Food storage

Improper storage of food is one of the main causes of spoilage. Each product has its own requirements for the storage environment, air temperature, humidity, placement, etc. Therefore, storing food for a longer time with protection from spoilage requires special equipment and can only be carried out on a mass scale.

For some farms, procurement for future use threatens to undoubtedly spoil the product and turn it from food to poisonous. In a modern city apartment, food storage is either boxes outside the window (often facing the sunny side) or boxes between the exit doors. Under such conditions, the purchase of perishable food should be carried out in the household, taking into account the needs of the given day.

The essence of the deterioration of nitrogenous protein substances is in the process of decay, the essence of the deterioration of nitrogen-free substances is expressed by the processes of fermentation. Rotting and fermentation are stimulated by various kinds of microbes that are always in the air. Therefore, food substances are never guaranteed against spoilage, if only there are favorable conditions for the development of microbes. These favorable conditions are humidity (in the complete absence of moisture, rotting and fermentation is impossible), and the known temperature is the most favorable about 40 ° C for decay and about 30 ° C for fermentation; the more the temperature drops from these degrees, the slower the processes of decay and fermentation are; at temperatures below 15 °, the processes slow down sharply, below 5 ° they become invisible. Therefore, to protect against rotting and fermentation, it is best to place food in a cool, dry, bright place, if possible in a through wind. You can use the box outside the window if it does not face the sunny side; but it must be kept very clean.

All products should be kept covered with gauze, paper, but by no means tightly closed, since air cannot penetrate under the lid and the food spoils easily. The bottom of the box outside the window should be covered with clean paper, which should be changed often, or even better, put a wooden grate there. Put all food wrapped in clean paper or rag. Leftovers of ready-made dishes, for example, soup, stew should not be left in pans, but it is better to pour into clean clay or porcelain dishes, previously washed with boiled water.

If you need to save a piece of raw meat, then you need to report it wrapped in a napkin, which can be moistened with vinegar, on a wire rack or hanging without adding salt, since the salt will attract the juice from the meat, there will be dampness under it, in which it is easier for microbes to develop. It is better if the meat dries up a little than spoil.

Chunks of fried meat, such as veal or pork, can be wrapped tightly in parchment paper and tied.

It is better to keep the fish gutted and suspended, but in scales, since microbes can get into the cleaned one.

The same applies to the bird: pulling out feathers, we damage the skin, create a whole series of holes, birds. through which microbes can easily penetrate. The site of the incision in the poultry should be washed from blood and dried. If the bird can be hung for storage, then it must be done so that the cut falls down.

If you want to keep the ham or sausage already started, then the cut place is filled with melted butter, which, while solidifying, does not allow microbes to penetrate inside. Mold on the surface of the sausage is not harmful - the sausage should be doused with boiling water and wiped dry with a rag; when using the skin, throw it away.

For the successful preservation of milk for 2-3 days, it must be boiled, removed from the heat, put directly into cold water, poured into a clean vessel, preferably glass, and covered with gauze.Boil again the next day and proceed in the same way as the day before. Milk is easy to smell - it cannot be stored with strong-smelling foods, just like eggs.

Before storage, cottage cheese must be put under a press: the less moisture it contains, the better it will be preserved. Store sour cream in an earthenware dish under gauze. For long-term storage, eggs are lightly coated with petroleum jelly and placed next to each other in a box or put in liquid lime. It is recommended to keep the oil tightly packed in a clean dish in the cold or in salted cold but boiled water, which should be changed. In addition, vegetable oil is afraid of light. Cheese is a very persistent product: it must be preserved only from drying out; for this, the cheese is wrapped in cabbage leaves or in a napkin dipped in boiled water. The started piece of cheese is kept on the table under a glass cover, both so that it does not dry out, and so that there is no smell from it in the room.


"Winter" vegetable saladVegetables are stored in a dry room for a relatively long time - they should be sorted often, otherwise spoilage of some vegetables can easily be transmitted to others.

The same applies to potatoes, which cannot be stored in bags for a long time, but must be disassembled in loose form. It is preferable to store large potatoes, since in small, unripe potatoes there is more water and it is worse stored.

During storage, apples and pears, oranges, tangerines and lemons should be wrapped in soft paper or placed so that they do not touch. Lemons keep well in cold water, in a cool place.

In the presence of a glacier, storage of perishable food is facilitated, but for this the glacier must be properly built, dry, and have vents. Food should be placed not directly on ice, but on grates, in extreme cases, on thick rags or mats. The cellar must be dried at least twice a year: before ice filling and in autumn; pay special attention to removing mold.

Food storage recipes

The spoilage of canned food depends mainly on their inept preparation. Obviously, at the moment of soldering, microbes get into canned food, which slowly, and quickly in a warm place, develop, release carbon dioxide, which raises the top of the can - a sure sign of spoiled canned food. If such canned food is opened, a special sound appears, like a shot, and the liquid is thrown out with force.

Opened good canned goods should not be left in a tin; This is especially true of puree tomato, which, when opened, acquires a tinny taste and quickly becomes moldy. For storage, it is transferred to a glass jar, poured over with melted butter, which can be used for frying in the future.


Jam "Mango" with liqueur, pectinBoiling the jam depends on the fact that the jam is not boiled enough or there is little sugar. The same happens with liqueurs, if there is less than 10% pure alcohol, and with marinades, if the vinegar is not strong enough.

Sugar, alcohol and acetic acid interfere with the development of microbes, but only with a known strength of the solution.

The addition of boric acid, salicylic acid, mercuric chloride to the products can guarantee the product from spoilage, but these substances are poisonous and therefore unacceptable. Boric and salicylic acids are often used in the markets for washing pieces of meat, for mixing with milk, but this is punishable by law.

Dry food storage is much easier and it is recommended to buy them for future use and store them in the closet. You just have to watch that the products are exactly dry; otherwise the flour and cereals can become "musty", the mushrooms will become moldy, and sometimes worms can grow in the cereals and mushrooms.

Large quantities bread, especially poorly bakedIf you lie down for a long time, it can start to deteriorate from below, where there is more dampness, and therefore it is better to keep the bread in a dry room, suspended in bags or on lattice shelves.

Slovtsova A., "Healthy table"