MASTERCLASS: STORAGE MATTERS
THEFREEZER
Whattemperatureshouldit be?
Atleast-18°C.A fullfreezeruses
lessenergytokeepthingsfrozenat
thecorrecttemperature,sokeepit
asfullasyoucan.I fillgapswith
loavesofbread(sliced,soI can
removea sliceata timeandtoast
from frozen when needed).Howlongwillfoodlastinit?
Usesoup,icecreamorbreadwithin
3-4months;meat,whitefishand
fruitwithin6 months;and blanched
vegwithin9 months.Dairy:whatyoucan
andcan’tfreeze
Thegoodnewsis,inmanycases
youcanfreezeit,butsometimes the
texturewillchange...
✱MILKIt tendstoseparateinthe
freezer,sogiveit a shakeafter
you’vedefrostedit inthefridge.
Freezesoonafterbuyingand
don’tkeepinthefreezer for more
thana month.
✱SINGLECREAMDon’t freeze
(itturnswatery).
✱DOUBLECREAMANDWHIPPING
CREAMThesefreezebestwhen
whippedbeforebeing frozen. Store
forupto3 months
✱BUTTERPerhapssurprisingly,
it freezeswell.Cutit intosmaller
pieces,weigh,thenwrap
individually.Labelwiththeweight
anddate,thenusewithin3 months.
✱YOGURTDon’tattemptto
freezeit – it’slikely to turn watery
andlumpy.
✱HARDCHEESESYoucanfreeze
hardcheesessuchascheddarand
parmesan,butafterwardsusethem
onlyforcookingasthetexturewon’t
begreat.I tendtogratethembefore
freezing,thenusestraightfromthe
freezer.Youcanalsosave,wrap
andfreezeparmesanrindsas
they’regreatforaddingsavoury
flavourtoa panofsoupwhileit’s
bubblingaway(besuretotake it out
beforewhizzing,though!).
✱SOFT/BLUE/FRESHCHEESES
It’sbestnottofreezethese,butif
youdoyoucanusethemincooked
dishes once you’ve defrosted them.YOUR FRIDGE& FREEZERLOWDOWNW hattemperatureshould
theybe?Howlongwillfoodlast?
Whatshouldbestoredwhere?
Knowingtheanswertothese
questionsistheonlywaytokeep
foodatitsbest,savetimeandavoidwaste
crucialif,likeme,you’reworkingfrom
homeand/orhavechildrentokeepoccupied.
Here’swhatI’velearned... JEN BEDLOE , FOOD EDITORTHEFRIDGE
Whattemperatureshouldit be?
Nohigherthan4°C.Don’tovercrowd
it– coldairneedstofloweasily
around the food to keep it cold.Howlongwillfoodlastinit?
Asa ruleofthumb,freshfishwill
keep1-2days,rawmeat,poultry
andsausages2-3days;bacon7-10
days;saladandvegetables3-4
days;milk5 days; and hard cheese
up to 3 weeks.Tokeepcrowdingdown,which
itemscanI leaveout?
Tomatoes,bananas,melonsand
potatoes.Mostfruitdon’tneed
chilling,plustheycancause
yellowingingreenvegstored
nearby– althoughcitruslastlonger
inthefridge.Unlessyourkitchenis
particularlywarm,youdon’tneed
tokeepeggsinthefridge.Whatgoeswhere
✱DOORTheitemsinherewarmup
a biteverytimethefridgeisopened,
soit’sbesttostorelesstemperature-
sensitiveitemsinthedoor,such
asbutter,juicesandcondiments.
Despitethebottleracks,thisisn’t
thebestplacetokeepmilk(though
it’softentheonlyconvenientplace
to,particularlyina smallfridge).
✱TOPANDMIDDLESHELVESWith
a consistenttemperature,theseare
goodfordairy,ready-to-eatand
packagedfoods,cookedfood,
leftoversandsoftfruit,whichmight
getsquashedinthesaladdrawer.
✱BOTTOMSHELVESKeepanything
raw– meat,fish,poultry– well
coveredlowerdowninthefridgeto
avoidtheriskofjuicesdrippingonto
andpotentially contaminating
otherfood.
✱SALADDRAWERSSoftherbswill
lastbestif youwrapthemindamp
kitchenpaper.Keepmushrooms in
apaperbagtomaximiseair
circulationorthey’llgoslimy.Don’t
keeptomatoesinthefridge– the
texturebecomespappy.And,if you
keepfruitinthefridge,takeit out
anhourbeforeeatingsoit warms
up a bit, giving it more flavour.ILLUSTRATION EMMA DIBBEN128 deliciousmagazine.co.uk