Put everything in the refrigerator? Be careful, it will go bad faster!

Lock the refrigerator to keep it fresh | Tuchong Creative

The refrigerator is an expert in preserving food. Every household cannot do without it. Putting food in the refrigerator can preserve it for longer, especially in summer. Putting the fresh vegetables and fruits you buy in the refrigerator can be eaten for two or three days.

So, can all the food we buy be put in the refrigerator? Can it be stored for a long time without spoiling if it is put in the refrigerator?

01

Storage methods for different foods

The invention and popularization of refrigerators have brought great convenience to people's food preservation and storage and avoidance of pollution. However, if used improperly, it is easy to cause food to taste bad or even cause food poisoning. In the process of using refrigerators, we should choose according to categories and judge whether different foods can be stored in refrigerators, whether they should be refrigerated or frozen, etc.

The refrigeration temperature of a commonly used refrigerator is 4-8℃, which is based on not freezing food but keeping it fresh; the freezing temperature is -23—-12℃, which is generally used for quick-frozen food.

Food should be placed in categories | Tuchong Creative

Animal food has a high protein content and is easy to spoil, so special attention should be paid to low-temperature storage. For example, cut the meat into small pieces, put them in bags and put them in the freezer of the refrigerator. When eating, just take out a bag.

For fresh vegetables, improper storage can easily produce nitrite. In principle, they should be eaten on the same day they are bought and not put in the refrigerator. If they really need to be put in the refrigerator, they can only be refrigerated for no more than 3 days. Cooked leafy vegetables should be eaten as soon as possible and in principle should not be refrigerated.

02

Different foods have different storage times

Different foods have different shelf lives in the refrigerator.

Relatively speaking, staple foods, such as steamed buns and noodles, generally do not last more than four days; fruits are generally stored within a week; fish can be stored for one to two days if refrigerated, and meat can be stored for half a year if frozen; eggs can be kept in the refrigerator for one or two months; dairy products can generally be stored for a week.

Storage items determine storage cycle | Tuchong Creative

03

These foods are not suitable for refrigeration

Not all food can be put directly into the refrigerator. The following types of food should be avoided from being refrigerated:

Tropical Fruits

The reason why tropical and subtropical fruits are afraid of low temperatures is related to their growing areas and climate. Generally speaking, tropical fruits are less resistant to low temperatures than fruits grown in colder climates and in autumn, such as bananas, lychees, dragon fruits, mangoes, etc., which are easily "frozen" when refrigerated.

cucumber

If left in the refrigerator for more than three days, the skin will become waterlogged and lose its original flavor.

Some pasta

Some pasta such as steamed buns and bread will gradually become hard or stale if left in the refrigerator for too long, affecting the taste and flavor.

Tropical fruits are afraid of "winter" | Tuchong Creative

04

The refrigerator is not a "safe", and food should be eaten as soon as possible.

The refrigerator is only a food preservation box. Refrigerating or freezing food can only slow down the growth of bacteria, but some microorganisms can still grow. Therefore, the storage time of food in the refrigerator should not be too long. It is best to eat it as soon as you buy it.

Eat anytime, delicious and healthy | mt.sohu.com

05

The correct "posture" for storing food in the refrigerator!

● Leave space between foods

The food stored inside the refrigerator should not be too full or too tight. Some gaps should be left in the middle. This is conducive to air circulation. The cold air convection inside the refrigerator can greatly reduce its load pressure, thereby extending the service life of the refrigerator and reducing its energy consumption.

● Store raw and cooked food separately

Raw food and cooked food should be stored separately and not mixed together as much as possible, so as to ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of the food. We should reasonably use the space inside the refrigerator according to the storage time and temperature requirements of the food, and try to put cooked food on the top and raw food on the bottom.

● Do not store leftovers for too long

Leftovers should be eaten as soon as possible after being stored in the refrigerator and should not be reheated more than once.

● Let food cool before putting it in the refrigerator

When food is still very hot, we cannot put it directly into a running refrigerator. This will easily make the external temperature of the food very low while the internal temperature is very high. The food will easily deteriorate and the preservation effect of the food will be reduced.

● Regular inspection, cleaning and washing

Check the refrigerator regularly and remove any food that shows signs of spoilage immediately to avoid affecting other foods and spoiling them together. At the same time, you also need to clean the refrigerator regularly, scrub the inner walls and every corner to ensure that the inside of the refrigerator is clean and hygienic.

Put it away and take a look at all the "food" | www.thepaper.cn

Rumor-busting expert | Xu Renan, China's best nutrition science expert

Review Expert | Gao Chao, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

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