If your refrigerator was crowded in normal times, chances are it has an even bigger job to do as you cooperate with necessary wartime measures. Less frequent deliveries, fewer trips to market, mean storing more foods and keeping them longer. You use more fresh vegetables; make soup, bake beans and prepare other fonds you used to buy in cans!
Today, knowing what to leave out of your refrigerator may be almost as important as knowing what to put in! Here are some timely do's and don't's that may help you "stretch" your refrigerator a size larger!
Do'
- Do remove food from store wrappings or packages. Refrigerator bags take less space than bowls or dishes.
- Do stack containers of food of different sizes to permit more circulation of air in an overcrowded refrigerator.
- Do this if pressed for space: Partially cook leafy vegetables such as spinach and chard 3-5 minutes. Store with juice in tightly-covered container. Keeps several days. Finish cooking just before serving.
- Do check leftovers daily. Use promptly, not only to gain room, but to save flavor and nutritive values which may be lost when leftovers are stored for too long a time.
Don't's
- Don't freeze too many ice cubes. Remove un-needed ice trays and use space for food storage purposes. Don't store food in containers that are too large. Keep different size jars with tight lids handy. Always store small containers on shallow shelves.
- Don't make your refrigerator a catch - all for foods that need no refrigeration.
- Don't load your refrigerator with beverages, melons, fruits, or other foods to be chilled. Chill only enough for the next meal. Keep "extras" out of the refrigerator until needed.
Foods that must be refrigerated
All dairy products. Store all except ice cream on open shelves. Store ice cream in freezer. Store butter and "soft" cheese in covered containers; wrap hard cheese in waxed paper or clean cloth wrung out of vinegar.
Meat, fowl, fish. Keep in meat tray or loosely wrapped in waxed paper below freezer. Exceptions: Always wrap fish to prevent odor transfer. Wrap mildly cured meats like bacon in cloth wrung out of vinegar to prevent mold. Wrap and freeze ground meats, variety meats, and fish if not to be used at once; poultry and other meats if to be kept several days.
Frozen foods of all kinds. Wrap and keep in freezer.
Fresh green and salad vegetables. Keep in vegetable compartment or other covered container.
Fresh "ripe" fruits. Store in covered container. Berries keep best in shallow pan, covered loosely with waxed paper.
Other: Cover and store cooked, opened, canned, and bottled goods (not mentioned under "don't" or
.'maybe").
Foods that need not be refrigerated
Sugar preserved foods. Dates, jam, honey, syrup.
Fresh foods. Bananas (which should never be refrigerated) avocadoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, beets, dry onions, squash.
Dried fruits if in a cool, dry atmosphere. But in a warm, humid atmosphere it is best to keep dried prunes, apricots, etc., in the refrigerator.
Other: Vinegar, dried spices, split peas, popcorn, un-opened canned and bottled goods (except fresh milk and cream), cooking fats (other than bacon grease and drippings) if they will be used up in a short time.
When in doubt, store in the refrigerator.
Foods that can be refrigerated (if space is available)
Some foods do not require refrigeration for safe keeping, but are improved in taste when thoroughly chilled. Others keep better in the refrigerator but can be left out. Among these are:
- Carbonated beverages*
- Pickles and olives*
- Fresh oranges, grapefruits, limes and lemons*
- Fresh peaches and pears, not fully ripe*
- Pineapple, melons*, cabbage, cucumbers
- Bread, cakes, pies and other pastries
- Peanut butter and salad dressing
---------------------
* If space is limited, chill only enough foods and beverages for im-mediate needs. Store the remainder outside of the refrigerator.
0 Comments