |
| brawn | 72 | in the original packaging |
| ham | 72 | in polyethylene |
Seafood
Beforehand, the fish must be cleaned of the entrails and washed. For freezing scales can not be removed. Putting on the top shelf, the fish should be placed in a glass container with a lid.
| Name of products | Shelf life in the refrigerator, hour | Features of storage |
| fresh fish | 12 | in an open bowl, tightened with food film |
| chilled fish | 10 | in any crockery |
| seafood | 7 | in a plastic food container |
| sea kale | 72 | in the original plastic packaging or in a container |
| salty fish | 24 | in a plastic bag |
| smoked fish | 72 | in a plastic bag |
| dried fish | 1-2 months | in parchment paper |
| canned fish | 3-6 months | in the original metal can |
The second and third shelves
You can put here:
- Sausage and smoked meat. The whole product can be wrapped in parchment. Slicing is best placed in a glass container and covered with food film. Do not leave it open, otherwise it will become obsolete and become unfit for consumption.
- Sweets and pastries: cakes, pies, products with cream and jam stuffing. They can be wrapped in parchment or placed in a closed container with a lid.
- Suitable conditions for the finished products. Liquid dishes can be placed in pots with a lid or poured into jars. Fish, meat, snacks should be placed in separate covered trays.
- Salads without refueling.
- Open canned food is best placed in glassware. After opening, the tin begins to rust, which affects the quality of food.
Experts do not recommend eating foods that are stored ready for more than 48 hours. They are of no use any more.
Products with short shelf life
| Name of products | Terms of storage, hours | Features of storage |
| cakes and pastries | 12-24 | in closed containers |
| pies | 24-48 | in a special container |
| pies | 48 | in a sealed container |
| meat ready-made and meat dishes | 48 | in a tightly closed container |
| Soups and borscht on meat broth | 24 | in a plastic container or in a glass container |
| potatoes and dishes from it | 24 | in the container |
| vegetable salads with sour cream dressing | 12 | in a glass container |
| vegetable salads with vegetable oil | 18 | in a glass container |
| meat salads | 6 | in the container |
| dishes from vegetables | 24 | in a plastic container |
| sandwiches with meat | 5 | in food film |
| sandwiches with sausage and cheese | 4 | in food film |
| canned meat | 1-6 months in closed form, 72 hours from the moment of opening |
in a tin |
| canned vegetables | 1-4 months in closed form, 14 days from the moment of opening |
in a glass jar |
Zero compartment or lower drawers
On what shelves are the vegetables and fruits? For them in modern refrigerators are provided zones Flex Cool, Fresh Box, Fresh Zone. They allow you to maximize moisture in the fruit, which contributes to their long-term storage.
- The dry zone is suitable for meat and fish. The temperature here is zero, and the humidity is 50%. Fresh meat can be stored in such conditions for 7 days.
- Wet zone. The temperature is also zero degrees, but humidity in the tropics is 90%. It is better to place berries in a separate container. Fruits, vegetables, greens are washed from the mud, dried, distributed in packages and sent to the box.
Vegetables, fruits, berries
| Name of products | Terms of storage | Features |
| tomatoes | 10 days | plastic bag or vegetable container |
| cucumbers | 15 days | vegetable container |
| celery | 5 days | package |
| dill | 72 hours | in a jar of water |
| parsley | 72 hours | in a jar of water |
| cabbage | 20 days | in the package |
| bow | 1-3 months | in bulk in a special container |
| lettuce | 48 hours | in open containers |
| potatoes | 1-3 months | in bulk or in a package |
| radish | 12 days | in plastic containers |
| carrot | 1-2 months | in bulk |
| eggplant | 15 days | in the package |
| beet | 1-3 months | in the package |
| zucchini | 7 days | in a special vegetable container |
| Sweet pepper | 12 days | in bulk |
| apricot | 12 | in a plastic open container |
| apples | 15 days | in bulk |
| bananas | 78 hours | in the package |
| persimmon | 12 hours | one by one on shelves |
| cherry | 48 hours | in plastic containers |
| cherries | 72 hours | in the package |
| plum | 7 days | package |
| raspberries | 10 hours | special well vented packagings |
| Strawberry | 12 hours | plastic container |
| blackberry | 72 hours | any packaging |
| currant | 72 hours | any packaging |
| watermelon melon | 12 hours from the moment of cut | the cut is covered with a food film |
If in your refrigerator there are no such zones, here are a few ideas for the preservation of greenery:
- Put the greens in a dry jar and cover. So the leaves will not lose moisture.
- Wrap the bundle in a damp cloth or napkin, and then place it in a bag.
- You can simply put a bunch in a jar of water, and place it on one of the shelves.
Door
This is the warmest place, since the door is constantly opened, and the contents are treated with warm air. It is recommended to place on the shelves sauces, dressings, spices, medicines. Do not use the door for dairy products or eggs.
Freezer
Not surprisingly, in the freezer, food is stored longer than usual. Microorganisms are difficult to operate at a temperature of -18 degrees. However, there are also their own rules:
- Freeze only once, otherwise the content will lose nutritional value.
- Meat and fish products need to be cleaned and divided into portions. Then pack by bags and send to the camera.
- Berries and other vegetable components should be washed, dried and divided into portions.
- As a package, you can use plastic bags, airtight trays.
What products can not be placed in the refrigerator
Usually we do not think about what foods are stored in the refrigerator, and we put everything that was brought from the store into the camera. However, there are products that do not need this:
- Exotic, tropical fruits quickly rot in the cold.
- Pears and apples produce ethylene under the influence of cold. It adversely affects the rest of the dish.
- Bananas quickly turn black.
- Zucchini, pumpkin at low temperatures quickly rot, moldy.
- Cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes contain a large amount of moisture. If there is no special zone in the refrigerator, it is better not to put them inside.
- Olive oil loses nutritional properties, starts to be bitter.
- The potato quickly rot. It's better to put it in a cellar or a cellar.
- The onion loses moisture and becomes sluggish.
- Cold destroys useful substances in honey.
- Garlic loves warmth.
- Chocolate for long-term storage is covered with white coating and mold.
- Bread absorbs all odors and substances. It is better to place it in the breadbox.
- Jam and other preserves are perfectly stored on the kitchen shelf.
Unwanted Neighborhood
To avoid spoilage of stocks, it is necessary to know, that some products negatively influence the "neighbors". As already mentioned above, all dishes should be covered, it is desirable that they do not come into contact with each other.
- Ready meals and raw meat, fish. Raw products can transmit pathogenic microorganisms to your dinner.
- Cheese (and other "milk") and smoked meat.
- Sausage and fruits / vegetables.
- Fruits and vegetables should also be in separate boxes.
- Salads and fruits.
- Oil and spices.
- Eggs with any preforms.
Once a week, you must always wipe the walls and shelves. If an unpleasant smell occurs, you can add lemon juice and soda to the water.
It is important to maintain cleanliness and order in the refrigerator. It does not hurt sometimes to look at the instructions to recall the operating rules from the manufacturer.
