Everybody’s food rituals were different growing up. Then you get roommates or get married and you learn that everybody else’s food storage habits aren’t just wrong, but they are close to criminally insane!
Case in point. As a kid growing up in the 1960’s, butter was a precious commodity. My Mom was convinced that butter would go rancid if it resided outside the refrigerator for any length of time. Food was brought to the table first, while the butter languished in the fridge. Mom would call us to dinner and we’d sit down. Then she would glide over to the refrigerator to extract the butter. At that point, the virtual butter destruction timer started. The butter was passed around the table and we took whatever we needed from the tray. Rolls and veggies were buttered, then passed to the next person. Mom would butter her foods last…and then swoop back to the refrigerator to return the butter to icebox safety. I can almost visualize her pressing the safety button on the virtual timer. It was that serious!
The point is…there are lots of different ways to treat foods, and just because we’ve always done it that way doesn’t mean it’s right!
The following are some of the questions I’ve encountered about refrigerating foods. If your kids are calling you constantly to ask whether they should refrigerate something, you can refer them here. I’m not saying I’m writing this because of that exact problem with the Hectic Clan…you be the judge 😉.
❓What temperature should I set the fridge❓
Every refrigerator I’ve seen has one of those confounding dials showing numbers from 1-6 that control the temperature. This is supposed to indicate the coldness of the refrigerator, but it usually doesn’t make sense to me. My Dad always used to tell me, “You just have to adjust it until everything doesn’t freeze or spoil”. Really helpful, Dad! Actually, he was trying to be helpful, but we lost a lot of food at both ends of the spectrum whenever something happened with the fridge. We’d need to get it repaired and it would work differently. Time to experiment. We’d overpack the fridge…experiment. We’d get on one of those kicks where we weren’t going to keep as much in the fridge…and we’d be experimenting with the temperature. Honestly, it was totally baffling to me.
When I moved out on my own, my first fridge seemed to run constantly. I lived in a brand-new apartment with shiny new appliances. After about a week, the dishwasher quit. While the repair guy was there he said, “We’ll put in an order for a new fridge for you too…that one’s about to die”. I couldn’t believe it! It was new, how could it die? Sure enough, the next Monday it quit while I was at work. The only saving grace was that the new fridge was there, ready to be installed. With some judicious use of ice and coolers, coupled with the fact that I owned almost no food, I miraculously lost nothing.
The installers placed a small thermometer in the freezer and another in the refrigerator. The service guy told me to watch the temperature in the fridge and keep adjusting it until the temperature stayed between 32 and 40 degrees (Fahrenheit…because if that was Celsius it would be a warming oven, duh!). Because the thermometer had indicators for the highest and lowest temperatures over the last 24 hours, it only took me a couple of days to get the confounding dial figured out and set to 4. As I added food, I would sometimes bump it to 5 (because it’s intuitive that a higher number means cooler), right?
Over the years, I’ve always kept a thermometer in my refrigerator (and freezer, for that matter). It’s the only way to ensure proper temperatures.
❓Do I need to cover my food in the fridge❓
In a word…yes! Your refrigerator is a really dry environment, anything you put in there is going to lose moisture. Cover your food tightly or seal it in zippered plastic bags. You’ll enjoy your hydrated food a whole lot more!
❓How long to I have to wait before I put hot foods in the refrigerator❓
Oh, this one is actually easy. Don’t wait. If you’re done eating and ready to clear the table, put that hot food directly into the refrigerator (you did cover it, right?). Sure, it’ll make your cooling buddy work a bit harder, but that’s what it’s designed to do. Those nasty bacteria that are trying to grow on your food will be halted in their tracks a lot faster in the quicker cooling environment of the fridge than sitting on the counter. On The Spruce Eats site I also saw an interesting trick.
If you have a large casserole or dish that needs to be chilled, separate the foods into smaller, shallow (no more than 3″ deep), individual containers for faster cooling
This was a new one to me. Since we eat a lot of casseroles this is something I’ve been trying and it seems to work. Just another example that even the most experienced cook can learn something new!
❓How packed can I make my fridge❓
This isn’t some exercise in how many angels can dance on the head of a pin or how many college students can we fit in that VW Bus (does that date me?)! It also shouldn’t become a game of refrigerator Jenga. Here’s the deal…the air needs to flow throughout your fridge to keep the food cold. If you pack the food too tightly the refrigerator can’t do it’s job, the food will not age gracefully. You’ll be wasting money on both electricity and spoiled food.
Trust me, the temptation is always there to pack the fridge. Don’t do it. Leave space between the food items. You’ll be happy that you did!
❓OK smarty, what foods must be refrigerated❓
No matter what anybody tells you or what you read (even on this blog)…do what it says on the label. For example, I’ve got two containers of grated (real) Parmesan cheese. Don’t ask, it happens a lot here at Hectic Manor. Anyway, they’re different brands but when I glance inside they look identical, closer than my twins. Yet one package clearly says Refrigerate after opening, while the other says, Needs no refrigeration. It makes no sense, but these apparently identical products are supposed to be handled differently.
That said, there are some rules of thumb you can use if you’re not sure. In most cases, err on the side of refrigeration if you’re not sure. You might make an error, but better to refrigerate something that didn’t need it rather than not refrigerate something that will spoil outside the fridge.
So here’s the quick cheat sheet of things to keep in the fridge:
- Dairy: Fresh milk, cheese, butter, margarine, and eggs (yeah, they’re not dairy but where else was I going to put them on the list)
- Meats: Fresh meat, bacon, lunch meat, cooked meat (unless it’s jerky…jerky keeps well in the fridge if it’s in a sealed package but doesn’t have to be refrigerated)
- Refrigerator Items: OK, so this is a dumb category name, but if you buy it from a refrigerator case, store it in the fridge. Canned biscuits, pizza dough, etc. all fall into this category.
- Fruit: Most fruit will store well in the refrigerator. One exception are bananas. Leave them out of the fridge or they’ll turn black and gross. Trust me based on my experience!
- Vegetables: Three vegetables don’t get stored in the refrigerator: Potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. Otherwise any vegetable you have is safe to be stored in the fridge.
When you’re defrosting or marinating you’re supposed to do that in the refrigerator. Remember that you read it here on the Hectic-Kitchen blog. This is another example of do as I say and not as I do. I’m really bad about doing both on the counter or in a water bath. I know, it’s not safe and I’m not supposed to do it…but I’m always testing the limits. Of course, that could explain some of the weird results we’ve gotten over the years. Just be safe and defrost and marinate in the refrigerator, OK?
Wrap-Up
I hope you learned something. I have gotten questions and calls for years about refrigeration and every time I end up searching the internet and discovering something new.
The biggest takeaway is two-fold: If you bought it in a refrigerated section of the store, keep it in the refrigerator and follow the instructions on the food’s label. Otherwise you can refer to the list above to get a general idea of what to put in the fridge. With the exception of bananas, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes you’re not going to make anything worse by storing it in the fridge. Lean towards refrigerator storage if you’re not sure.
Follow those general rules and you’ll make it a great day in the kitchen!