You’re storing your food all wrong!

Scientists tell us that the way we have been storing our food in the kitchen is all wrong.

They tell us that milk doesn’t go here, the eggs don’t go there and fruits don’t belong in a fruit bowl.

Apparently, all those fridge manufacturers have got their designs wrong too. Researchers claim that eggs do not belong on the perfectly designed egg shelf but kept out, that milk should never be stored on the shelves in the door but on a shelf inside the fridge and bread shouldn’t be anywhere near the fridge at all.

We have our eggs snuggly placed on the aptly designed egg shelf. The compartments are perfectly shaped to fit the eggs. Our bread is always in the freezer. We never leave it out. We have found in the past that leaving it out made the bread turn mouldy faster, unlike when it’s in the fridge where it stays fresher for more than a week. Our milk is stored on a shelf inside the fridge simply because there’s no room for it in the door!

I agree that unopened condiment bottles can stay in the cupboard but only until they are opened. When they are, they then need to go into the fridge to prevent pathogens growing inside the bottle. There are some condiments that won’t go off, according to researchers, depending upon how much acidity or alkalinity they contain. The more acidic their contents are, the less likely it is that they will go off. Vinegar, for example, does not need to be kept in the fridge because it is an acid. However, some condiments are oil or fat based, like mayonnaise and, therefore, should be in the fridge once the bottle is opened. This is because, in the long run, oils tend to turn rancid at room temperature. Likewise with walnuts, which contain a lot of fatty oils; once a packet of the nut is opened, it should be stored in the fridge. That nut has a very high tendency to turn rancid and stale if it’s kept out in the air. However, this is not the case with almonds.

The storage of coffee is a weird one. When I used to store my ground coffee in the cupboard in an airtight container I found that, just half way through the packet, the coffee began to taste bitter. I then decided to try storing it in the fridge instead and the results have been amazing. The coffee retains its flavour right until the end. So, in my opinion, coffee grounds should be stored in the fridge.

Now the storage of fruits is complicated. I believe that some fruits should be stored in the fridge, whereas others should not. For example, grapes and berries should be in the fridge from the moment you get them home. Outside they tend to be exposed to moisture and heat and, because they are soft fruits, they are likely to become mouldy.

But some fruits, I believe, do not belong in the fridge at all. I’ve often put apples and pears in the fridge to come back the next day and find that they’re actually uncomfortable to bite into. If you have sensitive teeth and gums, biting into hard fruits like apples and pears that are quite cold, is very painful. Plus, as you try to work through a cold fruit, your whole mouth tends to go numb which leads to an increased chance of you biting into your cheek, tongue or lips.

 Flour, once opened, should always be placed in the fridge, where we keep ours. You see, flour has a tendency to develop, not mould, but something worse. There are these tiny insects, called weevils, that begin to appear if the flour is kept in a cupboard for too long. These things will proliferate and cause infestation in the entire kitchen, if you are not careful.

And finally meat and poultry. Where should that go? Well, there is a freezer and all our raw meat and poultry goes straight into a meat tray that came with the fridge, away from other frozen goods. Researchers say that raw, uncooked meat should be stored at the bottom of the fridge. I say, yes it should but only if you plan to cook it that day or you are trying to thaw it before cooking it. The rationale for keeping uncooked meat at the bottom is to prevent any liquids from the raw meat dripping onto cooked food underneath it. Otherwise, in my opinion, raw meat should be stored in the freezer until you need it.