How to Safely and Effectively Store your Favorite Food and Beverages

Want to stay on the safer side from food poisoning?

If yes, then you should focus on strategies for storing your food and beverages. It would help if you always had some practical tips and tricks, whether you are a housewife, a chef, or any other person. That is why we have brought you these best nine ways to store your favourite food and beverages effectively and safely without taking any expert help.

9 Ways to Store Your Food and Beverages

These are the best nine strategies to store your food and beverages for a long time safely:

Check the Expiry Dates

Dates of canned foods or drinks are not a joke! If the correct date for using a specific food has passed, throwing it out of your kitchen would be better. Otherwise, you will face severe results of food poisoning and even more critical situations of other health diseases. Milk, meat, and fish have a particular time and date. If you are using these after their expiry dates, then it would cost you big health bucks. Also, you know nothing is more precious than good health. So, the first way to store your food or beverages safely and effectively is to check their expiry dates. Use it freely if there is some time before the product expires. But if it's out of the date and time, then don't think of even keeping the specific thing in your kitchen,

Utilising a Refrigerator

Refrigerators are a real friend to all of us. It helps in storing not only meals but also drinks. So, you don't have to arrange a separate thing for storing your foods and beverages separately. If you go shopping and aim to buy chilled or canned foods, it is better to buy them at the end of your visit or when heading back home. This way, you can keep the food at a reasonable temperature. As you arrive home, quickly place these chilled foods in the refrigerator or fridge according to their type. Moreover, we also recommend that you keep cooked meat and other cooked dishes in the fridge to store them for a long time. But refrigerate them only when the steam coming from the hot food has completely stopped.

Use Glass Container

Whenever you aim to store any meal or drinks, you can store them in air-tight containers. You can use any container for this purpose. But our best-recommended container for protecting the food is a glass container. Its reason is that a plastic container mainly releases chemicals in your stored food or drink. So, a glass container is preferred for storing food. When you close it firmly, you should ensure no air is left in the container.

Use a Towel for Storing Lettuce

Keeping lettuce fresh and a safe option to eat is a challenging task. Let us confess that! So, what should you do to store the lettuce and other green veggies for a long time without letting them change their colour? The best way to preserve lettuce is by keeping it in jars. But you should first dry the jar and lettuce completely. Once there is no moisture, wrap it with a kitchen towel and place it in a container or jar. It can stay there safely for several days. However, it would be good to keep checking the moisture occasionally and remove any moisture if there is any.

Avoid Freezing Cooked Food

Did you know that re-freezing food increases the number of food-poisoning bacteria? Yes. You read it correctly. So, the following food storing tip is to avoid freezing thawed food. If not done so, you will be more prone to harmful conditions of food poisoning. Moreover, cook the food instantly if you have defrosted it using a microwave oven. A tip regarding this food protection method is never to freeze a thawed raw food for a second time. Also, you should keep the raw and cooked ingredients separate. Doing this will keep you in safe health conditions.

Keep Drinks Away from Sunlight

Drinks have a specified temperature than meals. That is why you should pay more attention to their temperature maintenance. For instance, never leave the drink jars or cans near the windows, lamps, or other areas where light quickly contacts them. Also, keeping them as far away as possible from the stoves would be good. Otherwise, you will not enjoy the drinks in their natural taste.

Fermenting Foods

Fermentation is a rare yet highly used method for storing your favourite foods and beverages. It is a simple food-preserving method because all it needs is yeast or bacteria. You must place the food in a glass jar or container and then use the yeast, bacteria, or any of your preferred fermenting ingredients. Then, maintain its temperature at about 12 to 20 degrees Celsius. It is a highly guaranteed way to ensure the safety and effectiveness of your delicious foods.

Wash Fruits in Vinegar

This has been our favourite food and beverage preservation method for a long time. It is mainly used for keeping all types of berries fresh for weeks. It may sound strange to wash fruits with vinegar due to its unpleasant taste. But trust me, you will be okay with its taste if you keep the solution's measurements right. So, you only need to prepare a vinegar solution by mixing one tablespoon of vinegar with about 4-5 tablespoons of water. Then, wash the berries with this solution and keep them in the refrigerator.

Maintain Good Temperatures

Foods and beverages need a specific temperature. You should keep the raw food in the fridge at five °C. Similarly, keep the temperature below -20 °C in the refrigerator. However, storing food outside the fridge should maintain the temperature below four °C.

Final Thoughts

Consequently, follow the above effective and safe ways to save food and beverages for a long time. You should pay special attention to storing high-risk foods like meat, milk, etc. However, if any food or drink goes out of date or remains for a longer time, five °C to 60 °C, throw it out after ensuring its foul smell and taste.