The Guardian - 08.08.2019

Section:GDN 12 PaGe:6 Edition Date:190808 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 7/8/2019 18:28 cYanmaGentaYellowblac

• The Guardian
  6 Thursday 8 August 2019
  Food

W

ith a smile and a

bin liner, Marie

Kondo is about

to descend on

your fridge. An

Instagram story

from her lifestyle brand KonMari.

com yesterday ruled that you should

always keep your fridge 30% empty

for shopping and leftovers. The

appliance they illustrated the rule

with was so comically clean and

colour-coordinated, you wonder

who can live – and shop and cook

and clean – like that.

But from a purely technical

perspective, uncluttering your fridge

has undeniable benefi ts: it ensures

the air can circulate freely, meaning

the temperature stays steady and the

appliance lasts longer. And it allows

you to stay on top of your provisions:

you’ re more likely to use them up in

a timely manner. Lastly, a clean, tidy,

pretty fridge is absurdly calming.

I have long stacked bookshelves

by colour for that reason – why not

chilled produce, too?

So, to break the dream down into

more manageable parts, here is a

guide to fridge hygiene.

1) What is the optimal temperature?

Between 1C and 4C: you want your

food to be kept at 5C or lower. Go

for colder when your fridge is full

or you’ve just packed it with a big

shop on a hot day ; to save on energy,

a little warmer when it is cold and

your fridge is looking a little bare.

(NB: Defrost your freezer when ice is

more than 5mm thick – about once

a year – but don’t allow any in your

fridge as it prevents air circulation

and messes with the appliance’s

inner thermostat.)

2) How often should you clean it,

and with what?

Clear up spillages immediately. Wipe

down the handles daily and, once

a week, the door outside. Check

shelves and containers for anything

lacklustre or out of date – and bin.

Once every three months , empty the

whole thing, take out all removable

milk, yoghurt, meat, fi sh, any

opened product that specifi es

refrigerating once opened. Eggs

need consistent temperatures, so

if you’ve bought them refrigerated,

keep them that way. All veg apart

from those above. Leftovers (as

soon as they have cooled), and

any fresh, ready-to-eat, deli-style

products. Large tubs of nut butters

that you won’t use up quickly –

the cold should keep them from

separating. Open pickles and jams

can be kept in a cool dark cupboard,

as can mustard, syrup, but read the

instructions on the jar. Opened wine

• even red – should go in the fridge.

5) What goes where?

Top shelf: anything that doesn’t

need cooking (sliced meats, dips,

leftovers, deli dishes, tortilla wraps

etc), as well as the contents of any

unfi nished tin can, decanted into a

clean, lidded container.

Middle shelf: all dairy and eggs –

despite the milk bottle-specifi c door

racks, and door egg-holders , doors

are not the right place for either.

Bottom shelf: meat and fi sh.

Veg drawers: fruit, veg, leaves,

herbs. Lettuce and other greens

(washed, thoroughly dried, wrapped

in paper towel) go in a spinner, their

own container or a veg drawer all to

parts (shelves, drawers, racks) and

wash with hot water and a little

washing-up liquid (never bleach or

any non-foodsafe chemical cleaners).

3) What should not be in there?

Most fruit (including tomatoes

and cucumbers) should be kept at

room temperature and out of the

sun – especially any that need to

ripen; farm eggs you’ve bought at

room temperature; and a lot of veg

(potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic,

winter squashes, beets, and other

roots, including ginger).

Don’t store opened tin cans – once

open to the air, the tin from the can

can transfer more quickly to the can’s

contents. Only cans that come with

resealable lids are fi ne to keep in the

fridge. Decant leftovers (see below).

Don’t refrigerate hot food: wait

for it to cool completely , to avoid

contamination and messing up

your fridge temperature. Products

past their “use-by” date or not

fi nished within the “once opened”

timeframe belong in the bin. Finally,

bread: Serious Eats once published

a 1,164-word article detailing why

refrigeration ruins bread; read it, or if

life’s too short, just trust me.

4) And what should?

Ripened fruit, citrus, all berries,

Chill out! A

guide to the

perfect fridge

How cold should

it be? How often

should you clean it?

And is it safe to keep

open tins? By Dale

Berning Sawa

Kim-Joy

bakes

You might not expect penguin

biscuits to contain chilli, but these

do. It pairs well with the creamy

ganache , but you could leave it out if

you don’t like spice. The biscuits are

quick to decorate – and delicious.

Cream together the butter and caster

sugar in a bowl. Sift in the cocoa and

chilli powder. Add the fl our, then use

your hands to combine into a ball.

Roll out the dough on a lightly

fl oured surface. Stamp out about 24

round biscuits and arrange on two

baking trays lined with greaseproof

paper. Stamp out a smaller circle at

the bottom of half of the biscuits.

Place the baking trays in the fridge to

chill for 30 minutes and preheat the

oven to 160C (140C fan)/ gas mark 3.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Be

careful not to overbake them (it is

harder to tell with chocolate biscuits,

as they are already brown ).

Whil e the biscuits bake, prepare

the ganache. Chop the chocolate

into small pieces and place in a bowl.

Heat the double cream until it starts

to bubble at the edges, then pour

over the chocolate. Leave for two

minutes, then stir until the chocolate

has melted. If the chocolate has not

melted, return to a low heat and stir

until it has. Set aside the ganache to

cool (you can put it covered in the

fridge to speed this up). When cool,

add the grated orange rind , then use

an electric whisk to beat until fl uff y.

When the biscuits are baked,

leave them on the baking trays for

fi ve minutes, then transfer to a wire

rack to cool further. Sandwich the

biscuits together with the ganache.

Make the royal icing. Use an

electric whisk to combine the icing

sugar and egg white until smooth.

Separate into three bowls. Colour

one orange, one black and leave one

white. Transfer to piping bags and

use to create eyes, wings and feet.

Baking with Kim-Joy: Cute and

Creative Bakes to Make You Smile is

published by Quadrille on 22 August.

To order a copy for £15.84 (RRP £18),

go to guardianbookshop.com or call

0330 333 6846

Prep

Biscuits 15 mins

Ganache 10 mins

Icing 10 mins

Baking 12-15 mins

Makes 12

Ingredients

For the biscuits

200g salted butter

100g caster sugar

40g cocoa powder

⅓ tsp chilli powder

230g plain flour

For the ganache

220g white

chocolate

140g double cream

Zest of 1 medium

orange

For the icing

105g icing sugar

20g egg white

Gel food dyes,

orange and black

Chocolate and chilli penguins

with orange-fl avoured ganache

Put an open

container of

bicarbonate in the

bottom to deal with

odours

The temperature

should be below 5C

Keep milk on the

middle shelf – not

in the door – and

meat and fi sh on

the bottom shelf

Thetemp

hould bebelow5C

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